This assignment was interesting for me, in that it had to deal with something that I have some control over, technology infrastructure and the student information system, but looked at it from a different perspective, financial. In the past I had a really rudimentary view on the financial part of the school district, only discussing what I would like to do and then basically being told whether it was feasible or not financially. The same can be said about my view of our student information system in that I had a basic overview of the system, but didn’t really give much thought to items such as training, support, and features. Having to take an objective look at our student information system and the financial side of the technology within the school district has given me a platform to either promote or shoot down ideas and tools for the district and schools. In the past there has been technology that has been purchased that had no real reason, or was not needed within the school district and now that I have a greater understanding of the financial side of the district I can critically review proposed services, hardware, and software to ensure that we get the most out of our investments. In addition to this I have been forced to take an objective look at our SIS, student information system, and weigh out the good and the bad with the system as compared to other systems.
The way that I approached these assignments was to try to remove myself from the district and try to approach everything as an outsider, with no experience in either our technology or SIS. The interviews and research that I did for both subjects helped me to make this objective observation and analyze the data without being too biased. I assessed my performance by speaking and presenting my findings to the technology director. This was a great way to get an opinion from someone who has been a teacher as well as an administrator within the school district, and could give me differing ideas and facts that I had not thought about before. I have since been able to have better communication and coordination when implementing new technology and services to our SIS with our technology director because of my greater understanding of these items and how they fit into the larger picture.
This project has been able to create an understanding between myself, the finance director, and the technology director that has, and will, enable us to make a coordinated effort to keep the district up to date from a technology standpoint. Understanding how, where, and why items are budgeted has enabled me to have a greater understanding and view of the district as a whole and where technology financially fits into the school. Having this knowledge and open communication will enable me to be a greater asset to the school district and create a school that is not only technologically up to date, but financially feasible. Since I have had to objectively look at the SIS for this project I have been actively researching different aspects of the SIS, such as things that are offered and we as a district are not using, and how these services could impact the district.
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