7.3: Effective IT Systems

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One of the often-overlooked aspects of technology support systems is ensuring that systems are effectively repaired. Effective repairs will result in the system better meeting the needs of teachers and students and the systems being more responsive to their needs. It has been established that IT users in schools are different from the IT users in other organizations, so IT professionals who rely on the clear planning that leads to the effective design of single-purpose systems for business users will find they are less effective for school users. Just like all aspects of managing school IT, selecting the correct systems and designing them for school users is a collaborative endeavor.

In schools where technology support systems are organized into a planning cycle (see Figure 6.3.1) in which technicians affect changes and upgrades to reflect those identified as necessary by teachers, repairs and upgrades appear to be more effective than schools that lack such organization (Ackerman, 2017). In general, IT managers react to situations to increase their efficiency, but they are proactive to ensure changes to systems are more effective.

For technology support to be improved by following this planning cycle, technicians and IT professional must be given responsibility for building solutions in a manner that is secure and compatible with existing technology, and teachers must use the systems in the way the technicians designed them, but decisions regarding the sufficiency of the solutions depend on teachers’ perceptions of the solutions, especially when interpreted in light of technology acceptance.

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Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Technology planning cycle (adapted from Ackerman, 2017)

The planning cycle provides efficacious IT managers with a procedure to follow to ensure support decisions and actions are fully implemented before they are deemed a success or a failure. When the planning cycle is combined with the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) (Venktesh et al., 2003), and feedback is given in terms of effort expectancy and performance expectancy, then systems and the repairs made to them are more likely to be judged effective by users.