Meet Mike Richardson, K-12 MAC Member

Q: Where did you go to college?
A: Michigan Technological University

Q: What is your favorite food?
A: I like everything from Italian to Chinese; basically everything.

Q: What is the most fulfilling experience you've had?
A: Raising my kids.

Q: What is the toughest job experience you've had?
A: Dealing with employees!

Q: If you could meet anyone, alive or dead, who would it be?
A: Albert Einstein.

Q: What are your hobbies?
A: Family stuff, taking my kids on vacation, outdoor activities, and just enjoying life.

Q: What is something few people know about you?
A: I played the tuba for nine or ten years.

Q: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: Hawaii

Q: What major steps can K12 schools take to stay updated with advancing technology?
A: Schools need to have awareness and knowledge. They should try to stay connected with other organizations and schools both regionally and across the state, because you can't afford to go out and buy everything on your own.

Q: What do you see as the future of technology for K12 schools, especially within the next 5 years?
A: Bandwidth and connectivity will continue to grow more and more, while web-based and cloud-based media are going to be huge. With the current economy the way it is, I don't see things changing rapidly, but I do see things continuing to grow and continuing to get better.

Q: How can collaboration be especially beneficial for K12 schools?
A: Collaboration is huge. It allows us to work more efficiently, share services, and share best practices; it's an enabler. It allows us to create better economies of scale in order to save time and money. There's just too much for one person to keep up with at this point, you need a team and colleagues to stay informed.

Q: Are there any new methods of collaboration that can be or will be useful to K12 schools?
A: Technology is constantly evolving, and new technology enables us to use improved ways of collaborating with one another. Services like Google Apps, instant messenger and Skype are now being used constantly, and technologies are evolving around those infrastructure pieces.

Q: What are the most common technological difficulties that K12 schools are currently facing?
A: Schools all over the state are currently facing problems with connectivity and funding. As an institution, we are forced to fund technology on the basis of basic needs instead of wants. We can afford some of what we want, but we can never afford as many services as we'd like to be able to provide and support. By doing things together we can be more cost efficient and effective, providing more resources for education.

Q: Why should K12 organizations use Merit Services instead of other commercial service providers?
A: Merit is a non-profit that is educationally based. Their staff and vision are designed to help schools, not to make money. There's a built-in community for collaboration, sharing and moving forward for increased bandwidth and economies of scale.

Q: Which of Merit Services are most useful for K12 schools?
A: Bandwidth is the base component and allows for reliable, high-speed Internet capacity. The expertise that Merit brings with that bandwidth and infrastructure is what makes its network most valuable to educationally based institutions.