Student 'geek squads' maintain school devices, help teachers

[mahatmakanejeeves]

As tech grows more common in classrooms, student "geek squads" are popping up at schools across the country.

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Student ‘geek squads’ maintain school devices, help teachers
By CAROLYN THOMPSON
today

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo kindergarten teacher Maria Spurlock was still struggling after trying for more than a week to get a reading app working on all of her classroom iPads. When she learned her building had a new team of technical experts, she put in a request for help. ... In walked 11-year-old Arefa Zaman, a sixth-grader with silver sneakers and a yellow “tech squad” T-shirt, who quickly went to work.

Buffalo Public Schools officials say it only makes sense for the youngsters who have grown up with technology to be part of the upkeep of the district’s thousands of iPads and laptops used every day. Students, in turn, hone practical skills.

It’s a strategy playing out around the country as schools increasingly supply devices to every student. ... Student techs learn hardware and software fixes for the inevitable cracked screens, stuck keys, freeze-ups and dead batteries from school staff, each other, and online tutorials. Buffalo students even make field trips to an Apple store to learn technical support.

“They can do anything. Anything that we can do here, they can do,” said technology specialist Jerilyn Stellato, talking about her “Tech Team Junior” members at Oliver W. Winch Middle School in South Glens Falls, New York.
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