OETC News

So What Now? As 2021 dawns, CIOs and educational technologists face a landscape less settled than ever. OETC’s Spotlight is a series of stories, interviews and Q&As highlighting news and ideas from across the Northwest EdTech community. Two days before Christmas, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown surprised educators across the state by announcing that schools should …

The Seven Stages of 2020 — Spotlight 2020 Year in Review —CIOs and the edtech community reflect on a year like no other On the sixth day of 2020, a small item ran in the Asia Pacific section of the New York Times, headed ‘China Grapples With Mystery Pneumonia-Like Illness’. 59 patients were experiencing “high …

Voters Say Yes to EdTech Across Oregon and Washington, approved bonds and levies give CIOs new opportunities School districts across Oregon and Washington have much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving, as voters overwhelmingly approved bonds and levies on November’s ballot. In Oregon, voters approved 14 of the 17 bonds and levies on the ballot, …

True Tales of Tech Horror Behold, the four categories of spooky technology happenings! After exhaustive research that took upwards of three afternoons, the OETC Technology Horror Department has been able to successfully categorize terrifying stories into four principal buckets: The Meltdown: Think thousands of Tier 1 tickets, or a server that is literally underwater. The …

Tech in the Time of Wildfires How the CIOs most affected by the September wildfires are dealing with yet another 2020 disruption The first sign came when the power started flickering on and off. The second was the smoke a few minutes later, creeping over the southern horizon. Then, two hours later, an urgent message …

‘I don’t think we’ll return this year to in-person learning,’ CIOs and IT share predictions on the coming school year An OETC survey of dozens of CIOS, IT staff and teachers across the northwest reveals vast differences in timelines and attitudes, apprehension and the biggest concerns they face. With nearly 70 respondents, the survey provides …

“It is in times of crisis when you most need innovation.” A conversation with CoSN CEO Keith Krueger CoSN CEO Keith Krueger has been advocating for technology in the classroom for three decades — and watched a revolution happen overnight. He discussed the greatest opportunities he sees in this time of crisis, the problems that …

The Triumphs of 2020 CIOs reflect back on their proudest accomplishments and moments from a spring that no one saw coming Since schools closed in March, tech departments across the country faced challenges unimaginable only a month prior. We asked OETC members what accomplishments they were most proud of during a spring that no one …

Six things they wish they’d known Veteran CIOs talk about how to survive a budget cut, strategic communication and the advice they would give to their past selves As school districts across the country begin to make major budget cuts, technology directors face the same old challenge: how do we fight for ourselves when most …

A New World of Student Privacy With closures come countless questions on student privacy and compliance— but few answers The question posed by Portland Public Schools teachers was a simple, but startling one: In a time of school closures and videoconferencing, how closely should they be scrutinizing each student’s home and surroundings? Don Wolff, the …

“It’s never going to be the same” Hardship, frustration, and the surprising opportunities found in K-12’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. At 12:30 a.m. last Monday, Tricia George’s cell phone buzzed. Annoyed that she’d forgotten to silence it before she went to sleep, she got up to check the text message. Then, instead of …