It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure…

A snapshot of three days in IT:
–overseeing work with Apple’s top level server troubleshooters on a mail server problem they can’t solve
–troubleshooting 2 new interactive whiteboards
–composing a tricky, tactful email about urgent software updates
–working with parents, teachers, and principals on a media literacy presentation
–helping coordinate final pre-launch steps on a major web portal launch
–engaging in [...]

Whither Summer?

How is it that summer escapes IT workers so quickly? Even with careful project plans we concoct each spring, there are always enough curve balls to force tough choices about how summer time is spent.
This year, a few unexpected departures have jostled our workload some. One member of our IT team resigned very late in [...]

Tuesday at EduComm

EduComm is the higher ed conference on all things audiovisual. The conference program shows that a majority of conference sessions are about creating and delivering online courses. K-12, especially high schools, should take a hint from this.

LMAIS Tech Directors Forecast: Cloud-y and Raining on the Tech Parade

The good folks at Lake Forest Academy were kind enough to host yesterday’s semiannual meeting of the Lake Michigan area Tech Directors. This stunning campus has a fascinating history and could not be a more delightful place for such a meeting. The economy was a hot topic of conversation. Pretty much everyone will be [...]

A Visit to Orland Park

The gracious folks at one of Orland Park’s excellent elementary schools were kind enough to host about 18 guests for a morning of observation and discussion on their use of Promethean interactive whiteboards for teaching and learning. The event was sponsored by Promethean resellers Graphtech Systems.
After introductions and a brief review of their process of [...]

Milestones II, and Happy Holidays

So much for returning to less urgent tasks. What a quarter it has been! The Presidential election and its “up close and personal” impact on Lab, collective bargaining, the ISACS site visit, architect selection for the Master Plan, budget cuts…wow. I’ve been here a long time, and it’s never dull, but this quarter has set [...]

Ten Years on the Job: Gratitude and the DIT

Today, I complete ten years as the school’s IT Director. What a wild ride it has been! To start this new school year, I thought I’d share a few reflections on this decade of change in this and upcoming blog posts. First things first: let me start by thanking those who’ve blessed me with their support and [...]

Tumblr Link Added in Blogroll

I’ve enjoyed starting to use Tumblr, a moblogging tool with some more capabilities than Twitter and the cleanest, easiest interface I’ve seen. It doesn’t integrate with WordPress (yet?), so it’s in my blogroll below. Its title is “In the Moment: Hailstones from the Infostorm.” I use it for those quick items that strike me as [...]

Dueling with Inevitability

Dueling with inevitability is, well, inevitable when managing IT. There is a relentless logic to many technology developments, which I suppose is, well, inevitable when dealing with zeroes and ones. You can see the endgame coming, and you’re still amazed by the speed with which it arrives.
So there is a choice to make. Do [...]

“Game, Set, Match!”

One of the more provocative voices in educational technology belongs to Gary Stager of the Thornburg Center. In a recent presentation at an Anytime, Anywhere Learning Foundation workshop, he expressed dismay with many educators’ seemingly intractable resistance to recognizing the instructional power of thoughtfully applied technology.Gary mentioned that not long ago, a local Dominick’s grocery [...]