All right, everybody, welcome back for another Deep Dive
with me, your host.
And me, the expert.
Yeah, so today we're gonna be talking about
repair protocols.
Yes, exactly, specifically in educational technology.
Right.
So...
Big topic.
It is a big topic, and this is something that like,
you know, most people probably don't think about
unless they've been in the classroom
and actually had to deal with it firsthand.
Right.
Which luckily I have not.
Yeah, well, I think we can all relate to technology
not working when we need it to, right?
Oh, absolutely, yeah.
Like...
That's a universal experience.
Yeah, and I mean, especially when you're trying
to teach a class full of kids or students or whatever,
and something goes wrong with the technology.
Oh my gosh.
It's like the biggest nightmare.
Yeah, it's like the walls are closing in.
Yeah.
So,
so to help us like kind of go through this topic,
we're gonna be looking at an article called,
Cold Closure in hashtag edtechrepairs,
which is a fantastic title.
Yes, very catchy.
And it's from this blog called hackscience.education,
which...
I love that name.
It's a great name.
It sounds very official.
Yeah.
And it was posted March 9th, 2018 by Gary Ackerman.
Okay.
So,
and yeah, like I was saying earlier,
this is something that like everybody can relate to
on some level.
Right.
So hopefully, you know, you'll find this interesting.
Absolutely.
So let's imagine like, you're a teacher, right?
And you're in the middle of class
and you're about to start this really cool interactive lesson
using the smart board.
Okay. Yeah. I've been there.
Right. And suddenly like the smart board just decides to like,
Take a break.
Yeah. Like it's just not working.
Yeah.
So you're like, oh crap, what do I do?
So, you know, you submit a help ticket to the IT department.
Right. Of course. That's the first step.
Yeah. You're like, okay.
Well, hopefully it'll get this fixed soon.
Fingers crossed it.
Right. And so you wait and you wait.
And then finally you get a notification that's like,
your ticket has been closed.
Oh.
Great. It's fixed.
But then you go back to the smart board
and it's still not working.
Oh no.
And it turns out that nobody actually like checked with you
to make sure that it was actually fixed.
They just like,
Close the ticket.
Close the ticket. Yeah.
So that's what's called a cold closure.
Yeah. Exactly.
That's cold closure.
And like this is a huge problem in educational technology.
Oh yeah. Definitely.
Because it can really like erode trust
between the teachers and the IT department.
Absolutely.
Because like, imagine you're that teacher.
You spent all this time prepping
for this really cool interactive lesson.
And then the smart board doesn't work
and you submit a help ticket
and then you think it's fixed, but it's not.
Right.
Like you're going to be so frustrated.
Of course you're going to start to doubt the system.
Yeah. And not only are you going to doubt the technology
itself, but you're also going to doubt the people
who are supposed to be supporting you.
Exactly.
And so then like the next time you want to try something new
with technology, you're going to be hesitant
because you're like, what if it doesn't work?
And then I had to go through this whole rigmarole again.
Yeah. You're not going to feel comfortable.
Right. And ultimately like who suffers the most from that?
The students.
The students. Exactly.
They're missing out on those cool learning experiences.
Yeah. So like it's not just about a broken smart board.
It's about the impact on teaching and learning.
Absolutely.
Now on the other hand,
you have something called direct closure.
Okay.
Which is where a technician actually like talks to,
to the teacher to confirm that the issue
is actually resolved.
Right. So it's not just closing the ticket in the system.
It's actually confirming with the person
that they can now use the technology.
Exactly. And ideally this would be done in person.
Like the technician would actually come to your classroom
and like see it to themselves.
See it to themselves.
Yeah. And like make sure that everything's working.
But like, obviously that's not always possible.
A phone call or even a voicemail?
Yeah. A phone call or even a voicemail
would be like a good alternative.
Right.
And I think like even just that small act of communication
can go a long way in building trust and confidence.
Oh, absolutely.
Because if you're a teacher and you hear from the technician,
like, hey, I fixed the smart board.
Let me know if it doesn't work.
Like you're going to feel so much more empowered
to actually use the technology.
Exactly.
You're going to feel like someone's got your back.
Right.
And you're not going to be as worried about it
like failing in the middle of a lesson.
Right. Because you know who to contact.
Exactly.
And they've already shown that they care
about fixing the problem.
Yeah. And another benefit of direct closure
is that it can help to prevent those miscommunications
that sometimes happen with help tickets.
Oh, yeah. I can see that.
Because like sometimes a teacher might describe a problem
one way in the help ticket.
Right.
But then the technician might interpret it a different way.
Right.
And so they end up fixing something
that wasn't actually broken or like.
Or they missed the real issue.
Yeah. Exactly.
It's like a game of telephone.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah.
Things get lost in translation.
Right.
And so with direct closure, you can avoid all of that
because the technician is actually
talking to the teacher and they can clarify
any misunderstandings.
Right. They can make sure they're on the same page.
Exactly.
And so like even though direct closure
might seem less efficient for technicians in the short term.
Because they have to take that extra time.
Right.
But in the long run, it can actually save time and resources.
I see.
Because there will be fewer repeat repairs,
less back and forth communication,
and ultimately more time for teachers
to focus on what matters, which is teaching.
Makes sense.
So yeah, it's like a win-win situation for everybody.
I like it.
Now, the article also talks about some
of the challenges of ticketing systems in general.
Right.
Because like ticketing systems are very common in IT departments.
Oh yeah.
They're pretty much ubiquitous.
Right.
But sometimes they can feel more like a hindrance than a help.
I could see that.
Especially for teachers who rely so heavily on technology.
Which is pretty much all from these days.
Yeah, exactly.
Like imagine you're a teacher and you submit a help ticket
and then you get an automated confirmation email.
And then you get another email when the technician starts
working your ticket.
And then another email when they update the ticket.
And then another email when they close the ticket.
Wow, that's a lot of emails.
It is a lot of emails.
And like if you have multiple devices that need support,
which a lot of teachers do, then your inbox can quickly
become like a nightmare.
Oh yeah, you're constantly getting bombarded with messages.
Exactly.
And so it's no wonder that teachers talk about inbox fatigue.
Right.
You just start to tune out the messages
because there are so many of them.
Yeah, and it becomes really hard to like sift through all
of those messages and find the important ones.
Right.
Like if you're looking for that crucial repair update
and it's buried under a bunch of automated notifications.
Exactly.
That's stressful.
Yeah.
And it's inefficient.
Absolutely.
So it sounds like we need a more balanced approach, right?
I think so.
Like ticketing systems definitely have their place.
Right.
They're useful for tracking requests and making sure
that nothing falls through the cracks.
Right.
But direct communication is also vital,
especially in education.
Where time is so precious.
Absolutely.
And so like maybe the solution is
to like redesign ticketing systems
so that they're more user friendly.
I like that idea.
Yeah.
Like maybe you could have personalized notification
settings or like clear subject lines that signal urgency
or maybe even a system that prioritizes direct closure
for those really critical can't wait issues.
Right.
Like if the projector in the auditorium is broken,
you have a presentation in an hour.
Exactly.
I need to be fixed.
Yes, Sam.
Yeah.
And so like the key is to make technology work for teachers,
not against them.
Absolutely.
Technology should be a tool to support teaching and learning,
not a source of stress and frustration.
Exactly.
So yeah, I think the big takeaway here
is that clear direct communication is key.
I agree.
Especially when it comes to tech support in schools.
Right.
Because it builds trust, ensures that repairs are actually
done right, and ultimately saves everyone time and frustration.
Yeah.
And that in turn allows teachers to focus on what they do best.
Which is creating, engaging, and effective learning
experiences for their students.
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Well, thank you.
So before we wrap up, I just wanted
to leave you with a question to think about.
OK.
How could communication between tech support and users
be improved in your workplace or even just in your daily life?
That's a good question.
Yeah, like what strategies could you
use to make sure that problems are truly solved
and that everyone is on the same page?
Something to ponder.
Yeah, just something to think about.
All right, so that's it for this deep dive.
Thanks for listening.
See you next time.
Bye.