Friend, or Foe?: Tech Staff and Teachers Don't Always Get Along
By Jim Moulton
4/4/08
Relations between tech-support staff and educators is an emotionally charged issue, and I have thought about writing about it for quite a while. But I had an experience last week that made it clear to me it was time to gather my thoughts and ask a question or two.
As you read this, you might wonder whether I understand the complexity of the issue, that there are multiple sides to it. In this posting, however, I am specifically speaking to teachers. I will speak to the tech staff in a later post.
Earlier this week, I was working with a high school teaching staff on purposeful and effective technology integration. The talk turned to filtering of Web content, and I expressed my concern that many school technology-support employees routinely make filtration decisions with little to no interaction with front-line educators. And then I saw something I see way too often: Folks started looking sideways at one another and making comments under their breath, and a general unease permeated the room.
Something was going on. It was immediately obvious this group of teachers did not perceive the tech staff in their school as friendly. Rather than let it pass and carry on with the subject at hand, I said, "OK, what's up? Talk to me. Tell me about the tech folks in your school."
Please let me assure you that some of my best friends are people who work on the technical side, both in schools and in the corporate world. Jeff is coordinator of educational technology for Maine, Carmel works for the state Department of Environmental Protection, and Chris is the chief information officer for a large energy and building-supply company that stretches across New England. All three are tech savvy, and all three are great people. And though Jeff is the only one I have a professional relationship with, each is a person I would not hesitate to get in touch with to ask for help if I was in technical need. And they would help me.
And it is not only tech stuff. In fact, I still remember when Carmel took the time to respond clearly to an early effort of mine to write technical documentation. Though she did not respond positively to my work, she was right. She cared enough to teach me how to do that kind of writing effectively, and it is a skill I continue to use in my work more than a dozen years later.
Over the years, I have met many technical staff in many schools like these three friends of mine. They are folks who are good with networks and with people and who enjoy working with both. They understand that a school is not a business and that the job of the tech-support staff, as for all school employees, is to support the kids through improved opportunities for teaching and learning. They get that operating a school's network as if national security were at stake runs counter to a school's foundational purpose, and so they run a network that is "school friendly."
Let's look on the other side, the area the teachers I was working with that day inhabit. They work in a school where there is an adversarial relationship between teachers and tech staff. I think this is often the dirty little secret of technology in schools. It is something teachers tend to be willing to live with rather than confront: tech-support staff who seem to not like the people they are supposed to be supporting.
Tech-support staff in such settings tend to talk down to educators, as if a teacher's lack of technical understanding makes him or her less worthy. They often work to perpetuate the myth of their importance in maintaining a critical thin blue line -- that without them, the network would fail, the administrators would be at risk of legal action, and the ugly side of the Internet would invade the schools willy-nilly.
Once, when I was attempting to access a wonderful collection of QuickTime virtual reality images at panoramas.dk while on a school network, a director of technology in a relatively large school district told me he had "blocked all foreign Web sites" because he felt he couldn't trust them. "Oh, my goodness," I said to myself as I thought about the curricular impact of this independent act of censorship. "What about all the tremendous content available through the BBC? Ouch."
Now, I must admit that being a director of technology is a huge and often thankless responsibility, and dealing with networks in a setting that includes the messiness of classroom teaching means that stuff will inevitably happen. Kids will mess up and kids will do amazing things; teachers will mess up and teachers will do amazing things -- real life, real school, real teaching, real learning.
But when your job description says, "You are responsible for the network," accepting this kind of messiness is tough because -- let's face it -- stability is the holy grail of network management. So we should not be surprised it's hard to find people who can effectively manage both the complex technical networks and the complex human networks found in the schools of 2008.
So, teachers, how about your school? Are the tech-support folks who manage your network friendly to you and your students as teachers and learners? Sometimes yes, sometimes no? And how do you know? Please, don't just respond yes or no. As an example, can you independently override the school's filter? Do they trust you? Please share stories of how your interaction with tech-support staff impacts your teaching. I will be interested to hear.
Ending the Range Wars
Submitted by Doug Johnson (not verified) on June 11, 2008 - 07:51.
Hi Jim,
This is a great post on a subject near and dear to my heart. As the director of a department that includes both techs and media specialists, I am very aware of the conflicts in viewpoints, priorities and goals of the two important sides of the educational technology coin.
Personally, I have found collaborative planning to be the only long-term solution to mediating these conflicts.
If you are interested, these presentation handouts summarize much of thinking/writing on the subject:
http://dougjohnson.squarespace.com/storage/rangewar.pdf
All the very best,
Doug
Oh, great meeting you in Mitchell, SD. Hope you got to the Corn Palace!
Tech in Kindergarten
Submitted by Rachel (not verified) on July 21, 2008 - 11:19.
While our tech teachers are not warm and fuzzy, I do give them kudos for always letting us know that they're doing the best that they can. They are responsible not just for network issues and the like but also for providing relevant tech. instruction to our entire school population K-5--and truthfully, I don't think they even like little kids that much. The teachers make sure and contact us, or at least our team leader, quarterly to find out what our objectives are so that they can develop relevant tech lessons to coincide. They also teach keyboarding basics and internet navigation basics as well as basic kidspiration use.
Our computers are set up so that we cannot use any software (we don't have the underlying software to support it. Odd!) and I hate that all of the math, lit. etc, software I'd taken time, money and painful hours of research to purchase on my own I cannot use at all. They say their hands are tied. We can use the internet for educational games however typically when we're all operating on the same server it gets slow.
Overall, while our tech staff loves tech more than students, I do applaud them for doing a difficult job and trying to do it the best they can.
Tech Teachers
Submitted by Aaron Raiti (not verified) on October 13, 2008 - 18:58.
In our school we have had many different tech teachers in the eleven years I have been there. Some were wonderful and helpful while others were definately not. I like to focus on the positive so I tend to remember the more helpful ones. In our county the tech teachers hands are tied because it seems the head of our tech department doesn't trust anyone. Many websites are blocked and as a third grade teacher I find it hard to find age appropriate websites that can be used without the threat of them being blocked.
In our school I feel the tech teacher is our friend, it is the head of the department that is more of a foe than anyone else.
Thanks, Doug!
Submitted by Jim R. Moulton (not verified) on June 14, 2008 - 02:11.
I had the chance to hear Doug Johnson give a keynote talk in Mitchell, South Dakota earlier this week and I felt like I had met the tech person I have been advocating for... High technical capacity, solid human capacity. Oh, my goodness. I would urge you to head to his blog: http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/ from which you can either purchase a hard copy of his book, "Machines are the easy part; people are the hard part" or download the PDF for free. What a wonderful piece this could be to build professional development for all members of a school community around. As I began, "Thanks, Doug."
Tech Staff and Teachers
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on May 27, 2008 - 17:39.
After reading some of the postings I feel lucky to work in the district that I do. I have had limited experince with our schools tech staff, but each time I had a question they were willing to help with the problem at hand. I have tried to incorporate some websites and internet games to supplement my material and each time I approached our tech staff they were willing to work with me to find a solution. Many times they went above and beyond and showed me some things that I did not know. I think it is important to get to know your tech staff and treat them with respect because often times they can be a real asset to your classroom.
Tech Staff and Teachers
Submitted by Bill (not verified) on May 22, 2008 - 04:08.
For the most part, the technology support staff in my school is very helpful. I teach computers classes, so I have a great deal of interaction with the technology staff. They have blocked many Internet sites, such as chats, games, etc. As a computer teacher, I am glad these sites are blocked, because I do not want to have to fight this battle with my students. Students have a different proxy than teachers when they log onto the network, so we are able to access some sites that students cannot. The Information Technology Director often offers long and drawn-out explanations to basic questions. Some teachers refrain from asking him questions, because they do not understand the tech jargon that he uses to offer an explanation. His support staff is very well-liked, because they will offer explanations that all teachers should be able to understand, without making them feel inferior. Lastly, the technology support staff is centrally located in the building, and they respond in a very timely manner to any technology issues.
Friend or Foe- tech staff?
Submitted by Ms. Ally (not verified) on May 19, 2008 - 16:57.
Last year our tech support was wonderul! He was friendly and inviting. He didnt seem to mind if you had a question and always seemed to be willing to help any way he could.
My experience asking for help change when a new tech support arrived at our school. I have had little interaction with her due to my negative experiences with her thus far. Unprofessionally so, but still so, other educators have begun talking about her cell phone use in the media center and rude remarks of much of what is asked of her "is not her job". She seems to be lacking positive social interactions and is very unprofessional while working in the school setting.
Friend, or Foe?: Tech Staff and Teachers Don't Always Get Along
Submitted by Lisa (not verified) on May 9, 2008 - 15:10.
Our tech. department has undergone changes in the last year. Before this school year it was a running joke that to enter the office it was best to have someone tag along because of "safety in numbers." One person retired and another moved and now the office is manageable for us as teachers. The men and women in there are always bogged down with fixing the teacher laptops or the libraries computers and as soon as something is fixed, something else is usually broken. They work very hard and I give them a lot of credit because, quite frankly, it's a job I wouldn't want.
That being said, none of them have worked in a classroom. We can't even utilize sites like puzzlemaker.com to create review activities. Lots of sites are blocked but the students still get around them. We recently had a student suspended for hacking into the system and accessing both teacher and student accounts. It really makes me wonder why sites are blocked that students still can access? Shouldn't we worry more about security so that incidents like the one with my student don't happen again? I am probably just naive about this and there is probably more behind the scences than what I know but a lot of this doesn't make sense. I just recently started my master's program and my speciality will be technology in the classroom but I am afraid that I won't be able to do the activities I want to do if I don't have the technology to back it up.
Working on your advanced degree...
Submitted by Jim R. Moulton (not verified) on June 4, 2008 - 16:47.
Lisa -
When sites like puzzlemaker or others are filtered, I talk about putting on your "Columbo" hat. Columbo was the TV detective who would say things like, "Now, Mr. Moulton, you have to help me out here. You say you were out fishing all day today, and I want to believe you. You seem like an honest guy. And yet your rods are all hung on the wall, and each one has dust on it. Help me understand... What am I missing, cause it sort of looks to me like you couldn't have been fishing..."
The bad guy would crack and fess up, never having been "accused," just questioned in a friendly sort of way.
So, how about asking the tech, or better the principal or curriculum coordinator why these sites are filters, how their filtration supports you in doing the best by the largest number of kids. Because you know that is why your school provides Internet access. To help the kids. Tell them you "must be missing something," and ask them to explain why the sites are filtered...
I am assuming you do not have an over-ride?
Good luck!
Jim
Technical staff and teachers
Submitted by Brad Edwards (not verified) on May 8, 2008 - 07:12.
Jim:
I worked in one school district where the Information Technology Director often said that he didn't want to know anything about education. Really ! What he wanted was for us teachers to tell him what we wanted to make happen, and it was his perception that his job was to make that happen. As he led the technical support staff, there was little educational technology leadership from the top. It was up to the building coordinators (three of us) to figure it all out. And since there was a lack of leadership, we were stuck with no clear directions until we had to agree on and submit "Grade Level Expectations" to the state. Needless to say, the three schools were often in different directions.
Too often the technical staff has zero's and one's in their minds; they tend to be linear thinking folk. That's a good thing in many ways, but educators need the non-linear approach as do their students and that's where conflict can enter into the relationship. The more learner control, the better the learning experience and the longer the information stays......network administrators and technicians don't always understand that.
http://penobscotriver.edublogs.org/
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