School IT staff future

[captainbirdseye86]

Hello everybody,

 

What do you think of the future of it technicians in school? Our school is replacing all pcs with unmanaged iPads for all staff and students minus the odd admin staff with special requirements. All whiteboards are to be torn out, and replaced with plasma screens and given apple tv instead. Our wireless is looked after on a support contract and absolutely everything will be on the cloud, either iCloud or Dropbox. A printer will exist but the school wants to go paperless completely in a few years. You could say that the it department may get progressively quieter over the next couple if years now that we have a massive iPad fanboy pulling the strings (he turned his nose up at ultrabooks and the fancy i5's desktops we have with SSD that boot up in 12 seconds)

 

In your opinion is this dramatic change happening in a lot of schools? To me it seems like it is based on the regional apple conference we have just hosted. As a result I have to ask the question, are the days of the traditional school it technician numbered? And if so what are the options moving forward for your average techie? Do you believe business would pick up the slack? I am currently studying my MCITP but with all the end is night talk for the PC/laptop and the massive drive by apple to stick iPads in every student and staff members hands, I wonder if windows based stuff is doomed in schools (and even in some moderate sized business) and all that will be needed in a school is perhaps one person to turn the apple tvs off and on again or help someone download an app from iTunes....perhaps the odd pc will need fixing. Maybe someone will break an iPad again and we will have to walk it to the shop for them.

 

Cheers :-)

 

By the way the decision maker is a deputy principle, not a it manager or director :-) and by god does he LOVE iPads lol.

Edited April 2, 2012 by captainbirdseye86

[elsiegee40]

Our job is constantly evolving. Will we be supporting Windows networks in a few years time? Who knows. I started out on punch cards and then moved to mainframe. Things are happening now that I couldn't have started to dream about even 10 years ago.

 

The "traditional technician" really hasn't been around very long.

 

Will schools need support with what succeeds the current setup... you bet they will. Someone has to keep up with the technology.

 

And the paperless school is a dream in my opinion. The chances of losing the printers is somewhere between slim and non-existent for some time yet!

[glennda]

Hello everybody,

 

What do you think of the future of it technicians in school? Our school is replacing all pcs with unmanaged iPads for all staff and students minus the odd admin staff with special requirements. All whiteboards are to be torn out, and replaced with plasma screens and given apple tv instead. Our wireless is looked after on a support contract and absolutely everything will be on the cloud, either iCloud or Dropbox. A printer will exist but the school wants to go paperless completely in a few years. You could say that the it department may get progressively quieter over the next couple if years now that we have a massive iPad fanboy pulling the strings (he turned his nose up at ultrabooks and the fancy i5's desktops we have with SSD that boot up in 12 seconds)

 

In your opinion is this dramatic change happening in a lot of schools? To me it seems like it is based on the regional apple conference we have just hosted. As a result I have to ask the question, are the days of the traditional school it technician numbered? And if so what are the options moving forward for your average techie? Do you believe business would pick up the slack? I am currently studying my MCITP but with all the end is night talk for the PC/laptop and the massive drive by apple to stick iPads in every student and staff members hands, I wonder if windows based stuff is doomed in schools (and even in some moderate sized business) and all that will be needed in a school is perhaps one person to turn the apple tvs off and on again or help someone download an app from iTunes....perhaps the odd pc will need fixing. Maybe someone will break an iPad again and we will have to walk it to the shop for them.

 

Cheers :-)

 

By the way the decision maker is a deputy principle, not a it manager or director :-) and by god does he LOVE iPads lol.

 

 

Wait for it to fail - you can't do everything in the world that is needed in schools on an iPad

 

 

Just one reason we are paid to do a job. ipads have there place and replacing everything with them is not it.

[SYNACK]

Ouch, that much consumer gear in one place, I'd walk. There needs to be a balence not just the contents of whatever leaflet the seagull in charge is taken by at the time.

[Michael]

I think you've touched on a few key points there.

 

Firstly unmanaged vs managed - in every situation where I've seen iPads in schools, it literally is a full time job as you're constantly correcting or fixing problems and re-syncing apps. The irony here is that it will make teachers jobs harder as consistency will always be more suited to a classroom environment. I've seen quite a number of stressed out teachers who realise that maybe they have been sucked in to the Apple marketing and they do still need that Windows PC after all.

 

We've been using cloud technology for years - most commonly in the form of webmail. Saving all data in the cloud is still a long way off and is a lot more demanding on internet bandwidth. There are still data protection issues, who owns the data, is the data backed up or stored on a redundant server? These are many questions teachers probably haven't given a great deal of thought.

 

There are also fundamental problems with the iPad, such as the lack of Flash support. There are many educational websites that still won't work. Again, explaining this to a teacher that we're going through a transitional period from Flash to HTML5, it will probably take another 10 years. All that useful content will be locked out.

 

A paperless environment in a school? I doubt it even in my lifetime. Printing options on the iPad are pretty much next to nothing and Apple's official answer is to sync it back to a Mac or PC. It's not very practical and it defeats the objective completely.

 

I do think it's important to teach pupils there are alternatives to Windows, but I think it's very much the icing on the cake. Tablet technology is still very limited (in many respects) and a traditional netbook or notebook can do more for a fraction of the price. You also have to ask the question of what can an iPad do a Windows notebook cannot? And how many Lesson Objectives does the iPad really support? Sure, there are thousands of apps out there, but how many are really any good or useful? Angry Birds doesn't help a pupil learn anything. You'll probably find you can Google a website and download/use something for free.

[PiqueABoo]

Firstly unmanaged vs managed - in every situation where I've seen iPads in schools, it literally is a full time job as you're constantly correcting or fixing problems and re-syncing apps.

 

I've always though keeping Windows laptops consistent is hard enough with the Windows manglement e.g. rolling out a new SmartBoard gallery or similar, doesn't exactly suit wireless, or laptops that are sat in a trolley right now etc. [Yes you can get the magic ones in networked trolleys that WOL and do things without frying themselves etc., but it costs]

 

And how many Lesson Objectives does the iPad really support? Sure, there are thousands of apps out there, but how many are really any good or useful?

 

That is the *key* question... just wish more folk who unlike me are supposedly qualified to know, actually asked it.

[bossman]

@captainbirdseye86:

 

Which app will they be using for the taking of registers evey lesson and which app will they use for data analysis of pupil data?

 

How will staff make reports and record exam data?

 

I take it you use a web based MIS system?

 

How will security be taken care of, I ask as I have just been involved with a security issue involving an Ipad and this has been very difficult, in fact I have no data to report on due to the user resetting the Ipad back to its original state. I have heard of no way to get this data back other than to restore it from the computer it was connected to in order to set it up in the first place. I have had no luck on this front and have given a full report of this.

 

It seems that quite a few academics have advocated the full use of Apple equipment throughout academies and schools without the insight of good sound information but just on a whim of being the first school along this route.

 

I do hope for the schools sake that this strategy is not taken to the endth and a degree of sanity rules, whatever I would take this opportunity to question outright the strategic direction that this will take the school towards and all the pitfalls that will go with it, put this too the HT and see what they have to say about it.

 

Also I would definately be looking to take my skills elsewhere, as for other schools and technical staff therein, i would think that most schools do not have the finances to advocate going down this route and so will require technical staff to endure with the normal Windows networks with a smidgin of Apple equipment in specialist departments.

 

As for cloud computing, as has been mentioned this is just another buzzword for the internet, there are still issues surrounding security of data and this will take sometime before leaders of good schools will advocate using their student data within the cloud.

 

This is just my take on it, yes use Google docs, live Edu etc etc but even this leaves a single point of failure in any school and this is the internet connection which even with today's technological advances, can still fail, which in certain areas of the country, still does.

[speckytecky]

@captainbirdseye86 certainly deserves a thank you for this interesting and provokative posting some really fab replies as well. What is the answer to security for iPads and other ultra portable Apple devices being not the least. My school is also venturing forth into the iWorld and the first I knew of this was after being asked to add some devices to our wireless. It was my first time hands on with any Apple other than an iMac!

[Rozzer]

The school I work at is looking into the mass deployment of iPads to all staff and students but we have been realistic in which equipment will still remain on the network. 1) Specialist media systems for logic, final cut 2) Computer labs for BTEC ICT lessons 3) Drop in centre for access to PCS 4) Admin staff access.

 

As great as iPads are in the real world they are still a consumer device and iPad in education is being stuck together with Sellotape to make something work to a degree. People like us will always will be needed in schools but our job will be come more of an ICT LSA for class room support. I predict a network manager is still needed but more of an account manager to deal with the existing network and support contracts.

 

Just my thoughts

 

Ross

[Max_Power]

I agree with @Ross2k5 "ipads are in the real world still a consumer device". We have had difficulties to maintain a class set of ipads and had various discussions about who should pay for apps, and getting documents off the ipads, and logging who's used and abused them, re syncing, breakages etc.

 

I can see how they are a very useful tool within education, but I dont think you can completely get rid of the PC or the MAC in all areas, maybe even more so within the admin side of school dealings.

 

We too are looking at deploying more ipads, under the agreement that the PCs will remain for the moment with an active reviewing process put in place.

 

Paperless is something that only dreams are made of in my opinion. You can probably cut down on paper to an absolute minimum but never move away completely, unless that depends on the environment at your own school?

[36Degrees]

Paperless is something that only dreams are made of in my opinion. You can probably cut down on paper to an absolute minimum but never move away completely, unless that depends on the environment at your own school?

 

In 2004 part of the school's 5 year ICT plan was to go paperless. The amount of printing was decreasing slowly and the introduction of the VLE in 2007 was supposed to help with the ultimate aim.

 

Fast forward to 2012, with a different Head Teacher, and I think we print more now than we did in 2007!

[3s-gtech]

It is depressing how much this seems to be happening at the moment, more from a long term budget point of view than any sort of fear of our roles changing. There seems to be this feeling that once everyone in school has an iPad, that's it, job done - the cloud will be the answer to server infrastructure etc. When that batch of iPads is EOL (not sure how long that would be; maybe 5 years like a PC, maybe 2 like a phone!) the support costs will ramp. Oh - the current Apple TVs don't work with the new model (for example) - replace those too... If you're buying the whole lot at once, they'll all reach EOL at once.

 

I see much of this technology as immature yet. It definitely has potential and a place in education, and embracing new technology is important. I'm just not sure why the new thing should replace the old across the board - what's wrong with mixing and matching to meet specific needs? God help anyone writing a 5000 word piece of coursework on a touchscreen, yet a PC can be slow and clunky to quickly check a webpage or research. These things need to live alongside each other to get the best fit IMO.

[jonnykewell1]

Our school is gradually buying the odd IPAD for the SLT. I showed them splashtop the app they can use to control their own windows based computer in the office! They love it! So what is the point? A laptop or a cheaper windows tablet would surly be of more use to them. Docs2go is a pain as you constantly have to re sync, and it doesn't have all the features that office 2010 has, which teachers don't seem to grasp.

[flyinghaggis]

Yeah, it certainly feels like the pace of change in schools is increasing when it comes to IT. To be honest I wouldn't worry about it as the future will only ever be more reliant on technology but you may find the skills required for you job change.

 

For the first time I'm actually starting to wonder whether there's much of a future in "Windows" as a general end user device though. Given you can buy decent android tablets for £200, Ipad's for £300-400 I can't help but feel Microsoft is going to price itself out of the market when it brings out Windows8 tablets and starts asking what will likely be over £500 for them. I can see a lot of home users giving up on Windows altogether in the not too distant future if things keep going the way they are!

 

Having said that in IT things always change so predicting the future is pretty tricky....

Edited April 3, 2012 by flyinghaggis

[Oaktech]

If you don't agree with the plan, say so. If it's an unstoppable machine already then i would start looking elsewhere.

 

I come out in hives if i'm surrounded by that much apple kit so i'd be off like a shot.

[chazzy2501]

Did you tell them that the Ipad is only guaranteed to charge 1000 times! It has no user serviceable parts!

[Domino]

This is pure insanity, what real world IT skills are the students learning?

[GrumbleDook]

The iPad is a consumer (and for that read you can almost read 'disposable') device that has a limited life span and a set of limitations within use, but a lot of flexibility as a personal device. Similar can be said for most Android devices, and will be said for consumer Win8 tablets.

 

Once you take this into account you then have to consider how the devices will be managed on the network, whether the configuration of the network (both wired and wireless) needs to change and how does this work, as well as manages / maintains it on a daily / weekly basis. Having an external support contract to do reactive maintenance and deploying new APs on a wireless network is not the same as getting new devices onto the system, monitoring them whilst they are on there, supporting users in getting the most out of them (i.e. user training, ensuring access to all available software / sites, etc). There are ways you can make this more user-friendly and self-supportive ... and this is where expertise as a documenter / technical writer comes into play (I knew there was a reason why I liked people who kept good documentation).

 

Even when you say 'cloud' services ... this just means hosted and expandable. At some point there has to be management of these systems for a variety of reasons.

 

If you have cloud MIS, email, VLE, storage, etc ... fine ... apart from how do you get the files to these systems? Sync to a desktop (as already mentioned) and then upload? Who looks after the desktops (the few you have) and who ensures the security of them and the system they sit on? Who manages the various cloud solutions and makes sure they integrate? It is good to have SIF-enabled solutions to auto create users from the MIS to the other systems, but things like VLEs and online systems can take a lot of work to tweak for the school ... so the IT Tech might have less local hands-on stuff but more online and dev stuff.

 

And then we come to the contract and service management of it all. There are some very good SLTs out there who can do this and there are poor examples too ... and it can also be an expensive use of their time when a fair chunk is operational (i.e. ensuring tickets are logged correctly, managing the relationship between the support firms and the school staff, local followup and support) and so it is better to have someone in-house to deal with that. There is the argument that this can be a role provide and staffed by the external support company (as per BSF to some extent) and this can help with giving that member of staff a certain structure to work within, but then the school needs to have someone managing the relationship on behalf of schools ... without that it is all too one-sided.

 

One of the best IT Managers I know spends a fair chunk of her time doing the contract management / relationship management rather than be hands-on technical ... buying the right support in when needed and saving time and money.

 

The problem is that the above can work with thought and planning ... but the ad-hoc introduction of any tech with no plan for what impact the tool will have ... well, that is just a bad thing. The lack of strategic approach to spending money (the example of central money being ring-fenced for IWBs with no agenda for any follow-up) meant that in those places which had a plan made a difference, and those without one it was a poor investment.

 

If the school has a plan / strategy and has a good set of measurements about how the will judge the impact (and make subsequent changes if needed), then I don't have too much of an issue with it. As long as they are aware of what they lose to gain benefits in other areas (often forgotten about during the risk assessment) then yes, there are going to be changes about what jobs there are in schools and who does them.

 

I don't think it is as dark as some folk think it is ... and for some places the finance requirements of using external companies to provide some of this could mean that it is not viable in the short-term ... but resisting change for the sake of it is as bad as when we see other staff in schools using laptops as doorstops, insisting on using post-it notes and memos rather than emails, blah, blah, blah.

[SpuffMonkey]

I'd have to say that its threads like this one that make me so happy not to work in schools anymore. Poor decisions by ill informed SLT being foisted on IT Support staff - brrr - brings me out in goosepimples just thinking about it...

[localzuk]

The role of IT in education is ever changing. 15 years ago, it consisted of a teacher with a bit of an interest in IT cobbling together something and then keeping it working through sheer willpower.

 

Now, we have managed networks, active directories, SANs etc...

 

The progression is, and always has been, towards a 'one device per person' environment. However, this does not mean the elimination of IT as a 'facility' within a school. Tablets are great for consumption and minor creation of work but they are not suitable for any of the current crop of GCSEs that I've seen. The work needed to be produced is too detailed to spend the time doing on a touchscreen.

 

So, there is still a need for suites of machines capable of tasks such as 3D work, video editing, music production, and even word processing and presentation making.

 

Network Managers are moving more and more into being project and contract managers, as the sheer volume of equipment is becoming unwieldy for a school to handle entirely in house (having enough technicians on site to handle the support for 1500 iPads, for example, would be expensive). So, as much of the 'technical' side of support ends up being contracted out to a supplier who handles repairs etc... The on-site technicians end up being more hands on 'click here, press that' type support staff.

 

Personally, I think we're still too early in the game to shift wholesale to one to one devices. A hybrid system is the way to go.

 

And if you're more interested in server management or the like, this is slowly going to be shifting out of schools too.

[Cools]

i can see a epic ipadfail going to happen here..

 

im moving to thin clients with remoteFX.

only coz its going to cost the same as buying 62 fat clients. and i need over 100 new pc's this year.