Student Technology Help Desk Teaches Students Valuable Skills
The inception of the student technology help desk at the Gateway School District was born out of necessity . As the district moved to being one-toone — meaning every student had a device — there was a need to get devices prepared for the upcoming school year . That ’ s when Jennifer Czyzewski and Jesse Smillie — two IT employees in the district — had a thought : students might enjoy helping out .
“ Kids are very capable of doing this work ,” said Czyzewski .
Years ago , that started the student technology help desk program at Gateway High School . And then , four years ago , the middle school program started . A program that began with a simple realization has morphed into something much more complex . Through the help desk program , students get on the job experience working with technology , helping prepare devices and fixing them when there ’ s an issue . In turn , students have become a crucial factor in the district ’ s relationship with technology , ensuring that their fellow students and teachers have properly functioning technology at all times .
“ We have a great group of kids that seem to love a challenge and it ’ s remarkable seeing them work through these issues trying to figure it out themselves ,” said Monica Kraykovic , the technology help desk supervisor at Gateway Middle School . “ And they all know if they can ’ t figure it out on their own , they have every resource available to them to help them find a solution .”
In total , the district has 28 students working for the help desk — 14 at the Middle School and 14 at the High School .
Students take shifts throughout the school day , working periods when anyone can come down for a walk-in visit to the help desk . They ’ re also on call , should a teacher need assistance in their classroom — perhaps with their Apple TV ’ s , for example , which students help set up at the Middle School over the summer .
Over the summer , the help desk works two days a week . In total , they processed 1550 iPads and 300 chromebooks this summer , both refurbishing old devices , preparing some devices for technology buy back through AGiRepair , and setting up and registering new devices . They also helped hand out devices during 5th and 9th grade orientation .
During the school year , students meet bi-monthly with technology related presenters , like Apple and AGiRepair , a Pennsylvania company that specializes in device protection , repair , buyback & deployment .
At the Middle School , students largely are tasked with fixing and finding devices , Kraykovic said , while at the High School , students might engage with more intensive repairs , like taking apart and fixing chromebooks .
“ We try to help them as quickly and efficiently as possible so they can get back to class and get back to learning ,” Kraykovic said .
In addition to getting hands-on experience , students learn important work-related skills , like effectively talking to a customer . Students have a provided script to use when taking calls .
“ Talking is a life skill that we ’ re always going to need , regardless of where we ’ re at in life ,” said Kraykovic . ateway
GATEWAY SCHOOL DISTRICT
26 MONROEVILLE