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Program Philosophy

The goal of Rockets Help Desk is to leverage student curiosity and creativity for the benefit of the Reading Public Schools community.  Students strive to solve real world problems in a school setting and create media that teaches the public.  The Rockets Help Desk team consists of teacher and student members that engender an attitude of trust and encouragement amongst one another. Each RHD team member will produce/create material on a weekly basis.  The timelines of certain projects must be discussed with the advisor and other team members to maintain well-paced production, but there is leniency so long as team members are working effectively. It allows each person to pursue knowledge at their own pace.  Rockets Help Desk is a truly authentic learning experience.

Student Products

Students are expected to produce at least ONE product that falls into one of these categories per week.

1. Tutorials:

Teachers and students can request informational screencasts and videos.  Once created, these are typically accompanied by a blog post and some easy to view screenshots. Most tutorials are made per request although team members can make tutorials based on an observed need.  

 

2. Classroom Visits and In Person Consultations:

Students can go into classrooms district-wide to assist teachers in deploying new technology. This allows teachers to concentrate on content and class management while Help Desk students provide the technology support. Can also be defined as person to person tech help; if a student comes in with a question about an application, a team member must be willing to help if available.

3. Networking:

Students meet with other technology specialists, whether it be through professional presentations, Google Hangouts with tech teams, or any other medium as suggested by the RHD team or the advisor.

Rocket Help Desk Student Characteristics

Candidates should have some of these qualities:

• Creative & Flexible - Student is willing to find ways to troubleshoot effectively. Student may need to investigate outside of the Rockets Help Desk class period or school day as needed.
• Independent - Willing to try new things and able to adjust based on need without being prompted.
• Committed - Shows high interest in working with others to solve problems.  Works as a team member more than as an individual.
• Active Team Contributor - Participate in group work/ give ideas to others. Work with strengths of others to create a better product.
• Prolific Producer - Driven to produce good material/work on a weekly basis that will really help others.
• Public Speaker - Prepared for possible presentations at conferences and in classrooms to both professional educators and student peers.
• Some Tech Experience - Minimally students should be comfortable with Google Drive and blogging.