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Put students to work: tips for a successful laptop program

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Saved by 14 people (0 private), first by anonymouse user on 2009-05-27


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Committee work: Students contribute their unique points of view and technology expertise. Prepare students for committee work by practicing brainstorming and using consensus language.

Internet safety and AUPs: Include students in the process of reviewing school acceptable use policies (AUPs) so the participating students will be better able to articulate the new rules to their peers.

Security: Offer trained students a gradually-increasing access level between a normal student and a teacher.  Avoid putting even trained students in an awkward position by allowing unnecessary access.

Student support for teachers: Students can work one-on-one with teachers to help integrate technology into planned lessons, can help provide floating classroom support, or even present the lesson themselves.

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Committee work: Students contribute their unique points of view and technology expertise. Prepare students for committee work by practicing brainstorming and using consensus language.

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Integrate students with professional tech support: Some IT staff will not want to deal with students. In these cases, student tech support should focus on support for teachers using classroom technology.

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Create student tech support teams:

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Students must be trained in tech support, customer service and follow up.

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Create student tech support teams:
• Students must be trained in tech support, customer service and follow up.
• To encourage strong relationships, put one teacher or staff person in charge of the program.
• Have veteran students recruit and mentor incoming students.
• If students are prohibited from accessing computers, there are still many problems to fix, like answering selected help desk requests or providing support for simple problems.
• Professional IT staff should be involved in decisions about the boundaries of what students can do and have access to.
• Administration and IT staff must agree on  expectations for student behavior, escalation procedures, and the role of adult mentors.
• Student tech support should be tracked and monitored. GenYES provides an online tool specifically for this purpose.
• Students can earn certifications from your laptop manufacturer. Some schools have created a certified help desk that generates rebates from the manufacturer for doing their own repairs.
• In elementary and middle school, focus on teacher classroom support rather than formal tech support.

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