Student-centered CIOs must now focus more on the user experience than on just keeping networks and machines functioning.
“To be successful you have to dedicate 80 percent of your resources toward the service side of IT, and 20 percent to keeping the boxes working,” says Jason Saltmarsh, an education technology consultant and former district technology director. In the past, before students were in charge of their own devices, the opposite was true.
CIOs also have to make protecting student data a priority, says Kecia Ray, ISTE board chair and executive director of learning technology and library services at Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. “Districts are beginning to realize they need somebody who has instructional expertise, and that infrastructure, data security and data management piece as well,” Ray says.
The spread of mobile devices and apps in the classroom makes hiring the right technology leaders a priority for digital learning initiatives. Here, Ray and Saltmarsh offer tips for finding the best IT staff:
