Examining an organization’s Enterprise Architecture is truly an exhaustive task. It requires one to become familiar with the entirety of the organization, its governing and business structures and to be able to determine how these structures align with the overall vision and mission. Throughout this course I have found myself exploring aspects of my school district that I would have previously considered to only have been the domains of our superintendent and other district leaders.
A critical discovery that I have made is that information technology permeates all of the business of a school district. In order to improve upon any area of the organization requires one to consider what is the Current State in terms of its strengths and shortcomings. It also requires one to investigate which alternative technological tools are available and how these tools may or may not align with the goals of the organization. Additionally, I have also seen how legal mandates outside of the organization can influence the decision that need to be made within. There are many reasons not to haphazardly choose technological tools. Protecting children’s safety and privacy is definitely one reason that cannot be overstated. Our legislators have taken necessary steps to protect children however it is still necessary for a teacher to be constantly vigilant in order to protect our students. Possibly the most critical discovery that I made throughout this exploration is the power of graphically laying out one’s vision into an architecture which others can understand, promote, and follow. After all, in architectural parlance a blueprint serves as a road map of sorts which allows others share and visualize a common end goal. Any contractor involved in architectural design will better be able to contribute to the end goal when he or she knows where the project is headed and how his or her contribution relates to the greater whole. The same is true of technological infrastructure. A teacher will be better able to utilize a technological tool with the understanding of how his or her role with this tool is promoting the overall vision of the organization. Overall, Enterprise Architecture will give one a global view of an organization, its goals, and how it approaches these. By using this framework one will undoubtedly be able to better steer the organization towards efficacy in learning.
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It is true that in my district we have both a plan for learning as well as a plan for technology. The plan for learning is graphically represented in what we call " The House of Learning" while our technology plan is simply called "Technology Plan." The question is whether these two should be separate entities or brought together. I believe that our model of separate but complimentary is the way forward. Learning cannot and should not be completely separated from technology. However, learning objectives should be in the forefront and technology should be leveraged in support of learning objectives. A educational organization that does not have clear learning objectives should not try to figure out how to organize its educational technology infrastructure. This would be putting the cart before the horse.
There may be a point in an ideal future wherein all technological goals work clearly in tandem with learning goals. But the effective functioning of a technological infrastructure and the promotion of learning goals require distinct needs that need to be articulated and supported individually. Additionally, we must also remember that technology should always be used in service of learning and learning in an educational organization. It's quite the occasion when I get the chance to proclaim for the intellectual merits of a brick. A brick, in this reflection, is a powerful tool that can provide a succinct snapshot of the different tools and software related to a specific school function. In the example that I had the opportunity to create I chose to outline the different tools related to learning management systems. I first attempted to define LMS's then identified all of the tools that fall into the definition that I articulated. Through this process I was able to group together many different tools that either were in use for the near and distant future, or should be reexamined or retired. I was also able to explore new tools in development that could further our LMS goals.
The brick works well to provide a bird's eye view of the tools an organization uses. Too often we become mired in the day-to-day specifics of a particular piece of software that we cease to see the forest for the trees. Again, in my case using the brick I was able to see how different pieces of software were either fulfilling or not fulfilling the goals of an LMS and therefore had a rightful place in my organization's future or needed to be retired. Bricks, like many other tools that I have been introduced to in this course, force us to reconcile our goals with our realities and future potential. This, I believe, is one of the greater realizations achieved by putting down our EA into concrete visuals. While completing the module for this week I came to the realization that our IT department really has their act together. There were so many pieces in the mix that needed to be addressed in order to get us SBAC-ready. I did not find us lacking in any one requirement. That we've already run two testing sessions thus far further attests to their competence in preparing us and keeping us running. Too often we only think about those who run our back office systems when things go wrongly. That everything has run smoothly so far with our SBAC test readiness deserves recognition for IT's job well done.
Another discovery that I made this week is that we are definitely moving forward to a tech-centric future in education. I remember a few years ago when computer based standardized testing seemed like a lofty goal. My colleagues would remark, good luck getting enough computers and this system up and running and other such doubts. We have arrived at this supposed lofty goal. Yet we can never accept complacency. Technology will continue to evolve as will our ability to effectively assess teaching and learning. In short, this is a great time to be learning about educational leadership with a technological emphasis. This week's module added yet another level of depth to the cost-benefit analysis of the information applications being used in my school organization. It laid everything out in a very succinct manner which required me to identify the tool, its inputs/outputs, then evaluate it. By quickly scanning the rows that I created, it becomes clear that some applications are fulfilling their roles and should be promoted while others may be in need of being updated or replaced. Although this document was mainly informed by my research and personal opinions, it now seems to be the only all-inclusive evaluation of these key systems in my district.
This process begs the question, who else is doing these types of evaluations to assure that my organization has the best tools at the best price? If such research and evaluation do exist, then where is it housed and why is it not easier to find? No system and no contract should be above public scrutiny, especially in a public organization. Transparency is key to the optimal functioning of public entity. The only way that we will be able to continue improving as a school district is by assuring that we continue seeking out the best tools at the most reasonable prices. This is what application maps, such as the one I created this week, help to reveal. A great impediment to running effective and efficient organizations can come from systems and applications that work redundantly with other applications or do not connect across platforms. With so many applications to choose from for teaching and learning, administration, back offices, and supplemental services, wouldn't it be ideal if all of the applications used within an organization worked to fulfill an integral and discrete task and could communicate with other systems? Unfortunately, too often this is not the case. While I do believe that people should be allowed to seek the right tool for the job, too much time, effort, and money is wasted in seeking and selecting the supposed right tool. Furthermore, too few individual are properly primed to evaluate a tool's ability to accomplish an objective.
To help shed some light on this problem applications should be better understood for their purpose and interconnected possibilities. Diagrams are very useful in this regard. If my organization were to diagram all of its interconnected applications, it would be possible to weigh in on a cost-benefit analysis of the applications being used. Few people seem interested in doing this cost-benefit type of analysis until they come upon a major obstacle. However, I believe that if we were proactively evaluating our applications on a regular basis, we could more quickly identify potential problems and propose solutions that could make our organizations run better and even save us money. While it wouldn't be necessary to diagram and document every single application in use, it would be beneficial to identify key applications, their purposes, costs, and potential alternatives. It would also be beneficial to correlate these to the overall vision of the district. Finally, along with this should also be a plan to periodically evaluate these applications. All of this would be done in order to achieve an ideal future state where the best tools have been properly vetted and stakeholders are empowered to weigh in on how their money is being spent and learning goals are being achieved. The SOPIPA recently became law in California but many district leaders are unsure of its existence or how to respond. Based on your experience, what steps would you put into place in the school or district you are studying? What advice would you give to the leadership team based on your analysis?
Student Online Personal Information Protection Act (SOPIPA) is simultaneously a welcomed reform and reminder of the need to be on our guard for where our interests in public schools may conflict with those of the private sector. A SOPIPA certification can assure us that the online service is in compliance with state legal mandates requiring companies to provide basic assurance such as that they will not collect student data for marketing purposes and will provide a level of data encryption. Therefore, we must seek out SOPIPA certification for any product that we intend to use with our students. Legislators have rightfully reminded us that our students are not for sale and that they are now legally entitled to protections from inadvertently becoming just another consumer in the process of receiving an education. Schools are places where they deserve to protected against the encroachment of marketing and where they also deserve to have their privacy protected with the best digital tools available. While the onus is on technology companies to comply with the mandates of SOPIPA, it is our job as teachers and teacher leaders to communicate the tenets of the law with our stakeholders. Often, we are too quick to relinquish our rights to privacy in exchange for the gimmicky technology of the moment. SOPIPA has made it so that we no longer have to choose between privacy and technological efficiency. Yet, it makes me wonder what we were doing prior to the passing of this law. Did we unintentionally allow the private sector a foothold that turned our classrooms into a marketplace? We must be wary to not let this happen. It's not easy to determine what new initiatives a school will benefit from. It seems that there are an infinite number of companies proposing to have a solution that it just what a school needs in order to deal with the modern educational challenges. Which solution to choose? That's nearly impossible to determine without taking a current state inventory of your organization's Business Architecture. It is necessary to inventory what the organization's goals and current structure are in order to propose a future state Business Architecture.
I have seen my colleagues revolt when an outside vendor attempts to insert a foreign solution into a organization without fully considering how this solution fits within the predetermined vision, values, goals, and existing leadership structures. In other words, it doesn't matter how good the solution being proposed is unless the solution is cognizant of the current state BA. Future state BA, in these circumstance, is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Therefore, as a future educational leader, it is of the utmost importance that any future state that I seek to promote be fully aware of the current state of the organization. This is what I sought to do in my own future state proposal for this week's learning module. As I was working on this week' assignment, I was surprised by the realization that the document of the current state of my district's BA essentially captured the inner workings of a complex organization. It was almost as if I was looking at the springs and cog innards of a watch. For the first time since I've worked at my district I felt as if I truly understood how all of the pieces of the organization work together to achieve the goals of our district. To change any one component requires an understanding of how all of the other pieces work together in pursuit of common goals. It would not be possible to be leader of any standing without attempting to understand how all of the other pieces fit together.
I also realized that if I were to advocate for change within my district, or a future state, I would have to be sure that whatever I proposed be in alignment with an already-agree-upon goals or vision for the district. Thus I made sure to craft my goals around a district initiative written into our blue print for student learning, "Personalize Learning." This blue print has been vetted and approved at various levels by many different stakeholders. This will help me move forward with my Business Architecture because as an aspiring leader I would most likely be put in a position of leadership over one particular branch of the whole organization. It is important to understand how any one particular branch fits within the whole of the organization. While unique in its purpose and functioning, any particular branch of the organization is nevertheless part of the whole. It must not seek to serve its own purposes but that of the whole. Through my reading and module three assignment I have discovered that there are many different entities within an organization that need to work together in order to promote a greater vision. I have worked for the Vista Unified School District for a little over a decade. In this time I have worked under three different sets of district administrations. Every one of these administrations have crafted unique vision and mission statements. Yet up until the current administration, it seems that vision and mission statements were no more than flowery language that hardly influenced the day-to-day operations of the district. This time it is different. As I explored the district’s websites and read the descriptions of different departments, I realized that Enterprise and Business Architecture do seem to be intentionally built into most if not all facets of the district.
To begin with, VUSD has crafted a document which we call a “Blueprint for Educational Excellence and Innovation” which “identifies eight strategies that fit together like building blocks to create the conditions necessary for students to become inspired about learning” (“Blueprint”, 2015 p.1). If “blueprint” were not enough of an architectural reference, within the blueprint there is also the “House of Learning” a metaphor wherein the eight strategies are used to describe a holistic view of learning. This “House of Learning” encompasses the who, what, where, when, why, and how. Furthermore, most departments highlighted in the module three assignment had each crafted their own mission statement, which were also crafted to fit with the broader vision of the vision. Thus, although each department has its specific role and specialization, the “Blueprint” and “House of Learning”are found underlying most of what we do. We are in the business of promoting the “House of Learning.” Therefore, is evident that VUSD already uses Business Architecture in order to guide most of its practices and departments. The question that remains is how BA is used in order to determine and evaluate its desired future state. What is the process currently in place for evaluating present efforts and planning for future iterations? There may be questions about whether or not all current efforts align with the BA of the district. If a particular department impedes or does not otherwise align with the vision of the district, how is this called out or refined? I look forward to reading more about future states in the upcoming weeks. Resources Blueprint for Educational Excellence and Innovation. (2015, June 1). Retrieved February 7, 2016, from http://vistausd-ca.schoolloop.com/file/1346925153159/1356609235447/6274761925185871404.pdf |
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