September 18th, 2008
How many techs does it take to change a lightbulb?
The easy answer is one, once we gather requirements, generate purchase orders for the bulb, get signatures in triplicate from appropriate departments, test the bulb, and conduct end user acceptance testing.
The reason I ask, though, is that I’m stretched a bit thin right now. Sure, I’m not teaching anymore and have plenty of authority to make things happen. I even have a reasonable budget for right now, assuming that all doesn’t end up getting spent on heating oil once the schools start getting chilly.
What I don’t have is enough hours in the day to provide user support, administer our databases, handle hardware maintenance, develop curriculum, plan budgets (I could go on for a while here, but we’ll just say etc.). I have a teacher at the high school who gets to spend his prep helping me out, a full time tech running around the elementary schools (and I mean running literally - he’s out straight), and another teacher at the middle school who handles tech there during her preps. It simply isn’t enough, though.
I’ve had readers tell me that they manage 2000 desktops and countless servers; I maintain that they aren’t in mainstream ed tech. The real problem is that, despite my reasonable budget for hardware and software, I can’t hire new staff since they cost money every year, including benefits. I can spend money right now and nobody loves buying computer hardware more than I, but sometimes the human resources to keep the lights on are more important.
I’d give my eye teeth to take a week and align our use of technology with our various curricula. I’d write proposals and find cool ways to use all of this new hardware in the classroom, but there simply isn’t the time.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not really complaining (OK, I’m complaining). However, the question remains, how many of us is enough? My thinking is one full time person per 500 students (assuming there is a reasonable amount of kit to go around for those students), plus an administrator type overseeing the whole thing and focusing on curriculum, planning, budgeting, and all that sort of administrative goodness. What works for you?
Follow Chris Dawson on Twitter! Christopher Dawson is the technology director for the Athol-Royalston School District in northern Massachusetts and a member of the Internet Press Guild. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations, but always keep in mind that the opinions expressed here are his own and not those of his daytime employer, even if he talks incessantly about his day job.
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