Three Before IT: Turning a Teaching Strategy into Technology Support

Purpose & objective

Purpose:
The focus for this session will be to equip educators with fundamental troubleshooting skills to handle everyday tech hiccups. It will cover a structured approach to identify common technology problems, explore quick fixes, and even determine when an issue needs IT intervention. By improving the clarity of communication between end-users and IT staff, the session aims to make the troubleshooting process more efficient for everyone involved. The session aims to build teacher capacity and confidence in simple technology troubleshooting.

Educational or Infrastructure Challenge/Situation:
As we digitize our world, technology plays a vital role in education. Its widespread use also leads to frequent technical issues. We’ve all had a moment when files are lost, or presentations won’t load and there’s a class of students in front of us. These problems often become roadblocks in learning and teaching, and the immediate solution usually involves calling or emailing IT support. Sadly, some teachers just give up or won’t learn for fear of things not working. The session aims to shift this dynamic by offering quick and easy troubleshooting skills. Learning these skills not only alleviates the workload on IT departments but also empowers individuals to feel more confident and in control of their tech environments. By reducing the fear factor associated with tech issues, we can encourage a more resilient and adaptive approach to technology use.

Objectives:
1. Why and Why?: Assess reasons and methodology for teaching technology troubleshooting.
2. District Data: Evaluate and reflect on experiences from Central Square School District and Fulton City School District as a model for your own district approaches.
3. Basic Troubleshooting: Evaluate minor issues to test common quick fixes.
4. Knowing How to Ask for Help: Attendees will be able to write help desk tickets more effectively.

Instructional Strategies and Resources:
-Google Slides covering computer literacy, troubleshooting methods, and help desk best practices.
-Videos explaining basic fundamentals of computer structure
-Technology troubleshooting scenarios for interactive application.
-Template and examples for writing help desk tickets.
-Tips for delivering effective technology training and support on the topic of troubleshooting
-Tips for IT Technicians on how they can improve communication with teachers and students by explaining the problem, reassuring the staff member, and providing directions for what to do if it happens again

Evidence of Success:
-IT awareness of common issues can lead to proactive notifications when issues can be avoided
-59% of parent self-resolved after self-prompted troubleshooting questions
-Increase in quality of details provided in help desk tickets (per IT staff feedback)
-Reduction in basic/repeated questions to IT department

Outline

Agenda and Objectives:
1. Why and Why? (Time: 10 minutes)
Assess reasons and methodology for teaching technology troubleshooting.
Process: This will include discussions of attendee roles and building discussion on problems they have encountered or viewed in their own district. We’ll discuss likely reasons for why people are afraid of trying to fix anything and dispel any myths.

2. District Data (Time: 15 minutes)
Evaluate and reflect on experiences from Central Square School District and Fulton City School District as a model for your own district approaches.
Process: There will be a discussion of our districts’ approach through this initiative. We will include reflection on our successes, areas with room for improvement, and unintended consequences. The audience will be able to ask questions on our own experiences or relate them to situations they’ve encountered in their own workplace.

3. Basic Troubleshooting (Time: 25 minutes)
Evaluate minor issues to test common quick fixes.
Process: After a presentation of common technology problems and solutions, the audience will be presented with a series of scenarios they will troubleshoot likely situations they or others in their district may face, from a computer freezing up to knowing how to identify and change their default browser. They will complete these in small groups based on where they are sitting in the audience.

4. Knowing How to Ask for Help (Time: 10 minutes)
Attendees will be able to write help desk tickets more effectively.
Process: Attendees will be able to understand what information is helpful for their technology team. They will be able to read and identify error codes and be able to take screenshots. We will end with writing mock tickets to fix the prior troubleshooting scenarios. Having the right words makes a world of difference when trying to problem solve!

Supporting research

Brinkerhoff, J. (2006). Effects of a long-duration, professional development academy on technology skills, computer self-efficacy, and technology integration beliefs and practices. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 39(1), 22-43. [Link: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ768867.pdf]

Dogan, S., Dogan, N.A., & Celik, I. (2021). Teachers’ skills to integrate technology in education: Two path models explaining instructional and application software use. Educational Information Technology, 26, 1311–1332. doi:10.1007/s10639-020-10310-4 [Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10310-4]

Henriksen, D., Creely, E., Henderson, M., et al. (2021). Creativity and technology in teaching and learning: a literature review of the uneasy space of implementation. Education Tech Research Dev, 69, 2091–2108. doi:10.1007/s11423-020-09912-z [Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09912-z]

Johnson, A. M., Jacovina, M. E., Russell, D. G., & Soto, C. M. (2016). Challenges and solutions when using technologies in the classroom. [Link: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED577147.pdf]

Kopcha, T. J. (2012). Teachers' perceptions of the barriers to technology integration and practices with technology under situated professional development. Computers & Education, 59(4), 1109-1121. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.04.013 [Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131512001352]

Morrison-Love, D. (2022). Technological problem solving: an investigation of differences associated with levels of task success. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 32, 1725–1753. doi:10.1007/s10798-021-09675-5 [Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-021-09675-5]