This week I have started to learn more about Enterprise Architecture. As I read, the book An Introduction to Enterprise Architecture, I find myself continually trying to simultaneously wrap my mind around this strategy and look at it through an education lens rather than the business lens that is provided in the book. My current role is a classroom teacher. However, through committees and other leadership roles I have at my site and in the district I find myself in a position where I’m able to give feedback to our administrators about various programs. As the vice president of our teachers association, I hear a lot of opinions from teachers about how programs are running, or not running, in classrooms.
I see Enterprise Architecture directly relating to the way school districts set-up their systems to manage student data. I’m still not fully clear on the technical side of this, but I’m beginning to understand the concept. I see AE as an organizational strategy that allows an organization (school district) to develop their services/programs available to students and staff in a way that eliminates wasted duplication of information and more efficiently utilizes the systems to better meet the needs of the users (the staff and students). One reoccurring theme that has come up in both readings this week is that the decisions made in IT and in the design of systems must reflect the organizations overarching vision and strategic goals. AE supports establishing policy for prioritizing the funding of programs and projects among other things. This stood out to me because it reminded me of the process used in creating the district LCAP. My district included specific decisions relating to IT and technology in our classrooms. Looking at the LCAP through the AE lens I now see that we have laid decisions to guide our EA development. An example of this was the hiring of a Director of Technology. Previously, the technology department had be lead by the IT department, and a couple teachers on special assignment. While these people are very talented at what they do, there was a great need for an administrator to oversee and coordinate between what is need in the classroom and what is needed in the IT department. After mulling over the readings this week, I wonder, are most school districts using EA when setting up their systems and do they have a person who has classroom experience, IT knowledge and administrative experience participating in the decision making?
Bernard, S. (2012). An introduction to enterprise architecture (3rd ed.). Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse.
Ross, Jeanne W., and Peter Weill. "Six IT decisions your IT people shouldn't make." Harvard Business Review, November 2002.
I see Enterprise Architecture directly relating to the way school districts set-up their systems to manage student data. I’m still not fully clear on the technical side of this, but I’m beginning to understand the concept. I see AE as an organizational strategy that allows an organization (school district) to develop their services/programs available to students and staff in a way that eliminates wasted duplication of information and more efficiently utilizes the systems to better meet the needs of the users (the staff and students). One reoccurring theme that has come up in both readings this week is that the decisions made in IT and in the design of systems must reflect the organizations overarching vision and strategic goals. AE supports establishing policy for prioritizing the funding of programs and projects among other things. This stood out to me because it reminded me of the process used in creating the district LCAP. My district included specific decisions relating to IT and technology in our classrooms. Looking at the LCAP through the AE lens I now see that we have laid decisions to guide our EA development. An example of this was the hiring of a Director of Technology. Previously, the technology department had be lead by the IT department, and a couple teachers on special assignment. While these people are very talented at what they do, there was a great need for an administrator to oversee and coordinate between what is need in the classroom and what is needed in the IT department. After mulling over the readings this week, I wonder, are most school districts using EA when setting up their systems and do they have a person who has classroom experience, IT knowledge and administrative experience participating in the decision making?
Bernard, S. (2012). An introduction to enterprise architecture (3rd ed.). Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse.
Ross, Jeanne W., and Peter Weill. "Six IT decisions your IT people shouldn't make." Harvard Business Review, November 2002.