I have to scream and shout about my newest project for my district: The Pod Squad! This is my idea for a student help desk to help with my district's 1:1 rollout of student devices in 2 years. I originally heard about this idea on a Podcast by Google Teacher Tribe (link to the episode notes). Step 1 of this grand idea is going to be introducing the Pod Squad as a club. Clubs at my school meet about twice a month throughout the school year, so students won't get pulled from any other classes to be part of this. After researching how other districts have implemented similar programs, (here is a link to the Mooresville School District's Student Help Desk and to the Chrome Squad in Royse City, TX) I am thinking about polling incoming Freshmen, Sophomores, and possibly Juniors (still thinking about this one) via a Google Form to gauge interest in the club. Then I think I will vet the students with input from various teachers including our computer course teacher. Once students have been chosen for the club, we will discuss the big ideas for our Pod Squad: what we want to achieve, what student expectations will be, etc. My plan is to create a credited class (Step 2) that the Pod Squad students could take to help prepare them for the Student Help Desk initiative. I am thinking there would be 2 levels to this class; the 1st level will help provide basic knowledge, understanding of the role, provide student help desk reference, help with rollout of physical devices, and inventory troubleshooting paperwork; the 2nd level will be made up of students that have proceeded through the first 2 Steps (Club & Level 1) and are ready to help in a more hands-on basis. During a designated block, students will work at the actual Student Help Desk (wherever that may be). They will be tasked with heading out on Tech Calls to various teachers (and eventually buildings) to assist when problems crop up. If the problem is an easy fix, they will take care of it on-site; if not, they will retrieve a replacement, where possible, and take care of either repairing or triaging the damage for the Tech Department. I am also tossing around the idea of offering Grad Requirement hours for working after school at the Help Desk. This is several steps down the road, so I don't have much thought on this aspect. But, hey, a girl can dream, right?!
Have you heard of any district "Pod Squads" like this? Do you help run one? I would love to hear your comments below!
Emily