The International Schools Review Forum

Tech Leadership. I have a question about technology coaching and leadership positions. I see things come up on TIEonline, but often they look like they are promoting the standard salary scale for some of the positions I've seen.

I'm hoping for general information, like:

What kind of tech positions do you usually see at 1st or high 2nd tier schools? I understand the debates around tier, but I will never again, under any circumstances, work for anything but the top school or two in most countries.

I'm assuming that the tech 'workers' or non-admin/ed types are local hires--is that usually correct?

Pay--in your experiences is there a higher scale for tech focused positions? ( again, I recognize that there are a variety of tech positions, but generally).

Do schools seem to follow the advice of the tech admins that they hire, or do they constantly chase after shiny things to impress parents?

What is the best path? Search? ISS? TIE? Direct? LinkedIn?

Any other general thoughts or advice?

As a background--My first career was finance, second was software consulting, third was teaching. After about 10 years in the classroom and returning to the hell that 'reform' has made teaching in the US, I have escaped to the role of building tech coordinator for an elementary school that recently became the first school in our urban area to go 1:1 iPads in grades PreK-5. This is ideal--I"m out of the classroom, but still get to be around kids all day. If the situation was overseas was ideal, I'd teach again, but I much prefer a tech coordinator, CIO, EdTech Coach, or other non-classroom position. I'm also a dual US/EU citizen if it makes any difference.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

1) Generally the Technology Coordinator, Librarian and Technology/ICT ITs are the ones hired as OSH westerners. Upper tier ISs usually have a leadership post (at Junior admin level) for a technology coordinator. Lower tier ISs assign the tasking to the ICT IT or Librarian IT. You usually see a technology coordinator in ISs that have a 1:1 tech program.

2) Technology assistants or workers are often (though not always) LHs.

3) A technology coordinator appointed on the leadership scale has a better salary, and you find this at upper tier ISs. At lower tier ISs technology coordinator is on the IT salary scale.

4) Its more a wash, a lot of requests and ideas from technology coordinators get rejected due to cost. A lot of bad ideas happen because parents run the board, and parents are the ones that generate revenue. Another issue is that a lot of leadership and ITs arent very adaptable to new technologies. What they have works, and they know how to use it, and they see the technology coordinator as always wanting to change things which involves a learning curve and a challenge period. The vast majority of ITs and leadership just want to get the work done, and dont want to waste time and resources doing the new thing. So when a technology coordinator comes in with a new electronic grade book, everyone just groans and wants to throw things at them.

5) Linked In doesnt work too much. Id advise against SA or ISS as your only focused on elite tier ISs, its easy enough to bookmark the ISs in those locations your interested in and check their vacancies as often as your willing to. Id also use TIE, COIS and TES.