Once you have developed a strong student tech team foundation, the possibilities are endless. Empowering students as technology support leaders builds necessary skills and competencies that contribute to a life of well-being, fulfillment, and economic security, while supporting the foundational element of Consistent Access, one of the five domains in Digital Promise’s K-12 Digital Transformation Framework that supports sustainable digital transformation for your broader community.
There are many roles that a student can take to demonstrate leadership through technology support for their student tech team. Explore potential roles below. How will you support your own students in developing technology leadership that meets the unique interests and needs of your community?
Support technology skill-building by designing systems that elevate students as the first line of defense for Tier 1 troubleshooting in the building.
“Each tech team member is equipped with a badge and has a group of teachers that they are responsible for assisting. When a non-tech team student has an issue with their Chromebook, they are to inform their teacher, who then asks their tech team advisor for advice.” – AA’Niyah Lewis, Terry High School (MS) student
Empower students to function as campaign managers by co-designing the development, implementation, and evaluation of digital citizenship initiatives.
Build students’ public speaking skills by co-creating professional development opportunities that support digital competency for your broader school community.
“At home they tell me I’m like the tech fairy, so I’m wanting to learn how to actually do it so I can help my family with it.” – Chloe, Jasper County Middle School (GA) student
Instill confidence in students by strengthening their ability to take the lead with their peers in device care, promoting 21st-century skill-building within their broader community.
Facilitate internship-style experience by coordinating hands-on training and learning that empowers students to perform time-saving device repairs.
“Being on the tech team has helped me stay updated with all the skills and learning [for] how to use my iPad on a better level and learning how to actually experience what it needs to be used for or what it could be used for.” – Central Middle School (MO) student
Equip students to support strong device management practices by enabling them to implement daily loaner device systems that support always-available device access.
Introducing different digital leader roles helps students discover their interests while creating strong, consistent systems for digital access. To give students a well-rounded experience, consider rotating roles so they can lead in different areas. Use these role cards to support the process.
Once you have determined the roles that your tech team will take on, ensure that they have the support needed to function effectively. Consider what training they may need, and coordinate any necessary learning. Co-designing opportunities in partnership with the students ensures that you are devoting limited resources and time to learning experiences that will have the greatest impact. You can use this template to support you in your planning.
Memphis School of Excellence, a Verizon Innovative Learning School, is dedicated to equipping students with cutting-edge technical skills. They demonstrated this commitment by hosting a network-wide student tech team workshop that brought 43 students ages 11-18 together to engage in hands-on training around software troubleshooting, hardware device repair, and weekly device maintenance processes critical to their schools’ tech infrastructure. These activities were designed to build both technical proficiency and problem-solving skills. Additionally, attendees from all three schools heard from a keynote speaker from a local computer science education nonprofit who inspired students by emphasizing the importance of pre-career preparation and continuous skill development.
“Let’s say a keyboard key falls off, and my tech team is like, ‘Hey, it’s only one key, we don’t really have to send it off, we can try to figure out how to fix this.’… It’s helping them build those skills that they can use in any part of life, whether they decide to take a career in technology and IT or just move onto anything else,” says Demetri Walker, IT Technician at Memphis School of Excellence.
Ask vendors and community partners to train your student tech team. You can use this email template to get started.
Interested in getting started now? Download this Student Tech Team Toolkit 1-pager for editable links to helpful resources found in the Student Tech Team Toolkit.
