How do you fix a system-wide problem that requires multiple stakeholders and vast amounts of consultation and decision-making?
‘Start with the end in mind’.
American author Mr Stephen Covey penned this helpful life lesson in highly-acclaimed book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. It means that we need to conceptualise the perfect destination before we take the first step in the journey. This article lays out that destination, the rationale for the journey and the first steps along the way as we begin the path to a new and improved ICT ‘ecosystem’ for SCEA schools and the SCEA Head Office.
The story so far:
• Our ICT systems will be changing – and the result will be far superior to what we currently have in our SCEA schools.
• We had a problem that we needed to solve. Namely, we had a proliferation of different devices within our schools that could not be supported effectively and efficiently by the ICT team: PC products of every variety (Dell, Acer, etc), Google Chromebooks, and Apple products.
• We had no way of optimising servicing or procurement due to the vast requirements that come from running a plethora of ICT types and systems.
• One very early step was to commission experts at RTG Consultancy to talk to all of our schools and create a report to understand the complexities of our system.
• We also talked to other like-minded schools in the eastern states (St Philips in Newcastle, CEM in New South Wales and CCM in Brisbane) about the situation.
• We created a SCEA-wide reference group to tackle the problem, with representatives from your school and the SCEA office who had ICT expertise.
The SCEA-wide representatives included:
-Mr Mike Bolan (Beechboro Christian School)
-Mr Matt Dufty (Ellenbrook Christian College)
-Mrs Coralie Nancarrow (Kalamunda Christian School)
-Mr Michael Chan (Mundaring Christian College)
-Mr Tim Oates (Mundaring Christian College)
– Mr Andrew Twine (Swan Christian College)
– Mr Paul Beacham (Southern Hills Christian College)
– Mrs Rachael Pendal (Kalamunda Christian School)
– Ms Jill Stockill (Northshore Christian Grammar School)
– Mr David Hunter (Swan Christian College)
– Ms Viv Woermann (Southern Hills Christian College)
• This team looked into a wide range of suitability factors pertaining to the three options that were available for SCEA moving forward: Apple, Microsoft, and Chromebook.
Below are the 15 criteria that were applied to asses the suitability of the devices, and the overall winner was Apple, with its suite of iPads, Macbooks and other iOS devices. As you will see from the diagram below, Apple was the preferred option for SCEA schools.
• This SCEA-wide ICT group visited two WA schools that are running exclusively on the Apple system to ensure that it could work effectively in a school environment.
We are delighted to advise that Apple will be the preferred supplier for SCEA schools in the long term.
But what does that mean for us in SCEA schools?
In 3-5 years’ time, our ultimate goal is to have Apple products in all of our schools and the SCEA Head Office.
Our service options will be specialised, our ability to purchase and off-board devices will increase, and our knowledge base will increase.
But all of these benefits will not happen overnight!
Don’t panic!
In 2025, we will be concentrating on training and upskilling all members of staff in Apple devices.
The table below outlines the device specifications that will apply across schools:
• The SCEA ICT team will now be working with your school leaders to prepare implementation strategies in order to reach the final destination in 3-5 years from now.
• The teacher or leader at your school who formed part of the SCEA-wide ICT Ecosystem team can take you through any of the parts of this journey that you may have questions about.
• Each implementation program will include how and when the changes will be communicated to all SCEA parents so they can make preparations moving forward.
• We will be providing progress updates for you in early 2025 about the rollout of these devices.
We have the plans in place, and the end result will allow you and I to undertake our work in Christian schools more thoroughly to ensure our students and families enjoy an excellent educational experience in our schools moving forward.
