Helpdesk: Design

The utilization of an effective helpdesk is critical in meeting the needs of employees that are
immersed into a technology rich environment. A properly designed helpdesk is the key to
providing customers and/or employees with a method for incident management and
documentation. A properly designed helpdesk will provide high quality customer service
throughout a troubleshooting situation. Another great opportunity is the use of a higher intuitive
helpdesk software package to manage the trouble ticket situation. This will provide a collection
point for data and will also help organize a proactive approach to resolve customer issues.
Additionally, the service tickets are stored in database storage bank for implementation and
research opportunities. The data within the database storage then could be used to determine the
type of professional development training that must be implemented to remediate nuisance
service calls.
Kemp Model

Figure 1



Design Phase: Helpdesk training area
Morrison, Ross, and Kemp Model
Content Sequencing: The course content must be arranged in an orderly fashion to promote
continuous learning. This learning process will enable the trainees to build on their background
knowledge to support cognitive growth. Additionally, the course content must be arranged in a
sequential format to build on prior instructional content. The trainees that are exposed to the
proper content arrangement should progress through the course in an efficient and effective
manner.

Instructional Strategies: The process of creating an effective program of study is essential to
generate positive rapport with the trainees. The program should foster the learning process by
building on previous knowledge. Additionally, the instructional training must be engaging and
enticing enough to focus the trainees to complete the training with a positive attitude. The
training must also be concise and to the point to cover the instructional content in an efficient
manner. The training should also encompass providing the trainees with pre-instructional
coursework to adequately prepare them for professional development opportunity. This strategy
will support the reinforcement of background knowledge and will provide the instructor with a
prepared student base. Another strategy is to insure that all trainees understand how to utilize
training materials to support their proper problem solving abilities. This strategy will promote
self-dependence and prevent nuisance helpdesk trouble calls.

Designing the message: The process of developing an effective instructional message is crucial
for providing trainees with accurate course content. The trainees must understand what content
and materials will be covered during the instructional training. Additionally, the trainees should
understand the goals and the objectives of the professional development training. This will insure
that the trainees will have an understanding of the outcomes of the instructional training
activities. The training content should also be well defined to support all of the important terms
and training content. The trainer must also provide the proper methods for content delivery to
allow for completion of all the content prior to the end of the instructional process. This will
insure that all content and training requirements are addressed during the educational process.

Design of course: The design phase is a very important part of the course development process.
The use of fulltime training personal that have knowledge and abilities is an essential part of
establishing proper training. The trainers abilities must include the common uses of helpdesk,
the method of requesting smart board services and information, the method of requesting
computer services and assistance, and a segment of dealing with the most common problem with
users. The professional development training should be scheduled to last a week, and will
include accessing Bearcat web, Outlook, Blackboard, and Pathways. The training will also
encompass the common technology problems that novice employees experience, the correct
procedure for contacting the correct professional at helpdesk, and self-determined problem
solving strategies. The training will include theoretical content and practical hands on laboratory
training experiences. This will insure that trainees have the knowledge and abilities to understand
why systems are malfunctioning and simple and practical techniques for remediating situations.

The first training activity will be utilizing the login to accessing Bearcat web. The training
process will provide an understanding of how to access Outlook, Blackboard, and Pathways
through the Bearcat web. Trainees will gain knowledge of accessing the attributes that are
included in Bearcat web. The Professional development Bearcat web training will be scheduled
for ten minutes for hands on activities with a question and answer session at the end the
instructional presentation.

Outlook training will include the essential elements of the following: logging into Outlook,
sending emails, adding personal contacts, searching messages, calendar appointments, and
common usage problems that occur with Outlook. The Professional development Outlook
training will be scheduled for thirty minutes for hands on activities with a question and answer
session at the end the instructional presentation.

The next training will be Blackboard, with focus on the following attribute: logging into
Blackboard, Blackboards tools usage, course email, class roster, and gradebook usage. Training
will also include how to format assignments into specific groups, such as discussions, quizzes,
journals, and timed assignments. The Professional development Backboard training will be
scheduled for thirty minutes for hands on activities with a question and answer session at the end
the instructional presentation.

Training in Pathways should be covered, with focus on how to use Pathways. The trainee will be
able to use all of the advising tools within the Pathways. The professional development will also
encompass training on how to register students using Pathways in an efficient and effective
manner. Trainees will be able to utilize Pathways financial, leave reporting, and grading
platforms to support the mission of the college. The Professional development Pathways training
will be scheduled for forty-five minutes for hands on activities with a question and answer
session at the end the instructional presentation.

Finally, a segment of training will be provided on common problems that new users experience
while entering Lander. The training will also include basic troubleshooting techniques for
resolving common problems. The trainees will also understand standard operating procedures
that require Helpdesk personnel to solve. Additionally, the trainees will be able to fill work
orders for the following:
1. Application to use Smartboard in their classroom.
2. Utilization of new hardware or software for classroom training practices.
3. Internet connectivity and/or connection issues.
4. Remediate computers infected with a virus.

Note 1: After the trainees demonstrate that they have sufficient understanding of how to use
Landers technology properly, and how to contact Helpdesk when needed, they should be
considered to have passed the course, and be given Helpdesks contact information for a quick
way to contact them if they have any questions.

Note 2: After the course has been completed at least once, the instructor should review the
course, and adjust factors as needed that need more support, such as more or less hands on
activities, more or less time provided for the overall course, more or less time devoted for
questions, and if topics were needed to be discussed more in depth, or covered in general.