What IT does right!

I’ve been reading about the problems other people are having with their IT people in their districts. I thought I should take the time to thank our IT and Tech people for doing all the things they do.

1. Test running software in different schools before adopting it, when possible. This has stopped some software from being adopted because the teachers/administrators hated it.
2. Admitting there is a problem and explaining in plain language what is being done to fix it and a time range if possible.
3. Trainers are TEACHERS. They keep their hand in by visiting classrooms regularly and working with teachers.
4. Using Open Source Software when it fulfills our needs
5. They are available for help and rarely take more than 30 minutes to get back to me. I physical visit can take longer 24 – 48 hours.
6. They trust me. I can tell them I’ve done x, y, z trouble shooting and the listen. The flip side is they count on me and my Tech crew (4^th and 5^th graders) to do some basic things like installing some new software. The payoff is we get the new software ASAP, because we don’t have to wait till a tech can do it.
7. The administrative level people are loosening their grip on the filter. We can get to Google Docs and Gmail now. Still can’t use Wikipedia but my kids make things on wikispaces.