Just what are districts looking for in ed tech staff?

This came via my LinkedIn account a couple days ago...

What skill set would would be required of someone at entry level in your department?  I'm trying to figure that out, but upon many interviews, I still lack the skills and dispositions sought for "Educational Technology" after achieving my master's.  Is there a severe job description gap, or do the administrators not know what they are asking for? - Corey

Corey is not the only person interviewing for jobs this spring and wondering why he or she was not hired. So just what are districts looking for when it comes to technology staff?

 

Both ISTE (The ill-named NETS for Coaches) and CoSN (Framework of Essential Skills of the K-12 CTO) have been trying to answer the question of what skills a technology leader should have. Not a bad starting point. Review their rather general and idealistic sets of standards.) You might also see my recent Educational Leadership column, The Changing Role of the CTO" for what I see as the trends of skills need to be a tech director in education.

 

But truth be told, I don't know that there is a single good answer to your question. Smaller districts will want a Jack/Jill-of-All-Trades who can do everything from fix a projector to write a technology plan to do staff development to run the student information system. I don't envy people in these positions. The maintenance stuff usual takes over leaving the curriculum and PD stuff neglected and progress in such districts is slow. Smaller districts will look for "hard" tech skills including network management, but possibly be unwilling to pay the cost of a secure, adequate and reliable infrastructure. Be careful.

 

Larger districts will specialize looking for experience in particular areas. When we look for folks who specialize in PD, I want experienced classroom teachers. When we need a systems manager, we look for that specific skill set even if it is outside education. For CTO, I guessing, one would look for someone who is certifiably insane but not yet institutionalized.

 

I really don't know what any individual district might be looking for since each has its unique needs. Read the job description accompanying the posting and be selective about what job you consider. And yes, there are districts that I am sure don't know what they want or need. That would not be my first choice of employer, although it may be an opportunity to create one's own job description which can be fun.

In any case, I would make sure I had a good list of completed projects, could articulate a philosophy/vision of how technology could make education more effective, and exhibit great interpersonal skills. (See my advice to library position job-seekers "Getting the Job You Deserve" since much of this applies to anyone looking for a job.)

 

Hope this helps

 

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Comments

[Tim Stahmer]

We look first for good teachers (the state requires a teaching license for our training postions) who can work well with adults. For the most part, any smart person can learn the technology. It takes special skills to work with a variety of personality types and lead them to being better educators.

That's all very vague and we have a more concrete process for actually recruiting and screening candidates. But I think you have to start with some aspirational goals, knowing that everyone will fall a little short in the beginning, as well all did (except Doug, of course :-).

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Tim,

Around here, people say I rose to the level of my incompetence early in my career - and stayed there.

See you at ISTE?

I now have respirational goals.... To breath for another few years.

Doug

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Tim,

Around here, people say I rose to the level of my incompetence early in my career - and stayed there.

See you at ISTE?

I now have respirational goals.... To breath for another few years.

Doug