Chief information officers (CIOs) face many challenges in their ever-changing and evolving roles. In my research, I read an article titled, Models of Technology Management at the Community College: The Role of the Chief Information Officer. The article provided insights on the challenges CIOs face in higher education and how they begin to navigate these challenges. As stated by (Armstrong & Spaniol, 2011), the challenges of the ever-expanding role of the CIO encompass not only the selection and introduction of new systems and the development and delivery of end-user training for those new systems but also the need for the IT department to keep pace with the new technologies while replacing obsolete ones efficiently. The role of chief information officers as stated in the article continues to expand and will continue as technology changes and adapts. CIOs are responsible for aligning budgets with strategic plans, aligning projects with district visions, implementing, training, and maintaining technologies devices, hardware, and networks. As well as provide professional development, researching and staying up to date with innovative technology, policies, and protecting system data.
The article also points out an interesting challenge that many may not consider when considering the role of a CIO. As stated by (Armstrong & Spaniol, 2011), as people become more comfortable with consumer technology in the home, they expect that same comfort and the associated personal flexibility in the workplace, and they expect to be able to use their personal devices at work. I found this point to be interesting. That workers expect the same level of comfort and flexibility with internet capabilities as at home. Personally, this image makes me laugh out loud as I consider colleagues wanting the same comfort they experience at home (feet kicked up, enjoying a Netflix marathon). However, I know this is not what the authors of this article meant, and yet it’s a little terrifying. When I think of the building in which I am currently employed, teachers have access to the wifi password. There has been no set expectation of what this access is granted for. I know many of my colleagues use the district’s wifi on their own personal devices at school including their cell phones from which they browse and post on many social media platforms and check personal emails. The article states that this can cause threats to the integrity of the systems and information, making the job of securing things a nightmare. It goes on to discuss the need for policies and expectations to help control these challenges. As discussed in class today, some districts are moving towards Bring Your Own Device to school and the many challenges this can cause for a CIO and CTO. In a reflection of this, our students are often allowed to bring in devices for use for classroom incentives such as Technology Parties. This has made me uneasy in the past, and through research and classroom discussions I can see why. Students have access to the District’s wifi password from their personal devices that can leave us unprotected to any number of threats. I believe my district has a lot of catching up to do in terms of technology policies and procedures.
