Thoughts On:
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) STAFF by Chuck Morris
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Information technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), is “the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware.” (Wikipedia Online) Our lives are immersed in it. Some of us manage the IT department within our school district. The vast majority of us (I would hope ALL of us) use information technology in our everyday work life. Let’s see now; laptops, desktops, Blackberry’s, Treo’s, DVD players, MP3 players, VOIP phone systems, LCD projectors, Smart boards, PLC’s, remote control, PDA’s, Blue Tooth, wireless everything and on and on! Who are the techies that provide the support in our districts? Are they the types who sit in a dark closet with the lights out writing computer code? Are they kind of ‘geeky’ and speak in weird tongue, using names and protocols that no one on earth has heard before (except their peers)? Whatever they are, they are valued staff members who provide a service that many of us don’t want to be part of or can’t even fathom! Ever wonder what it takes to keep systems running and safe (not vulnerable to attacks from viruses, etc) and accessible to staff? If there is a good system in place and hardware and software firewalls exist to help protect things, you probably would not experience failures. If you are upgrading from one system to another, things may be different. Ever feel like your right arm has been severed when email is unavailable? It’s almost like what water is to life; no water, no life! What a horrendous thought. Life without email! If you are anything like me, you likely carry out 80% of your daily business using email. Shut it off and it suddenly becomes a problem finding work (just kidding, I doubt any of us have difficulty finding work). Coordination of contacts for your Blackberry and back-ups of district files are courtesy of our techs. Smooth running desktops and laptops and the programs you use most are flawlessly executed because someone is there to ensure downtime is not impacting your operation. A knowledgeable IT Department is one essential component of
your district’s operation. If you have a ‘Help Desk’ with that department you are even closer to providing 100% service for your schools and Administration. We need IT. With the advances that don’t
seem to slow down, THEY need to keep up to speed with their education and certification. Let’s ensure we all move forward with technology at a comfortable and smooth warp speed!
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