When I neared the end of the teaching portion of my career, personal computers were just finding their way into schools. They started in offices and made their way slowly into classrooms. Apple, PET, Texas Instrument, Atari and several other brands made their way onto the hi-tech scene . Life, as we knew it, changed in what seemed like a blink of an eye. As soon as you ordered a computer, and had it delivered, it was out-dated. No one could keep up with the industry and they still can’t.
Early in my tenure as an elementary school principal, we ordered our first computers for our school. They were purchased to help modernize information collection for library inventory. They quickly became a novelty for teachers and students when we played the “frog game”. A frog, created by the game developer by connecting “dots”, sprang to life, flipped out its tongue, and captured little “dot” flies. You simply pushed a single key on the keyboard. Just as amazing as the game, was the computer’s ability to keep score for multiple players. The “wave of the future” had arrived in Addison.
One day we had a technical problem and I needed to contact our technology representative in his Ann Arbor office. I called the office and my exchange with the woman who answered the phone went something like this.
“Hello, this is Bob Tebo from Addison Elementary School. Is Mr. Smith available?”
“No, I’m sorry Mr. Tebo. Mr. Smith is out of the office today.”
“Well, could I leave a message for him?”
“No, I’m sorry, our voicemail system is down.”
“I would still like to leave a message.”
“Perhaps you didn’t hear me. Our voicemail system is not operational today.”
“Oh, I see. Do you have a piece of paper and a pencil or pen?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Great! Now I’m going to talk. You write everything that I say on that piece of paper. When Mr. Smith comes to work, you give him the paper with the writing on it. Could you do that?”
“Oh! Oh! Yes! I could do that.”
“Great! That will be my message.”
Not all hi-tech innovations where as wonderful as they were advertised to be. You must have a backup plan and your employees must understand your plan.
Several years later, when I became superintendent of Britton-Macon, one of the first projects that we undertook was the construction of a new library. The district facilities had been allowed to decline for several years due to budget constraints. I found a way to secure the necessary funds to build a library without adding a financial burden to the district. I was convinced that if we were able to bring about a positive change to the learning environment the community would support additional steps forward.
The library design included a new computer lab, teacher’s work room, and a technology hub. We knew that technology was going to expand and we wanted to be prepared for the growth. The technology hub would house all of our “head end” equipment including: video distribution, telephone, modems, routers, servers, and any other gizmo or gadget that might make it to the hi-tech scene. This was our first attempt at being visionary.
Shortly after the library was completed, Michigan State University offered to supply our district with its first “server”. I really didn’t know the purpose of a server, but since Michigan State was offering one for free (including the maintenance) to several districts throughout the state, I expected that they must be important. Turns out I was correct.
In order to accept the gift, I had to have board approval. (I made sure that I understood its function before seeking board support.) The board was very happy that this gift had been offered, but before the resolution to accept the gift was passed, one of the board members had a question. Dennis was a successful businessman and the most tech savvy of the group. Whatever Dennis supported when it came to technology, the other board members would follow. His question was simple.
“How large is the server?”
(Thank heaven I knew the answer.) “One gig.”
“Oh my goodness! We’ll never use a gig! That’s HUGE!”
The board accepted the gift but “never” came more quickly than anyone could imagine.