December 2005 — Technology Integration
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Keeping Tech Support In Step With Technology
Maintaining a thriving, leading-edge learning environment requires a reliable base of tech support. But building that base is no easy task.
FACED WITH THE CRITICAL task of making sure her computers are kept up and running,
Christine Lorenz,
technology director of St. Matthew’s Parish School in Pacific
Palisades, CA, was
being stretched too thin. In addition
to managing the technology program, training teachers in technology, and teaching
classes, she was the one and only member of the tech support team. Trying to
do it all herself just wasn’t working anymore, so Lorenz hired two part-time
tech support staffers to focus on network administration and hardware support
for the 200-plus computers and various systems on the school’s campus.
The hiring of staffers, however, has turned out not to be a cure-all, Lorenz now says. Problems unique to K-12 tech support remain. “We found that although their main role is technical, the support staffers still needed special training in working with students and teachers,” Lorenz says. “What works in business isn’t always right for schools. One of my main roles is constantly questioning our decisions regarding technology to make sure that educational needs always come first.”
Lorenz’s dilemma is common in schools, where tech support quality doesn’t always stay in step with the expansion of technology. A report from the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), Taking TCO to the Classroom (classroomtco.cosn.org/checklist/support.html), reveals that schools have low levels of tech support compared to businesses of comparable size. Most businesses strive to have one on-site tech support person for every 50 computer users; however, many schools have fewer than one full-time tech support person for every 500 computer users. Making matters even worse (as it did in Lorenz’s case), the people responsible for providing support in schools often have other duties that may include teaching or fixing any technology—e-mail, phones, networks, and security systems.
Still, you don’t need a stack of research to know that a malfunctioning computer is a major impediment to technology integration. And studies do show that lack of timely technology support is a major factor in limiting a teacher’s use of technology in the classroom. The question is how to solve that problem, given the decreasing budgets and increasing complexity of technology found in schools.
