Dan, Qaixen Consultant, reveals four key steps to successfully approach and manage IT purchases and new cloud-based systems in the Education sector in his latest blog:
So, you’ve taken the plunge! Management wants to implement cloud-based systems within your education setting. Panic and fear begin to creep in as you struggle to plan out the most effective way of setting up a robust and manageable system. Yet, there is hope. At least, there is if you take your time, plan out your actions and consider the pitfalls. Throughout my career as an educational professional, I have come to understand the importance of having good systems and infrastructure in place within a school. Professionals are often unaware of how integral both the curriculum and having good hardware/software plans can be, in order to achieve a successful roll out of cloud-based learning. In my experience, it is often the case that an IT Lead gets the green light to go to attend the annual EdTech event of the year, BETT, wide-eyed and full of ideas, without having a plan. Don’t get me wrong, BETT and other educational tech fairs are great, but they need to be approached as a way to review a catalogue of ideas, rather than a way to purchase as many things as you can before the Finance Department start asking questions. Before making any IT purchases, you should really consider a few important points.
Consideration 1: Impact
The word “impact” is often overused in education – and for good reason. Proving that a new system is necessary will give you the firepower you need to answer those difficult questions, which will be asked during staff and governor meetings. How would moving to cloud-based learning enhance your curriculum? What tangible impact will you, your staff and the students see within their learning? If you can categorically prove that this new solution and other IT purchases will have a visible effect, then maybe it is worth continuing to look at these systems further. During my own experience, I took the time to discuss the pros and cons of which cloud-based systems to use. I thought about:
· whether the students would be able to learn these systems quickly?
· what areas of the curriculum would benefit the most?
· who would maintain these systems?
All these questions, and more, needed to be discussed before making any concrete decisions around any new IT purchases.
Consideration 2: Help and support
It seems ridiculous to think that teachers are extremely reluctant to ask for the very same support they themselves would not hesitate to give others. When taking a considered approach to IT purchases, a mistake that Computing Leads often make is not seeking outside independent support or help. I was very lucky to have an incredibly supportive ICT Educational advisor who was brilliant at suggesting scenarios and situations that needed to be considered. This was extremely useful, as he was able to guide us through our IT purchases, ensuring that we understood the technical aspects of the cloud as well as the educational benefits. Without this support, I would have undoubtably made many mistakes.
Consideration 3: Application and usage
Teachers like things that make their lives easier. I always felt sorry for the person who had to stand up in a staff meeting and inform everyone about a new and fashionable way of doing things, explaining how this new approach will solve a problem – that actually didn’t need solving in the first place. However, by giving staff and pupils an experience that they can keep through demonstration, it will allow them to see the benefits first hand. By obtaining feedback from trials, you can gain a good idea of where the pitfalls and sticking points may occur. In my own school setting, staff were given an opportunity to trial Microsoft Teams alongside their old file management system. This allowed staff to feel comfortable, yet learn the system gradually. It is also important to check the infrastructure is in place when upscaling it to a new environment. It is all very well going ahead with a purchase based on a demo group, but if you haven’t thought about whether you have enough devices, or if the Wi-Fi will hold up to the task, then you have just become the very proud owner of hundreds of unusable licenses, which is a very quick way of ensuring the ire of the school’s Business Manager.
Consideration 4: Safeguarding
Safeguarding should always be taken very seriously. This is a vital consideration to think about with any IT purchases or investing in cloud-based systems. Serious thought must be made about how this technology could be misused. OFSTED themselves state within Keeping children safe in education 2022 (from 1 September 2022) that, “All staff should be aware that technology is a significant component in many safeguarding and wellbeing issues.” Bearing this in mind, how will you prevent any misuse? What could be the potential pitfalls and how could they be addressed? From my own experience, it would be worth considering involving your school’s Safeguarding Lead or even anyone involved in Pastoral Care to discuss areas you may not have considered. Finally, you must ensure that policies are kept up to date and in line with any decisions that have been made. It is always better to be over prepared than underprepared regarding children’s online safety.
Adopting a considered approach to IT purchases in schools
As you can see, there is a lot to think about when approaching and managing IT purchases and new cloud-based systems. This is only scratching the surface of what needs to be done to ensure that you make the right decisions as an educational setting. It needs to be said that you will make mistakes, but from these you can learn from your experiences and gain a better understanding of what is right for your organisation.
Here at Qaixen, we offer a range of bespoke Microsoft 365 training services for teachers to help drive adoption and increase understanding of all the cloud tools, including Microsoft Teams and SharePoint along with other IT purchases for your school. If you would like to learn more about how Qaixen can help your school, Multi Academy Trust, college or university, simply contact us.