One respondent to the survey said that "IT staff members … need more training, and we need more time to explore new technologies. We spend all our time fixing the old [equipment]," said one respondent. "I want to get out on the cutting edge of educational technology and impact student learning and train students and staff. Instead, I'm troubleshooting network, hardware, and software problems."
School IT departments "still have more work to do than they have staff," said Carolyn Stone, an independent analyst who helped conduct the recent study. This statement is supported by another of the survey's findings: 68% of respondents said the number of technology devices in their schools has increased in the last year, but only 2% said they've added a commensurate number of IT staff to keep pace with these changes.
And while 90% of respondents said their districts have at least one full-time technology leader—such as an IT director—and 76% said they have at least one full-time technician, only 60% said they have at least one full-time instructional technology specialist. Forty percent added that they have a full-time network engineer, and a mere 35% have a full-time help desk manager. With so many IT specialists forced to fill numerous roles simultaneously, it's no wonder that they are unable to find the time to do much more than typical troubleshooting during a given school day.
For the full article discussing the results of the survey, please click here.
