OK, so let's dive in. Right. We're talking about
school IT networks today, specifically looking
at it from the perspective of school leaders.
Yeah. And our guide for this is Gary Ackerman's
EdTech for Ed Leaders. A rationale. Some really
good excerpts there. He kicks things off with
this image, this analogy that I think a lot of
people can picture, the school's wiring closet.
Oh, yeah. That's slightly intimidating, Rome.
buzzing fans, blinking lights everywhere, just
a mess of cables. That spaghetti tangle, exactly.
And racks holding all sorts of, well, things.
Important things, though. That's where the critical
stuff lives, like the source mentions the UTM,
the Unified Threat Management Appliance. Right,
which is basically the school's main defense,
like a security guard against malware and hackers
and all that. Pretty much, yeah. It's filtering
all the incoming traffic. And then there's the
gateway. The gateway, okay. What that doing?
That's the single pipe, the connection between
everything inside the school network and the
actual internet. So every device goes through
that point to get online? Every single one. Yeah.
And if either the UTM or the Gateway has a problem.
Uh -uh. Things stop working. Things grind to
a halt, like no online resources, maybe no email,
testing goes down. It's a big deal. OK, so that
brings us to this core problem, Ackerman points
out. You've got the IT folks, the experts, who
need to keep this complex system secure. And
they understandably want to limit who touches
it. Right. To avoid, well, accidents. Exactly.
But then you have the school administrators,
the principals, the superintendents. They're
the ones ultimately responsible for everything,
including when the tech fails. Right. So there's
this built -in tension, isn't there, between
access for security and access for oversight
or responsibility. Who gets the keys to the kingdom,
essentially, or at least who needs to understand
how the kingdom runs. And Ackerman's point, which
I think is interesting, is that while IT's concerns
are valid, administrators have to have enough
understanding. They need to know what's going
on, maybe even how to get access if the main
IT person isn't around and something critical
happens. It's about leadership accountability
meeting technical reality. Exactly. So our mission
here, using the source, is really to unpack why.
Why can't leaders or even teachers just ignore
this stuff anymore? Why isn't avoiding it OK?
Because, as the source puts it pretty bluntly,
these networks, the UTM, the Gateway, all of
it, they're core infrastructure now, like electricity
or plumbing. Ah, OK. That's fundamental. Yeah.
too valuable, too critical to just be the domain
of a couple of IT specialists. The risk is just
too high if the leadership doesn't sort of get
the basics. And that tension we mentioned, IT
focused on lockdown, admins needing oversight.
That's a real dynamic. Oh, absolutely. It happens
all the time. And it's not about mistrust, usually.
It's just the structure. The responsibility lies
here. technical control lies there. Bridging
that gap requires understanding from the leadership
side. So how do we or how do they get past that
feeling of being intimidated? Because let's be
honest, that wiring closet analogy, it feels
intimidating. Yeah, it really does. And Ackerman
argues that mindset just has to shift. Leaders,
teachers, they can't afford to just avoid trying
to understand the tech they rely on every single
day. It's like saying you don't need to know
anything about the school budget because the
business manager handles it. You still need oversight.
Precisely. Computing and networks are just woven
into everything now. Teaching, management, operations.
So everyone needs some baseline knowledge. Okay,
so what kind of baseline does the source give
specifics? What do leaders really need to...
Grass. It does give some concrete examples. One
really key distinction is understanding the difference
between the Sewell's local network, the LAN,
everything inside the building. Okay, the internal
stuff. Right. Versus the connection to the internet.
They seem linked, but they're distinct systems.
Why does separating those matter for, say, a
principal? Well, think about costs. Yeah. What
you pay your internet provider is different from
what you spend on switches and Wi -Fi inside
the school. Or management, you control your LAN,
but your provider controls the internet link.
Ah, and support too, right? If the Wi -Fi is
slow, is it our Wi -Fi or is the pipe coming
into the building the problem? Exactly. It's
knowing whether to call your IT team or your
internet service provider. Knowing the difference
between like a leaky pipe in the school versus
a water main break down the street. Okay, that
makes total sense. Knowing where the responsibility
lies. What else? Another big one is realizing
school networks aren't like your home setup.
Not even like a small business network usually.
They're complex. They're enterprise level. Enterprise,
meaning built for lots of users, high demands,
more security. Yeah, hundreds or thousands of
users hitting it hard all at once sometimes.
It needs robust equipment, specialized management,
proper IT staffing. It's not just plug and play.
So leaders need to understand that complexity
to budget realistically, staff appropriately,
and just have the right expectations. You got
it. It shapes so many decisions. OK, so pulling
it all together, the main argument from Ackerman
seems to be pretty clear. Yeah, it boils down
to this. Networks and computing aren't just tools
anymore. They're fundamental to how schools run
and how kids learn. So understanding them isn't
just for the techies. It's a leadership competency
now. It affects everything from teaching strategies
to safety plans. Right. You need to understand
the engine. OK, so let's quickly recap the takeaways
from the source then. First, these school IT
networks, they're absolutely critical infrastructure.
Way too important to be a black box understood
by only a few people. Definitely. And second,
that tension between IT security needs and administrative
oversight is real, but manageable if leaders
build their own understanding. Third, leaders
and teachers just can't afford to shy away from
this stuff anymore. Avoidance isn't a strategy.
Nope. And fourth, they need to grasp key basics,
like the difference between their internal LAN
and the external internet connection, understanding
costs, support, where issues might lie. And also
recognizing that school networks are complex,
enterprise systems, not simple home Wi -Fi, requires
different thinking, different resources. Exactly.
Leading to the ultimate point. Basic tech literacy
around networks is now just essential for school
leadership. Which leaves us and leaves you listening
with a really pointed question based on Ackerman's
argument. If a functioning network is truly this
vital for modern education, what level of technical
understanding is actually indispensable for your
specific role in a school or district today?
Yeah, what do you absolutely need to know to
do your job effectively in this environment?
Something to think about.