Tech+Support

We've all been there, having to deal with tech support. It seems to be one of the single most complained-about issues in education and business today. When making decisions about the type of support your school or district will use, there are many things to consider. Among them:


 * Ability level of your end users
 * Amount of money allocated for technology
 * Distance that potential users or support persons will have to travel for on-site support
 * Type of network you are building
 * Platform and type of network you are building: Mac vs PC, wireless vs wired
 * Ongoing maintenance and supply needs



Tech Support will be one of the key ongoing costs in the development of your infrastructure. Whether you choose to support your school or district in house, or use an outsourced company, this is a decision that must be made after a great deal of research.



Benefits of a Blended Support System
Many districts are moving to a blended support system where a portion of their support, such as end-user support, is done in-house, and other services such as hardware and software installations, system upgrades, account creation and backups are done using an outside organization. Ultimately the decision of how you choose to handle tech support will be determined by the committee and the financial situation. If you plan to implement this type of tech support system it is imperative that you establish a group of Technology Mentors, preferably tech-savvy teachers, who can help other teachers navigate the waters of technology until they become comfortable.

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