I had a great conversation yesterday (Podcast to be published Monday morning) with a Tech Director colleague who is currently at an American School in Alexandria, Egypt. Throughout the conversation he talked about how he has overcome challenges such as lack of consistent power, challenging Internet connectivity, near zero budget, lack of channel partners for tech gear, etc. Egypt being the birthplace of the Arab Spring I’m sure brings plenty more for him to deal with outside of work – him being Canadian and all.
That conversation has brought home how fortunate I am not to have to worry about those issues where I work. Because of high winds we’ve had one power outage – that I know of – during the academic year. Our Internet access is reliable, and though our budget is not infinite we are pretty well equipped and are able to pay all our bills on time.
While speaking with him I had a recollection of other friend-Tech-Dir’s who work in Eastern Europe who have access to the Internet only sporadically during the week, and of others who deal with security issues in Africa – both physically and electronically. Those are some of the scenarios I’ve heard of over the years at conferences and tech-get-togethers in various regions of the world. Still, it fascinates me that there are English/Canadians/Americans who take the post of Tech Dir.
Which brings me to the point of this rant. Like teachers, humanitarians, and other good-doers, Tech Dirs are up for a good challenge. Even when the challenge is not being posed by the likes of Microsoft and/or Apple, they are met with resourcefulness from these folks. I’d like to contribute by bringing these stories to your ears in way of podcasts. Already I am reaching out across the globe to get interview times with as many Tech Directors and other PreK-12 school personnel as possible.
I have a couple of interviews already lined up with colleagues from around the globe for next week. Still, I’d like to do more. I feel I have a knack for it, and I really like doing them. Check it out for yourself. If you are reading this and you yourself are involved in PreK-12 independent education in any capacity, or someone you know, contact me to setup a time for a conversation. I promise I will not use the opportunity to make you look bad. Instead I will take the time to pay attention and to learn from you – and then I will share it such that others learn, too.
Write me at rbaldizon@gmail.com
RBaldizon 