EDTECH: How has the coronavirus pandemic affected the role of a K–12 IT leader?
BARNES: It forces us as leaders to come up with flexible, innovative ideas on how to teach our students. IT leaders must break down interdepartmental silos to have that flexible environment and to provide the platform for our students to learn as effectively in virtual classrooms as they do in the schoolhouse. This is shifting the way the organization thinks about student learning mediums and security now that they’re not in a building.
EDTECH: What infrastructure needs should school districts address before successfully deploying full-scale remote learning?
BARNES: It comes down to the basics. The basic needs right now in this flexible environment — whether in the schoolhouse or in the living room — are to have a device in students’ hands, provide an internet connection and identify key drivers of disparity in the community. Districts also need a robust and secure student information system. Now that you’re expanding your footprint outside of classrooms, consider how students are going to authenticate seamlessly to their student information system and other necessary digital resources.
READ MORE: What are the building blocks of remote learning?
EDTECH: What other needs should IT leaders and K–12 administrators keep in mind for successful hybrid instruction, and why?
BARNES: Building an infrastructure that is resolute, solid, reliable and secure —whether in or out of the schoolhouse — is key. There also are a few main areas that, from a leadership perspective, you should keep in mind with regard to protecting personally identifiable information. Awareness is key when it comes to information security. For example, what does a phishing email look like? How do you combat it? How do you report it? It comes down to governance as a whole.
There is a need to identify key risks at an organizational level and be able to describe them intelligibly to the board, CEO or superintendent so they’ll be able to make informed decisions. Dig into information security and cybersecurity frameworks such as NIST, ISO or COBIT — whatever fits your organizational objectives — to assist overall governance.