Week 4: Thinking out loud - Helpdesk Prioritization

Now that I completed my action research project, I feel as though I need to implement this practice on a regular routine.  While I do love to create the videos for my staff, I do feel that I may fall short in terms of time.

In my opinion, most of our staff are literate in their day-to-day technology usage.  Many times, they rely on the helpdesk system because the issue is not necessarily an issue that they have but one that is campus-wide.  While these types of issues are frustrating for the end user, it is equally frustrating for the IT staff.

When a campus wide issue is reported, we tend to stop what we are doing and tackle the issue that is causing the greatest impact.  We know that if the problem does not get corrected quickly, other issues tend to happen such as individuals troubleshooting issues that are not related and changing settings that should not be touched.

Troubleshooting skills and technology alternatives seem to an area where I would like to spend some of my focus with staff technology development.  With everyone relying on technology for their routine day to day tasks, troubleshooting skills are a necessity for everyone.

Week 4: Publishing/Leadership Project (part 2)

As we wind down the final month of a year long Action Research Project, I have come to the conclusion that my findings may be of interest to other independent school IT staff.

I am going to look into presenting my Action Research Project at the annual Florida Council of Independent Schools.  FCIS holds an annual conference that allows faculty, staff, and administrators to get together for fellowship and learning.

After brainstorming and presenting with fellow Full Sail classmates David Hotler, Ginny Holm, and Michael George in a private iChat session, I am finally confident that my final presentation is shaping up.  We took turns last evening presenting our projects and provided comments on each others performance and project content.

The following comments were made during concerning my project which I used to tweak my presentation which will be submitted next month.:

David Hotler says: Dennis I like the premise of this study.  I am always frustrated when I ask a question to the IT department and get back a form letter that hardly addresses the issue.  Here you decided to try and make the help desk more proactive and solve issues before teachers come to you in frustration.  Your research showed that most teachers prefer  videos over text responses but that you had some problems with teacher participation in the study.  It sounds as if you starting doing Action Research about one thing and as your research went on you realized the true root of the problem and shifted laterally.  This is great!  Actually this is what Action Research is all about!  Great work identifying that your research may have come up just a little short but only because you need more time to refocus and attack the problem from a new angle.  

The only failure here would be you giving up.  Stay active in this topic because it is immediately useful to you and your work environment.  You stated that you have 65 teachers for every one IT worker.  That is a large enough gap that you should be vigilant in further pursuing this issue.  Ideas for next time include providing only videos to start and gauge the reactions of teachers.  Also, build the survey right into the video with a link.  Last, house everything in a common place so that teachers can finish one video and see something like: “and teachers who found this helpful also watched...”  That way you can further advance preventative maintenance and increase productivity with technology.

Michael George says: Dennis great job on the project.  It is clear from your help desk call metrics that your training resources are being used by the staff.  I found it interesting that teachers preferred video instructions to text instructions.  Many of the older teachers I know like to print instructions out and follow them line by line.   I think making your self-help videos available your staff increased technology adoption and utilization at your school.   I see you struggled to get teachers to participate in your project.  At my school I am an ITL (technology leader) and I had a similar problem and I asked my principal if I could use 50% of a PD day to devote to “playing and learning” with technology.  All the teachers brought their laptops and we had a very productive afternoon.  I have found that teachers just need some unstructured playtime to absorb and understand the tool then ask questions.  Most teachers are willing to try new things if given time to work on it.  It is very difficult to change “habits of mind” and human nature is to revert back to the old methods that are well understood and provide a high degree of comfort.  For many, technology can be quite abstract and complex.

Week 4: Comment #2 - David Hotler

Friend and classmate, David Hotler, diverges his thoughts on how Zander's book Art of Possibility relates to him personally.  The following is an excerpt from his blog entry:

The last practice is what I think I do best. I constantly find myself in the position of networker or connector. I seems to know someone who can do something for every situation in my life. Need an oil change, I know a guy. Need a banner, I know a guy. In some situations I am simply the missing piece to a more complicated puzzle and I am always will to fit myself into that puzzle. Someone needs a logo design, I can do it or I know a guy. You need a sign made, you want a website, show me how to photoshop this into that. These things to me are easy and readily available in my life but to others it is a large obstacle on the path of their quest in life. I help them pass it and they are able to move on. I have not done this for others many times but have had this done to me many times. In some situations I meet with someone that seems to be on my path for longer than just one favor and we begin to work in trade together. I do this and you do that. We become a team of strengths that work towards something bigger. 

This is how I responded on his blog:

David, this truly depicts the old adage, "it's not what you know, but who you know".  This is a perfect example of being a lifelong learner.  Sometimes we think we need to know how to do everything in order to be considered a lifelong learner; however, in my opinion knowing where to find the answers is the epitome of lifelong learning.

Life is bigger than just you and me.  Things get done because we are all cogs in the gears that we call life.

Week 4: Comment #1 - Annie Woodle

Annie Woodle recently posted the following entry about keeping her spark glowing:

In the Art of Possibility Chapter 9 lighting the Spark stuck with me this week. I like the idea of enrolling people into your enthusiasm. This chapter inspired me to purchase the book for the teacher I worked with during my Action Research Project. She was excited to read it during summer break…and I thought wouldn’t it be great if it helped her in some way to see all the possibilities that pass through her classroom each semester. During my visit there was a lot of forgetting Rule Number 6, and seeing scarcity instead of abundance…not only from her, but also from myself…so I had thoughts about the possibilities of sharing the book. The section about doing things in person was good for me to read as well…Sometimes I try to do to many things from distance communication. When I was trying to secure a classroom to do my ARP in I emailed a lot, and called…but then I showed up…and it seemed like after I met people in person things just took off from there. This is a great read, just to remind us to look up and stay open.

I responded to Annie with the following:


We seem to be on the same wavelength!  This chapter is one that I particularly liked this week and blogged about it too.  Chapter 6 and Chapter 9 have similar themes where we can control our anxiety by first off not taking things too seriously (Chapter 6) and by enrolling people to share our spark (Chapter 9).

This book has been an enlightening book that should be a required read for anyone who is entering the real world after college.  Your persistence with communicating via email then following up in person sure does sound a lot like Chapter 6 as well (some things are best done in person).

Keep up the great work!

Week 4 Reading: Art of Possibility Chapters 9 - 12

This week's reading encompassed a chapter titled Lighting a Spark.  Zander explains that during the Middle Ages, people would carry a metal box with a smoldering cinder that they would perpetually feed kindling so that when the time arose, a fire could be build with ease.

This "spark" was then used in the analogy that we can carry the spark and be infectious by allowing those around us to be use this spark to create possibilities.

I have often called my own children pet names such as sparky because they create and bring out possibilities that I just do not see as possible for someone their age.  Whether it is my lack of memory for 30 years ago or the fact that today's kids are growing up much faster than we did at that age, I am amazed at the possibilities and accomplishments that they create and perform.

Just this week, my first grade son's math worksheets included multiplication and division.  Yes.  Division in 1st grade.  I did not even know this was possible.  I hope he continues to carry that proverbial smoldering cinder and continues to create sparks as his educational journey progresses!

Week 4: Think out loud - Professional Development

At a recent administrative meeting, the topic of professional development was brought up and I quickly inserted my two cents on the fact that our staff needed more technical training.

Receptive to the requiring staff to complete a certain amount of technology training, our headmaster charged me with coming up with some technology training topics.  While much of my training may revolve around technical training in terms of troubleshooting and how to use networked resources, I will also focus time on how to make technology work for them.

Technology is a tool that should be used to make your job simpler.  When I hear someone say that they will do something manually (aka pen and paper) because it is easier, I stop them and tell them that a few hours of aggravation up front may save them a life time of tedious manual work.

Week 4: Publishing/Leadership Project (part 1)

I know that I am not the IT administrator who is feeling the burden of understaffing.  Understaffing in the IT departments have escalated over the past decade.  Back in 1990's and early 2000's it was common to have a 1:35 ratio of IT staff to workstations.  Now most schools are closer to a 100:1 ratio or higher.

This increase is justifiable in most cases as networks and operation systems have become more stable and the need to make desk-side visits are minimized by using remote access software.  However, the part that does cause the most frustration is now many more people are wanting and demanding new technologies at which the IT department is burdened with supporting them.

Most new technologies now rely on the very same network and network nodes that we [as IT people] have acclimated to the 100:1 ratio.  This reliance on the network and it's resources are underlying issues that can take up more time and energies than the original 100 nodes assigned to one person.

Over the years, I have attended several conferences that specifically target the IT staff for schools. The Florida Council of Independent School offers breakout rooms for IT staff.   The Lausanne Laptop Institute offers special tracks designed for IT specialist.

Given the nature of my action research project, either of these two venues would be a great place to present my findings.