Build Those Relationships!

When I started in my current position nine years ago, I walked into a school where tech support was mainly delivered through remote access and staff seldom if ever saw support personnel in their room. Coming from an education background rather than a computer science background and having garnered my PC skills from tinkering rather than study, I didn’t even know how to use the remote access software but did know how to walk. I would show up in the room to work on the computer or other tech equipment. Teachers were shocked! “You actually came to my room?” was often what I heard and so began the relationship building. It started with simple desktop repairs but while in the room, I would ask what they were using technology for and offer a suggestion or two. Soon those who didn’t mind taking a risk were becoming mentors for those who were timid when using technology. It was great working together with teachers, building our community and watching everyone move forward in their comfort levels. Fast-forward to today and our school is a 1:1 environment with teachers and students utilizing cloud-based tools to share their classroom activities with a global audience and each other. I love it when I hear a teacher tell students, “I don’t know exactly how this works but somebody in the room can figure it out!” Look how far we’ve come because we were all willing to teach each other!