Community College tech support professionals deal with solving mysteries on a daily basis. Some calls and emails can be an open-and-shut case (Have you turned it off and on?), but others need some detective work (No, that program doesn’t normally do that).
Tech professionals all have different specializations, for example, some specialize in the institution’s learning management system, while others have hardware expertise. If someone resides under the information or innovation and technology umbrella, it does not always mean they know all technology. But when students and instructors have problems and issues, they are not looking for a flow chart of the college’s division — they are just looking for help.
This article is part of a biweekly series provided by the Instructional Technology Council, an affiliated council of the American Association of Community Colleges
Tech support professionals should carefully collect information to minimize bouncing students and instructors from different teams to diminish the frustration of a situation. When taking on a challenging support issue there are three steps in solving the mystery: listen, ask questions and collaborate.
Listen
Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot may have been a chatty character, but when he got to the core of a case, he insisted that listening and observing were more important to a case than circumstantial evidence. Good listening skills would lead him to the evidence that solved the case.
Many technology support professionals will see the same issues over and over, so when a problem is explained they may be able to diagnose this issue after only a few words. It can be easy to jump to the first solution and wrap up the support ticket, but that’s not always the case. Don’t make assumptions and listen. Not only will listening carefully and thoughtfully bring out details you may have overlooked, but the person you are helping will feel more supported.
Keep in mind, many technical issues can be commonplace or even preventable to ed tech support professionals because they see it on a daily basis, but this is a new problem or a surprise to the user. Keeping up on issues and problems is a best practice for any field, so ed tech teams will know which software updates cause which issues, but not everyone with a computer knows that. Listening to the whole story will help determine whether this is a common issue, or you may be able to pick up on some anomaly that would expose the issue is bigger or stranger than what you initially thought. Either way, the user will feel more comfortable knowing someone is actively and thoughtfully supporting them through their technical chaos.
Ask questions
When trouble shooting, questions are vital — no matter how simple they seem. A technology support professional should not guess the skill level or process of someone seeking help. Even Columbo would have “one more thing” to ask when investigating a case. And, also like Colombo, don’t be afraid to ask redundant or basic questions. You need to ask the right questions to understand their perspective.
For example, the common computer user will not know the differences between browsers, as most people just click something that connects them to the internet. Also, if a student says they can’t find their class online, you may assume they are in the learning management system, but they may be on another page they think would link to their courses. If something on a particular college site or tool is not working for them, ask them about their process. Have the user walk you through their approach to shed light on where they may have made a wrong turn. If you still feel like you are missing a clue to the mystery, ask them to hop on a web conferencing call like Zoom or MS Teams (or stop in for a visit) so they can share their screen so you can observe and solve the case.
Collaborate
If you don’t have the answer or something seems to be missing, always work with your team. Even the infamous Sherlock Holmes had Dr. Watson. While there are tons of videos, articles and websites that provide support and training, sometimes experience with those odd one-off situations can help you find a solution.
Don’t exhaust yourself with solving the mystery on your own. If you get stumped, you and the user will get more frustrated. This will prolong solving the case and cause more stress. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from your team or members of other support teams. They will provide a less stressed set of second eyes to the problem and a new perspective.
For example, a learning management system expert may be able to show students how to access their live online sessions for a synchronous remote course, but if there is suddenly a sound issue, someone with more experience in computer hardware may be able to point out where that particular device hides the microphone permissions. Working together will help resolve issues faster and reduce confusion for both the ed tech support professional and the student or instructor.
Use your little grey cells
There is always a lot of urgency and stress involved with troubleshooting technology issues. Users will blame devices or themselves and have perhaps spent an excessive amount of time trying to fix the problem or just dealing with it. Support teams are “meeting” the problem after it has boiled over and the user is already distressed. Taking the time to listen, ask questions and collaborate will help dissipate that anxiety; they are finally working with someone who will solve their mystery.
So, the next time a user in distress drops a case on the desk of an ed tech support professional, grab the pipe and the violin, throw on a trench coat and groom your mustaches — it’s time to crack the case.
This article is based on a presentation by Dr. Brooke Litten and Michael Nieckoski, an online learning instructional designer at Rowan College of South Jersey, originally presented at ITC’s virtual fall conference in 2022.
