As more schools adopt remote learning, the trend has raised critical questions about the importance of helpdesk solutions.
Helpdesk software is instrumental to learning. Imagine reading a science textbook without a glossary of terms or conducting a classroom lab experiment without instructions?
Even better, the best helpdesk software offers a suite of solutions, enabling quick and valuable help to teachers, students, and IT managers.
Take a seat because class is about to begin. Learn more about the best helpdesk software features for classrooms!
The Knowledge Base
This first helpdesk feature is directly reminiscent of the classic textbook glossary.
A learning software’s knowledge base contains glossary terms, frequently asked questions, and step-by-step procedures. Knowledge bases are typically linked at the top or bottom of a platform’s website. Depending on the learning platform, you may be dealing with several knowledge bases, one for each learning module.
Suitable knowledge bases improve help bot efficiency also. If you program your help (chat) bot to pull answers from your knowledge base, you’ll want a stockpile of valuable data to draw from. Plus, you can set these bots available to students 24 hours a day.
Knowledge bases must be clear, concise, and easy to read since you’re catering to young learners. You can get a bit more complex with high school level knowledge bases, but the less complicated, the better.
Knowledge bases are great for the following questions and procedures:
- Registering for a learning platform
- What to do if you forget your password
- How to cancel an account
- How to create site (or student) profiles
- How learning modules work
- How to submit assignments
Anything that has to do with site logistics is perfect for knowledge bases. Next, you can create separate knowledge bases for each class, including instructions for using and engaging with the online course.
You’ll need helpdesk software that can handle large amounts of content. For example, software (or a managed service) that automates knowledge base topic categorization and updates is essential for today’s schools. If you’re an IT manager for a k-12 school, ensure your software is equipped to handle multiple subjects, learning levels, and high-volume databases.
Helpdesk Ticketing Systems
Knowledge bases empower students, teachers, parents, and administrators to troubleshoot on their own successfully. However, knowledge bases only cover so much ground. You also need a helpdesk with superior in-person support.
Great support also needs support. Your helpdesk’s ticketing system is supposed to work like a well-oiled machine.
Unfortunately, many schools still struggle with the following issues:
- slow email response times
- Technical hiccups
- Network connection issues
- Problems installing upgrades
- Device compatibility issues
- Website bugs
- Server problems
In these cases and others, you need a reliable ticketing system that streamlines requests quickly. This process starts by sending immediate ticket request confirmations via email, text, or another preferred platform. Instant acknowledgment goes a long way in providing peace of mind to users.
Once created, helpdesk staff should update the ticket with the latest status. Support members can close out tickets once completed; however, you should gather feedback from users before closing out the request for good.
For example, simply asking if there’s anything else you can help with can go a long way with users. Most classroom helpdesk software lets admins create little questionnaires for helpdesk feedback.
An easy question to include is whether the customer was satisfied with the level of support received. You could also integrate a rating system that lets users give star ratings to helpdesk conversations.
Reasons for Poor Helpdesk Support
Are you struggling with another classroom support software?
The problem could come down to inefficient ticketing. These issues are common with live support, especially if there isn’t someone available with the right experience for a specific topic or procedure. You would create a ticket to forward the issue to the correct department in these cases.
Lack of training is another issue. It’s essential to research the quality and experience level of a platform’s live support team. Some teams only pull from knowledge bases, while others are fully trained beforehand.
Incorrect knowledge bases are a big issue, primarily if you rely on AI help bots that pull from content. Rather than pull from the knowledge base itself, you can program an entirely new set of answers and resources for your chatbot.
Lack of communication among helpdesk staff is a big issue for businesses that rely on live chat agents. Fortunately, more companies are using PM platforms (like Slack) to streamline helpdesk tickets even quicker. This strategy reduces time loss from email, disorganization, and meetings.
User-Friendly Dashboards
Dashboards are integral to productive remote learning.
Depending on the platform, dashboards display the following information:
- Learning progress
- Complete classroom modules
- Reading lists
- Textbook downloads
- Fellow students (or teachers, admins, drunk)
- Payment history
- Bulletin announcements
Helpdesk software troubleshoots dashboard issues, including real-time updating, broken images, file errors, and bugs. However, helpdesk software (and live staff) need reliable dashboards to correctly visualize, interpret, assign, and answer tickets.
How to Buy the Best IT Helpdesk Software for Your School
Take your time to discover the right classroom helpdesk software for your classroom. This stage begins with assessing your administrative, learning, and budget needs. You also have to think about accessibility, compatibility, and access issues students may have at home.
For example, tablets are instrumental for teaching children at home. You’ll need helpdesk software that’s compatible with iPads, Androids, and Google-powered tablets if you’re a private school administrator for young children.
Make a shortlist of options, and compare options. For example, Classroom365 IT Support for Schools goes beyond the help desk with more integrated features. Don’t forget to research the latest cloud-based options for easy access.
Upgrade Your Remote Learning Experience
Don’t lose precious learning time to technical difficulties. Invest in a reliable helpdesk software that also empowers users to solve problems (and help others!) Plus, ensure your software is compatible with students’ wireless devices.
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