Though there tends to be an assumption that today's students are "digital natives", students actually come to class with varying levels of foundational technology skills. While some are creating YouTube Channels or building robots, others may struggle with the basics, such as effectively searching for information online. Student inequities in comfort and knowledge levels can create barriers to adoption and use.
To help support those skills, last week over 30 LMS classroom and office aide students were trained as iPad Techsperts. Teachers John Dungan and Brian Mendoza, alongside IT Technology Analyst Shauna Winchester and Educational Technology Director Dr. Laura Spencer taught the students troubleshooting strategies for the iPads so that students can get quick help from their peers instead of having to wait for IT, or interrupt a teacher lesson to ask for assistance. Students learned how to fix wifi connectivity problems; loss of audio; glitchy apps, and much more.
No Techsperts? No Problem!
Even without Techsperts on a school site, teachers can encourage students to offer their skills and expertise. Before assigning work on a new app or tech tool, allowing students 15-20 minutes to explore without any directions at all about the app/tech tool. It gives teachers an opportunity to see what students are drawn to and what some of the struggles might be. By providing time for students to work with each other to become familiar with the functionality, students won't be bogged down by the logistics of things like figuring out what each button does. Usually, students will eagerly share what they have found with each other, potentially freeing teachers up to focus on content rather than technology support. As an extension activity, teachers can ask an "expert" to create a Tips Sheet or How-To video to share with the class.
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