How do/Do you educate your end users?

[Fluffy]

I am putting this in the Jamf School section because that is what we are currently using, but I believe this is a relevant topic for everyone.

I started working in my position at a K12 school last summer and have been learning many things about technology administration very quickly. One of these things that has been the most difficult to handle is educating our end users. Personally, I have the motivation to help understanding the software we deploy, as it can be useful for everyone. Our biggest obstacle is time, as the staff is already tight on time as it is (or at least that is what I am told), and there has been no "tech time" scheduled for the foreseeable future.

In the best case scenario, the setup should be clean and simple enough for staff or student to pick up their device and know exactly how to use it. There are some applications that make this a struggle, and still require a tech to assist or instruct. We moved from Jamf Pro to Jamf School (Pro had more features than we were going to utilize effectively) and there were many confused staff that didn't understand the change; when told Jamf Teacher was replacing Self Service, most didn't know what Self Service was.

I've begun considering different ways I could provide relevant resources to the staff and students in a way that is readily available, but not in their face. At this point, it has only been brainstorming and wishful thinking with no solid idea having formed yet. So I pose my original question: Do you educate your end users, and if so how? If anyone would share their experiences or practices that may have been a wild success or a well-learned mistake, it may help me or others with a beneficial process going forward.

Thanks in advance.

[ChristopherL]

Hi! When I was in a similar position I used the Apple Teacher Program to to help teachers learn how to use their devices. I set up a few half-day group sessions so teachers could work through the material together, but it could be done as a series of lunch-and-learns or individually.

Recently we've developed a teacher training program specifically around using the Jamf Teacher and Jamf Student apps in a classroom. It can be used individually or in group sessions (there is even a leader guide in the EdTech section!). Teachers that successfully complete the whole training series receive badges that can be shared LinkedIn or similar social sites. It's called the Jamf Educator.

Christopher

[MasterNovice]

We do not educate our users. There aren't really any processes the staff need to know about, and since they don't have admin on their devices we need to perform most tasks at central management no matter what. Instead of self service, we use device groups organized by department. If you're in that department, you get that profile, apps, and documents. Unless there's a really strong business case for a specific role being different than the departmental settings, they just get whatever everyone else does. That being said, we are very light on restrictions with our staff (again, since they don't have admin anyhow).  

[ktrojano]

Hi! We enroll all staff and student devices into Jamf before they leave our administration building. We do an almost zero-touch enrollment so setup doesn't take long. New staff are required to attend a PD session with one of our instructional technology coordinators. They receive their devices during the session and are taught how to use them in the classroom, what apps they need to use, and to some extent how to use them. We have vanguard teams in each school comprised to staff who are considered go-to people if another staff member needs help with the tech. We also have three days of PD before the start of the school year and another full day in January at semester break. These days do include various sessions on how to use the tech in the classroom. For the students, the tech aide in each building shows them what they need to know when they receive the device. We knew from the start of our 1:1 program that we needed to show staff how to integrate the technology into the classroom. We also knew that we needed administrators to support this or the 1:1 program would not be successful. Due to the significant investment of resources to the program the administrators bought into it and support the need for training and it has worked for us. 

During lockdown, our instructional tech coordinators created several instructional videos for staff to view when they had time. These worked well for us when we couldn't meet face-to-face with staff who needed assistance using an app.  This may be an option for you if administrators aren't willing to support more formal training options. 

[MikeLa]

Fluffy - 

I think @ChristopherL and @ktrojano have given you some great suggestions, so I will only offer one additional thought should the time not be available for discreet Instructional Technology training for end users (teachers, etc.), or if there are no Ed Technology Coordinators/Coaches, etc. available in your environment.

I'd look for any training opportunity being provided and work with the trainer to embed the use of Jamf tools into that training. That way, tech training is not perceived as 'one more thing' they have to do. Instead, it's like sneaking broccoli into your kids' smoothies. For instance, if the Special Education Director has asked all staff to receive training on how to engage special needs students through individualized learning, or perhaps UDL (Universal Design for Learning), have them actually model the use of Jamf Teacher to individualize instruction for students swiftly and efficiently. Ideally, they should use devices within the training to truly model effective instruction.

 Best - Mike!