The Information Technology Architecture: Introduction to Enterprise Architecture class has been 99% new learning. I had never heard about the concept of Enterprise Architecture. I did struggle with my newly discovered knowledge; however, lesson after lesson, I wanted to learn more. I believe this motivation was ignited by many of the challenges that my district has been facing for the past couple of years. Some of these challenges include: the inability to make decisions, miscommunication, and lack of organization. In a time of great change, these shortcomings present many limitations. Every week, I learned something that could facilitate progress, in the area of technology and business, for my district. This sparked my interest. If I had to identify 3 critical discoveries in this class they would be: 1) The four main components of Education Enterprise Architecture (EEA) 2) Student privacy and security rights 3) EEA Governance.
This is my second year as an Instructional Coach for the district. I am part of district and site leadership teams, therefore, I am familiar with the challenges the district is currently facing and recognize how an EEA can provide the much needed structure to guide us in overcoming these struggles. Therefore, I appreciate my new learning and firmly believe that it will greatly increase my effectiveness as an Educational Technology Leader.
- The Four Main Components of Education Enterprise Architecture: Business, Information, Applications, and Technology Architectures- EEA is a strategic framework that aligns a district’s IT and business sides and provides structure to meet its mission and vision. This will enable the district to maximize resources. My district’s current state clearly indicates a critical need for an EEA. We currently adopted a new set of goals, so this would be the ideal time to begin to develop such a plan.
- Student privacy and security rights - In the past couple of years, my district’s Technology Department has been integral in our technological advancements. We are close to 100% wireless access and have increased our network from 1 gig to 10 gigs. Unfortunately, with the increased accessibility, there hasn’t been an increase in knowledge on federal and state student privacy rights such as FERPA, COPA, CIPA and SOPIPA. I have shared my concerns with the part-time Technology Director. She stated that there are plans to update the current Acceptable Use Form and that next year, the Technology Plan should be updated.
- Architecture Governance - This was another highlight, since I plan to begin discussions with my district’s leadership on the critical need for developing an EEA or a similar strategic plan. However, if such a plan is created, it will be imperative that some type of governance is established, at the outset, to sustain this plan.
This is my second year as an Instructional Coach for the district. I am part of district and site leadership teams, therefore, I am familiar with the challenges the district is currently facing and recognize how an EEA can provide the much needed structure to guide us in overcoming these struggles. Therefore, I appreciate my new learning and firmly believe that it will greatly increase my effectiveness as an Educational Technology Leader.