If you follow technology trends, you’ve likely been watching what’s been happening in schools.

Teachers around the world have moved light years beyond standing in front of blackboards talking to passive students.

Many classrooms now use computer projectors to display any sort of information that the teacher can pull up online, and students can follow along with mobile devices. Though the subject matter and curriculum is (mostly) the same, the methods of learning and interacting have changed dramatically.

What’s also changing is the tech behind the scenes: how staff communicates with students and with each other. How to keep the hardware and software running.

One solution that some schools or school districts are looking at is a centralized help desk. Here, trained technicians can make fixes to different classrooms, and minimize down time.

Here are some reasons why a help desk and help desk software makes sense.

1. It lets the teachers keep teaching. Rather than interrupting a day’s lesson to fix a malfunctioning device, he or she can call the office or create an email help desk request. Depending on the size of the territory and amount of requests coming in, they can receive a personalized or automated response.
2. It saves money. If the help desk staff is always needed, it makes financial sense to have them be part of the staff, rather than consulting with an outside contractor, who would likely charge more for emergencies and also have to balance demand from other clients.
3. It helps techs make smarter decisions. A manager/dispatcher may be able to send out the whole team where they’re needed based on help tickets. Larger districts can send work orders to techs on their mobile devices.
4. It can help everyone stay current. Along with day-to-day maintenance, a help desk team can make sure all software updates are made, licenses are renewed, and any domains properly acquired.
5. It can help education. A help desk team can offer training opportunities to teachers, perhaps an occasional note with a few tips. Techs can also create a knowledge base with basic troubleshooting strategies that anyone can try before calling for help. There could be a separate one for IT that detail more technical info like the history of fixes to a particular machine or classroom.
6. Multiple device support. A well-assembled tech team is familiar with all sorts of products that could be in use in the school system – Windows or Mac desktops or iOS or Android devices may be used everywhere from classrooms to maintenance.
7. The ability to generate reports. School administrators love their paperwork. So a help desk can provide secure data about amount and types of repairs or any capital recommendations during budget time.

Overall, schools and school districts don’t want down time for any classroom devices, so creating a help desk that can prioritize and make quick repairs is a smart idea. For suggestions how to create a help desk solution for your school system, please contact GroupLink.