Octorara Area School District has started a student-run IT Help Desk, dropping wait times for both students and staff who need help with technology issues, reports staff for The Daily Local News.
Not only does the help desk fix tech problems, but it also provides the students that are in the Career and Technical Education program experience. The students gain valuable hands-on experience by repairing Chromebooks and troubleshooting classroom technology problems.
“The best way to practice fixing technology is by experience,” said Mark Peticca, Director of the CTE program. “Every problem is different and unique, so we wanted to give the students as much hands-on work as possible. What better way than to provide a place where their peers and teachers can come to get technology fixed?”
The Help Desk program currently has 11 students, ranging from 10th – 12th grade. The seniors take on leadership positions, which include visiting the teacher’s classrooms to diagnose a tech problem. The Help Desk rotates through shift work, giving every student a chance to learn.
“The program allows students to expand our learning because we can see how the Chromebooks actually work,” said Mason Troop, a computer technology student. “Being able to actually do this work is giving us tools we can use when we are part of the workforce.”
Also, as a part of the computer technology curriculum, the students learn coding, networking, customer service practices, and more.
Read more about Octorara School District’s student-run IT Help Desk at The Daily Local News.
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