Sarah Beach & Becky Barrington, South Devon College: Tech Buddies

Tech Buddies

South Devon College

And part of an LSIS Collaboration in Technology Project

What are Tech Buddies?

A peer support role

to help others in using

technology to support learning

A voluntary role for

staff and students

A range of roles

available depending on

the level of support on

offer

Not everyone can be expert at everything!

The idea is that the Tech Buddy programme will help everyone to get the help they want when they want it.

Extending the support available (not just support services).

Types of Tech Buddy• Quick Help An entry into the Tech Buddy database on

using software or equipment. This could be anything from a single element of a piece of software or full support on using some equipment.

• Guides The Tech Buddy chooses a specific, or multiple, area of interest.

Types of Tech Buddy• Classroom (local) Supporting own teachers or

colleagues in the classroom or in preparation for lessons (such as using the voting pads or presenting a YouTube video).

• Classroom (c/c) Offering support to other teachers in the classroom or in preparation for lessons.

• Coach Providing 1-1 training for other students on the course (eg: how to present essay etc).

• Deliver Deliver ‘how to’s’ to the class (eg: how to create pie-charts for the presentation of data, putting together presentations, using forums on Moodle, using the interactive whiteboard etc).

Levels of Tech BuddyAdvise

• Research Providing research support to a member of teaching staff (such as finding useful websites).

• Developer Creation of support resources, development of Moodle courses or develop new ideas to support and develop the use of technology.

• Advisor Advise on training required, new ideas for using technology.

• Reporter Reporting faults to IT helpdesk.

Areas of Expertise – 1 or many!Moodle

IT skills

Multimedia

iPads, smartphones etc

Interactive whiteboards

Creation of support materialsSocial networking

Technical support with using equipment

Specific software

Anything else!

Benefits… to using support from a Tech Buddy

• Get help with the one thing you are stuck with• Get tailored support for your needs• Develop skills• Live support database

Benefits to being a Tech Buddy

• Provide work experience (good for student CVs or personal career progression)

• Improve experience of working others (and formal peer support and mentoring looks great on CVs or personal statements!)

• Develop own IT skills as well as the IT skills of others.

Appointing Tech Buddies

• No recruitment criteria other than desire to support others!

• Self-regulation initially – may develop over time• Initially sign up to the database – reviewed by LTRS

team member for content

• We also need to formalise how tech buddy activity is captured

Getting started… Tech Buddy Database

• Database of people who are willing to support others• Main focus on ‘quick help’ but people can choose an

alternative role.• Staff and students can add entries into the database –

approved by LTRS team member• Database can be searched when support is needed

Adding an entry to the database

Promotion to date

• Initial promotion and testing of database with specific college teams (such as administrators)

• Tech Buddy day on 23rd May• Promoting core services (Computer Services and

Learning Resources) and Tech Buddies• We spoke to 71 people in total. 44 of these were

students interested in the Tech Buddy programme and 17 interested staff. We signed up 4 staff into the database and 2 students! The rest all enquired about the services that LTRS and CAS can offer.

Common QueriesI haven’t got time to help lots of people! If I put

my name into the database, will I have to do lots of training?

• You can choose the level of support you want to give • You could sign up just to give help on one element of

technology rather than full software packages • You can opt in and out at any time depending on

your workloads / capacity to support others

Common Queries

What if someone asks me a question I don’t know the answer to?

• Don’t worry too much and just be honest! No-one knows everything!! Someone else in the database might know the answer.

• If you encounter this you can amend your database entry to refine the areas you can and can’t support.

Common Queries

I know a bit about some technology but I am not an expert!

• That’s OK! You are the sort of person we want in the database.

• When you add your details you can say the specific areas you are happy to support.

The Tech Buddy database is about informal peer support not a database of experts.

We only need 1 person with the answer someone else needs in order for the database to be useful!

Next Steps

• Focus on classroom buddies• Teaching staff to identify member of course to be the

class tech buddy• Training provided for core..– Interactive whiteboards– Moodle

• Specific training could also be offered (eg: if a teacher wants to use more multimedia)

Questions?