Proactive Technical Support

Teachers and students want technology that is always going to work when they need to use it. If it doesn't work they lose trust in the technology and often are less willing to use technology for the same purpose next time.

How do we as Technology Support Specialists create a system that never has failing technology?

There is not a magic answer for this and quite frankly technology that never fails is not possible. The very nature of technology implies that at some point it will stop working. Although, there is a light bulb that is still actively working and has never burnt out in 107 years.

The key I have found in technical support in schools is to be proactive and not reactive. This does not imply that we become mind readers and have automatic connections to the technology within our schools. In my experience there are a few things that can be done to shift technical support from being reactive to proactive.

Essentially, fix or minimize the problem before it occurs to maximize trust and reliance on the technology available within our schools.

1. Use Alerts: Printers, servers, and applications can send out automatic alerts to one person or a distrubtion list if services go down or supplies are necessary.

a. Printers, for example can be configured on individual units or via server utilities configured to send out automatic email messages when paper is low, toner is required, or a jam has occurred. Prior to receiving a complaint from a teacher the unit can be brought back to full service.

b. Laptops, computers, and servers can be configured with pre-failure alerts, which essentially send out communications if the hard drive is ready to fail, the processor is failing, or the unit is not performing up to configured standards.

c. Services or databases that shut off can be configured to alert network managers of a shut down of services. For example, one of my staff members wrote a small program to automatically check five of our most critical servers every five seconds to verify the databases and server applications are still running. If any database or server application fails to respond an automatic email is sent to three members of the ICT Department. In just a few short days we have had one alert and the problem resolved prior to any complaints of an outage by a teacher.

2. Communication: If and when critical services go down, be proactive and communciate to the key stakeholders a problem exist. Don't wait for phone calls or email messages with requests to fix a problem. Let the key stakeholders know there is a problem and that it is being worked on. Teachers, secretaries, and administrators appreciate being kept informed. Create a voicemail message and out of office email response that is activated at times services are down.

3. Mine the Data:Analyze technical support requests to identify trends over time. Use this data to identify areas of professional development on items that are frequently reported and that can be solved by more informed staff members. Learning how to use an application correctly can often avert simple mistakes that are reported for technical support. Use your analysis to create help documents, video tutorials, and frequently asked questions for your website. Let your faculty and students know where to find these resources.

These are just a few ideas that can be implemented to shift technology support from a reactive to a proactive response. I have been responsible for technology support within two school districts for the past nine years and have learned this lesson time and time again- Faculty and students want open, honest, and quick responses to their problem.

I hope you have enjoyed and learned from my initial blog on 21st Century Connections. Please post a comment on Proactive Technical Support and return for my next posting.

Robert Miller
Director of Information and Communication Technologies
New Canaan Public Schools