Technology+Leadership+Book+Summary

Technology/Leadership Book Summary

 The Technology Coordinator’s Handbook is an incredible resource for technology leaders in school districts. This book highlights all of the major responsibilities of technology leadership such as district organization, teaching and learning, desktop support, network operations, and budget and planning. This book is essential to anyone coming into a new district as a technology coordinator. The book defines the ideal organization for defining your role in the district. The book is concise and well written for the person who wants the facts without a long narrative. It also gives resources at the end of each chapter that give more information.

The book starts out addressing the scope of a technology coordinator’s position. The technology coordinator is a relatively new position in school. Even though this book is from 2007, the position is still difficult to define. The first chapter, “District Organization”, defines what the ideal technology coordinator’s role and lists responsibilities. The chapter explains the technology coordinator’s place in the hierarchy of the district. It also has some great information at the end of the chapter answering “essential questions” for someone starting this position.

The second chapter is about “Teaching and Learning”. This chapter addresses the technology coordinator’s role in supporting technology in the classroom. It discusses selecting hardware and software for the classroom. Some of the best things from this chapter are the forms. The “Software selection form” would be a great tool for assessing software needs. Another main element of the teaching and learning section of the book is the integration of technology in the classroom. The author suggests standard implementation of basic hardware and software that staff knows how to use to streamline the school’s resources. The author also points out the necessity of frequently evaluating the hardware and software to maintain efficiency and cost effectiveness.

The next chapter, “Desktop Support”, explains the more day-today activities of a technology coordinator. The author breaks down desktop support into these key elements: maintenance and upgrades, virus protection, equipment repairs, help-desk support, software licensing, ergonomics and furniture, and equipment purchasing and allocation (54). These elements do require initial planning but will often be the work that the coordinator does each day. The book even gives a sample of a “request for bid” commonly referred to as a RFB. These requests are sent out to vendors his is a requirement from the school’s business departments to make sure that the school is getting the best price. The chapter goes into great detail about virus protection, maintenance and upgrades. The authors even offer examples of software and techniques to help one accomplish this.

“Network Operations” explains the school’s infrastructure. As I stated before, the authors give the readers many useful forms. This chapter gives the readers an example of an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) which is probably one of the most important documents for a technology coordinator. This explains the district’s policy of technology usage for teachers and students. This chapter talks about remote management and backups. Remote management allows the technology coordinator to have remote control over servers and machines without physically being at the equipment. Backups are critical for schools and are usually required for the business office. All user files and folders should be backed up nightly at an off-site location but programs should not be backed up because they can easily be reloaded.

The “Budgeting and Planning” chapter discusses the creating a technology plan and administering the technology budget. The authors state the key parts of technology plans include E-Rate applications, budgets, grants, planning and evaluation (124). Also the chapter discusses the necessity of involving school stakeholders as well as state and national guidelines in planning a vision for technology at a school district. This was a great book and would recommend it to anyone who is a technology leader in public schools. The author provides specific ideas and example for effectively integrating technology throughout an entire school district. Also the author gives real examples for creating the best technology environment for teachers, students and staff.