Student technology support means different things to different people. To gain support and credibility for your program, it is important to define specific goals based on school district needs and objectives. For example, if your district has moved to a server-based application delivery system, there is no need to have a student tech team update software on desktops. Instructional networks and technology resources should be separate from administrative resources, and students should never have access to student records, HR records, email systems or other confidential data systems or networks.

Blue Valley USD 229 in Overland, Kansas, has had a Technology Support Practicum as part of the high school curriculum since June 2000. The idea came out of a school board technology committee meeting as a way to provide students with more learning activities. A team was formed with representatives from the IT and curriculum and instruction departments as well as technology integration specialists, teachers, and students.

According to Jane Sak, technology integrations specialist at Blue Valley North High School: “We got together to write standards, goals, and objectives of the program. We looked at the district’s goals and tried to address those learner goals in the curriculum.”

Does the existing curriculum address the needs of students interested in technology? Are there areas for academic enrichment? Are there standards related to service learning, career development, technology, or communication skills that technology leadership might address? Does the school have work-based learning requirements? Are students engaged in ad hoc projects with teachers to stretch their technical skills? Could these be formalized and integrated into existing classes or a new class? How have other districts met the needs of these students? Is there a standards-based technology support or leadership curriculum available for your school district?

What technology isn’t being used and why? Where do regular breakdowns occur? How can students be appropriately involved? Are you planning a large deployment of new equipment or a system-wide upgrade that will require testing and training? Do you need teacher mentoring support or tutorials for new systems, peripherals, or other equipment?

Once you know why you need the program, draft goals and identify how you will measure them. The goal or goals of the program will shape student involvement, activities, and the staff needed to support it.

Sample Goal: Provide students who are interested in technology with authentic learning and leadership opportunities.

Measures:

• Participation
• Attendance
• Performance

Sample Goal: Improve the use of technology for instruction by providing teachers with more frequent and available support.

Measures:

• Use of laptop carts, PDAs, computer labs, or online resources
• Pre and post surveys

Sample Goal: Improve the reliability and performance of the IT infrastructure with coordinated first level response, monitoring, and maintenance.

Measures:

• Resolution time for service requests
• Help desk activity logs
• Knowledge base development

Sample Goal: Expand the use of technology by students for learning and teachers for instruction through mentoring, workshops, and tutorials.

Measures:

• Use of resources
• Pre and post school year surveys
• Attendance and evaluations

Sample Goal: Create a student think tank to solve problems and explore educational applications of new and existing technologies.

Measures:

• Knowledge base development
• Problem resolution
• Technology plan improvement