BFTP: The changing role of tech support

Yesterday I performed my least favorite supervisory responsibility: I let my technology team know that we would be reorganizing next year - and that there would be a reduction in the number of people in our department. Driven by both needed district-wide budget cuts as well as evolving tasks within the tech department, changes that impact lives, families, and futures of real people weigh heavily on me. But I have to keep thinking - it's about service to kids, not about the adults...

When the platform changes, the leaders change. - Seth Godin

Can technology workers be as reactionary as others in education?

Most of us, I believe, have the reputation for doing our best to push the envelope, to create change, to foment revolution in our schools. Ot at least reading educational technology writers and listening to popular speakers at technology conferences would certainly lead one to that conclusion.

But at heart, might we be actually deeply reluctant to change as well?

I get this feeling most strongly when I hear about technology departments raising barriers rather than creating possibilities about new resources -  especially when the objections seem rather spurious (security of GoogleApps, bandwidth for YouTube, predators on Facebook, licensing of Skype, etc.). Are the concerns real or just because the way of doing something is different?

Why, I suppose, should tech support people be any happier about new directions that may significantly change their jobs, their skills, their power, their usefulness than anyone else? What happens:

• When individual workstations can maintained by restoring a common, simple image since settings and individual files will all be store online?
• When security and backup becomes the responsibility of an application server provider not the district?
• When voice and video become as (or more) important than data flowing through the networks?
• When our filters can be easily bypassed or students get Internet access using their own accounts, not the school's?
• When network reliability, adequacy and security become mission-critical for all staff and students?

I rather doubt the need for tech staff will decrease in the immediate future. It seems that just as the need for some tasks diminish, new tasks crop up. But some jobs will increase in value while others decrease. Anyone wish to suggest some job security strategies for techs?

I don't think blocking progress is one of them.

 Original post March 14, 2010