Thanks for the follow-up on my comments from yesterday. I’d like to give you some feedback on today’s post “Ideal Support Structure for VC”. Speaking from an ESC perspective again I think you nailed it right on the head with the importance of the roles played by a curriculum integration specialist and technical support person.

Because of the complexity and differences in those two roles its very rare to find someone who can play in both camps. Here in Southeastern Indiana I handle the Curriculum Integration role and though we have a Technical Support person for our region he isn’t stepping up and providing that type of support. I try and compensate for that by working with the Indiana video network engineer and my equipment product representatives to help our clients IT departments work through any technical details.

My struggle is that sometimes I must convince or persuade the school’s IT Dept. to work with either the state network engineer or equipment rep and since I work at a regional level and have no direct authority over what individual school personnel do other than as a consultant or vendor it can be difficult and time-consuming for me to work through the school’s bureaucracy to get the vital technical/network support work accomplished. For example, I have one school district that held its first video conference this past Spring eight years after they recieved their first piece of VC equipment. A member of their staff actually told me that for a time the technology coordinator had the unit (a working unit mine you) locked up in a closet and refused to have anyone bring it out and attempt to use it.

I don’t wish to air my dirty laundry here I just wanted to offer my experience in support of your “Ideal Support Structure for VC”. Like you I believe that the structure you described is ultimately what is needed to support technology in the classroom. If people can in their organizations make that happen great please do, if you don’t have the power to influence within your organization you’ll need to look for ways that you can somehow provide that level of support from multiple sources. Again Janine thanks for the follow-up I love the work you do it helps me provide a level of customer service that I couldn’t provide working in isolation.