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Building and Supporting Diverse Technology Team – S2E12

Building and Supporting Diverse Technology Team - S2E12

In our previous episode of the CoSN Podcast, we discussed the changes taking place within school districts in response to, and also to embrace, trends regarding remote and hybrid work environments. Today, we’re continuing to speak about the ways in which technology departments are evolving their goals, aligning staffing objectives to those overall goals, and developing new approaches to build modern teams. Specifically, we’re discussing the process of building and supporting diverse technology teams. Our expert guests give their perspectives on the ways in which districts benefit from diverse technology teams, some of the recruitment blind spots they’ve uncovered and addressed, how competition from other industries has influenced and improved hiring and retention efforts, how they’ve evolved the way candidates’ experience is evaluated, and more.

Today’s guests are technology leaders from large school districts around the country: Kara Thorstenson, Director of Libraries and Instructional Technology for Chicago Public Schools; Lori Jones, Assistant Superintendent for Technology Services in the Northside Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas; and Lisa Spencer, Director of Instructional Technology & Support for Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland. They chat about the elements of building and supporting a diverse technology team – the why and the how.

This is the second of three episodes aligned to CoSN’s Large District Great Minds Series, in which leaders from large school districts across the country are engaging in meaningful peer conversations, and working alongside CoSN to incubate and drive innovative practices designed to solve districts’ unique challenges as we move into the new era of hybrid learning.

The Large Districts Great Minds Series is sponsored by Amazon Web Services, Classlink, Clever, ContentKeeper Technologies, ENA and CatchOn, FileWave, and Google.

Join the Conversation on Diverse Technology

Engage further in the discussion on Twitter Follow: @MsTLHLMC @NISDLori @laspaseo @CoSN @edCircuit

The CoSN Podcast is produced in partnership with edCircuit.

To learn more about CoSN, visit www.cosn.org.

EdCircuit Staff: Author

edCircuit is a mission-based organization entirely focused on the K-20 EdTech Industry and emPowering the voices that can provide guidance and expertise in facilitating the appropriate usage of digital technology in education. Our goal is to elevate the voices of today’s innovative thought leaders and edtech experts. Subscribe to receive notifications in your inbox

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Kara Thorstenson: Author

Kara is the Director of Digital Learning and Libraries for Chicago Public Schools, working in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Digital Learning. She has been a school librarian, instructional technology coach and district leader serving grades PreK-12.

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Lisa Spencer: Author

Lisa Spencer is the Director of Instructional Technology & Support at Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland. She taught elementary and special education for 15 years and moved to the central office teaching teachers and administrators the use of technology tools for productivity and instructional delivery. She currently manages and oversees a team of 18 instructional technologists, the district’s Help Desk, two Technology Distribution Centers, and staff managing 80 field technicians. She is passionate about reaching all students and using technology to change the way we approach learning.

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Lori Jones: Author

Lori Jones, who has more than 18 years of technology leadership experience, joined the NISD Technology Services Department in 2002 as the Assistant Director of Technology Support. She became Director of Integrated Infrastructure Services in 2004, and was selected to serve as Assistant Superintendent for Technology Services in February 2012.

As Assistant Superintendent for Technology Services, Jones oversees and directs more than 150 employees in the Technology Training and Development, Information and Infrastructure Services and Academic, Library and Textbook Services departments.

Prior to coming to NISD, Jones served with the U.S. Air Force as a Cyberspace Officer from 1993-2002, and continues to serve part-time in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

Originally from Arlington, Texas, Jones received her bachelor’s in Psychology from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas in 1991, her master’s in Kinesiology from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley in 1993, and her master’s in Information Technology Management from the Colorado Technical University in Colorado Springs in 2007.

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EdCircuit Staff and Kara Thorstenson and Lisa Spencer and Lori Jones

edCircuit is a mission-based organization entirely focused on the K-20 EdTech Industry and emPowering the voices that can provide guidance and expertise in facilitating the appropriate usage of digital technology in education. Our goal is to elevate the voices of today’s innovative thought leaders and edtech experts. Subscribe to receive notifications in your inbox