April 1996 — Features

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Tips & Tricks for K-12 Educational LANs

PHILIP HESS, Computer Technician, North Hills School District, Pittsburgh, Pa.

College courses are often out of a working family's price range, although community colleges sometimes offer low-cost classes in popular software programs. Instruction at computer stores is often just as expensive. And all of those options are likely to have full enrollment. Local schools have a unique ability to offer instruction to families of students at affordable rates. Depending on your district, computer facilities and ambition, you could have a self-supporting computer program by offering computer classes at night in your labs.

Have an onsite technical person if possible. Look for that unique combination of people skills and computer expertise. If you can't find both, go with the people skills first as these are more difficult to come by. Many districts cannot fund a teaching position to run the lab, so by hiring a technician or network manager they get the onsite support for teachers and students. Ensure everyone is comfortable with the setup. Include the teachers' union, if there is one, in discussions. Everyone should know that this person is there to provide support, not to do the teacher's job. In the best arrangements of this type, the computer person gets a lot of support from the administration. Strive to achieve a peer-to-peer relationship between the computer support person and teachers.

The best people for this position, in my opinion, are computer-savvy graduate students. Undergraduate students are too close in age to students at middle or high schools, and frequently will have classes that prevent them from being in the lab for part of a day. Graduate students, on the other hand, often have classes after school hours or on weekends.

All prospective lab technicians should go through a screening process and receive clearance from the state police or FBI. In Pennsylvania this is known as Act 33/Act 34 clearance. Remember that these people will be working with your students and should behave accordingly.

Finally, a telephone in the lab is essential for reaching vendors' customer support staffs and for modem communications. If your school or district is concerned about costs, have the phone line restricted to prevent calling unauthorized numbers. With a phone in every lab, technicians in other buildings in your school district can help one another out.