6 You Are Not Tech Support
While you want to invite student feedback, you cannot solve every problem with the technology. No matter how much it may feel like it some days, keep reminding yourself that you are not tech support. Introducing a new technology to your students does require you to help them navigate the process — but it doesn’t require you to do so on your own. Most educational technology companies — even the start ups — provide help desks and user portals, and many of them offer tech support 24/7. Find out how students can access these resources and post the information to your course site or syllabus. You certainly don’t want to completely abandon students to the vagaries of a faceless help desk, but there are simple matters that are best solved by sending students to the experts.
If you are adopting technology from a more traditional publisher or company, there may also be a sales representative or technology specialist specifically assigned to your school who can serve as an additional resource. If so, consider escalating any issues through them. Finally, consider what sort of support your college’s internal IT department might be able to provide. Can they be on hand for the onboarding process? Is there anything you may need them to do with regard to internet connections or permissions in how the technology interfaces with the college’s internal systems? They can be a valuable resource so don’t hesitate to get in touch and see what they are able to offer.
You may need to be ready to step in and advocate for your students if they are not getting the help they need through the appropriate channels, but if you can outsource the minutiae of support to someone who knows the technology much more intimately, you will save significant bandwidth for other important things.