I think the biggest take away that I got out of this course was the ability to look at the bigger picture. This was definitely a challenge for me initially, but also a huge area of growth by the end of the class. As educational leaders, it is so important for us to look outside of just our classrooms or schools and learn how to analyze information about an organization on a grander scale. Enterprise Architecture is a framework that allows educational leaders to do just that, in a very organized and systematic way. To briefly explain this idea I would say that enterprise architecture requires leaders to analyze the current state of the organization and determine the desired future state. By doing this, EA allows you to then create plans and systems for achieving these long term goals. (Of course this has to be broken down by the sections of EA, the programs and applications within each section, and the EA bricks involved).
Another critical discovery that I learned through this course was where and how to access information. We were asked to conduct research and really dig deep in order to find important information required to fulfill the different pieces of the EA framework. I also learned who some of the key players were and how to get information from them. My organization was different than many of my peers, so information that should have been public and online, in my case, was not. This required me to go out of my comfort zone and make phone calls, arrange interviews, and reach out to the key players within my organization. Learning the "who, what, and where" for finding critical information was definitely a big discovery for me.
Finally, I learned how much I value communication and organization. There is so much going on within the big business of education, that sometimes as teachers we just go with the flow and trust what is happening. Now I know that as an educational leader, I can be more informed on the current and desired state of my organization and I can have an impact on the decisions being made. Two assignments that taught me a lot about communication and organization were the module 8 assignment where we were required to take inventory of the applications in use, and evaluate their use, necessity, cost benefit, etc. Another was module 11 where we created an EA "brick" that outlined future plans for each application and rationale for change. Both of these lessons taught me tools for organizing information and presenting it in an way that offered data and rationale to stakeholders. Part of being an educational leader is learning how to manage change. Knowing how to organize and communicate information in a systematic way and share it with stakeholders is critical. I highly value communication and transparency from my leaders, and his course solidified this belief and reinforced my ability to utilize these practices.
Ultimately, I learned that by successfully implementing an enterprise architecture, an organization should be able to eliminate gaps and overlaps, run more efficiently and cost effectively, and systematically work toward reaching its goals.
Another critical discovery that I learned through this course was where and how to access information. We were asked to conduct research and really dig deep in order to find important information required to fulfill the different pieces of the EA framework. I also learned who some of the key players were and how to get information from them. My organization was different than many of my peers, so information that should have been public and online, in my case, was not. This required me to go out of my comfort zone and make phone calls, arrange interviews, and reach out to the key players within my organization. Learning the "who, what, and where" for finding critical information was definitely a big discovery for me.
Finally, I learned how much I value communication and organization. There is so much going on within the big business of education, that sometimes as teachers we just go with the flow and trust what is happening. Now I know that as an educational leader, I can be more informed on the current and desired state of my organization and I can have an impact on the decisions being made. Two assignments that taught me a lot about communication and organization were the module 8 assignment where we were required to take inventory of the applications in use, and evaluate their use, necessity, cost benefit, etc. Another was module 11 where we created an EA "brick" that outlined future plans for each application and rationale for change. Both of these lessons taught me tools for organizing information and presenting it in an way that offered data and rationale to stakeholders. Part of being an educational leader is learning how to manage change. Knowing how to organize and communicate information in a systematic way and share it with stakeholders is critical. I highly value communication and transparency from my leaders, and his course solidified this belief and reinforced my ability to utilize these practices.
Ultimately, I learned that by successfully implementing an enterprise architecture, an organization should be able to eliminate gaps and overlaps, run more efficiently and cost effectively, and systematically work toward reaching its goals.