New One-on-One Trent IT Support to Boost Productivity during Remote Work
Trent is first Ontario university to hire and train student “tech rovers” to help faculty and staff get the most out of technologies during this unprecedented time
Trent University is the first in Ontario to offer a new program that dedicates “tech rovers” to provide one-on-one support to faculty and staff to maximize productivity while working remotely.
The Tech Rovers program, also offered at UBC and the University of Saskatchewan, provides IT staff who have undergone intensive training to help faculty and staff get the most out of technology tools by adapting materials, populating learning technology tools and enhancing productivity during this unprecedented time.
“From teaching and working remotely, to re-organizing materials to web formats, we’ve all experienced the challenges of adapting our workflows and curriculum to work with technical tools,” says Tariq Al-idrissi, associate vice-president IT at Trent University. “Throughout this challenging time, we in IT have been here to help and we’re very excited to now offer a new program to help even more with the day-to-day work of moving online.”
Tech Rovers can help administrative staff better understand and use digital technologies such as Zoom, Office 365 and Microsoft Teams.
For faculty and academic staff, Tech Rovers can help convert existing content materials to work with learning technologies and help in setting up discussion boards, converting tests, uploading content.
“Tech Rovers do not create materials or assist with the delivery of courses but can be used to help you get the most out of our technology tools so you can focus your time on delivering an exceptional course,” says Mr. Al-idrissi.
Trent has hired 10 student Tech Rovers with plans to hire 10 more in the coming weeks. They are available now and through the fall term.