Abstract
As our education system becomes more technology-driven and dependent, technical support is a part of the infrastructure for successful higher education performance. Self-service technology (SST) systems allow users to access solutions without agent involvement are viewed as the most cost-effective way to provide learning support. Support design in SSTs is every bit as critical as instructional design is to content-based education. Designing a technical learning center may be far more effective to address technical support needs, as well as creating other beneficial outcomes. In theory, SST systems are viewed as beneficial because they support self-efficacy, which has a direct relation to self-actualization. Self-efficacy has also been found to promote problem solving as well as higher achievement. Creating a learning center as an SST may contribute to transformative learning in that it changes the learner's perspective of their own capabilities and encourages them to be more flexible when introduced to other technologies. Several examples are presented.
TopIntroduction
Higher education and learning technology have long been intertwined. From the time that learners needed to purchase computers to write papers and do research on the internet, to the introduction of LMSs, to the offer of complete distance learning; colleges and universities are technology centers of learning. Additionally, new technologies are being introduced at an exponential rate that directly impact learning, such as simulations and other fully immersive technologies, as well as teaching learners the technologies specific to their respective fields.
In effect, institutes of higher education are essentially technology organizations. With the continued adoption and growth of technology use and offerings, technical support is a given. Most institutions have multiple departments that address these support needs. The most common are Information Services (IS) and some form of Educational Technology support (EdTech). Support often includes the support of personal devices (phones, tabs, laptops) as well as support of issues related to the learning systems used in the various programs.
Yet the primary purpose and focus of institutions of higher learning is not that of technical support, with technical support being defined as “a repair and advice service that some companies such as computer companies provide for their customers.” (O’Neill and Summers, 2021) As a consequence, provision of technical support is often at odds with the organization’s distinctive competence, which is education and learning. Technical support at any level is a cost center, not a revenue source. Two critical factors of service delivery and are response time and cost-effectiveness. This is about getting the answer to the customer quickly while spending the least amount of money. (Walker, 2001) While this concern is paramount to a technology support organization, it may be even more critical to organizations where technology development and technical support are not the central products.
Additionally, the standard multi-tiered approach to technical support, is more concerned with customer retention, as opposed to increasing proficiency among users. For colleges and universities, proficiency and growth with the chosen technologies are desired and promised outcomes for students. Those principles are integrated into the programs for which they are paying.
Several examples of technical learning centers are presented that have impacted organization business and productivity, as well as user self-efficacy. Two of these examples are based on the author’s personal experience as a project manager and/or instructional designer. The rest of the examples are based on the author’s personal experience as a user. Psychology and learning theories as they apply to self-service technology (SST) support systems and technical learning systems are explored.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Technical Learning Center: A self-serving technology (SST) virtual space where technical users may access information, media, documentation, and activities to support technology needs; designed based on the principles of instructional design.
Job-Task Analysis: Consists of task or procedural analysis which is represented by the high-level step-by-step documentation of a procedure or process and information-processing analysis which consists of complex skillsets or subsets of tasks that make up the step for the high level tasks.
Self-Service Technology (SST): Virtual spaces or technology that allows users to access information or services without direct or synchronous contact with a service agent.
Learning-Task Analysis: Identifies the learning concepts that must be established, and the intellectual building blocks that are required to accomplish tasks.
Instructional Analysis: A stage in Dick & Carey’s instructional systems design model where process, procedures, and learning concepts are identified; made up of job-task analysis and learning-task/conceptual analysis.
Reactive Technical Support: A support model based on responding to a problem; also known as broke/fix.
Tiered or Multi-Tiered Support: Technical support based on classification and/or category of incidents – may be based on issues or functions.