A view from The Pod …

“Have you tried restarting it?” – A phrase that has become synonymous with IT troubleshooting, often met with a groan or a chuckle. Surprisingly, it’s a very effective solution! As an IT professional with over 20 years of experience, especially in education, I’ve used this phrase countless times. While it’s a bit of a running joke, it can be a quick way to resolve issues and lighten the mood, particularly when dealing with frustrated users.

I began my IT journey as a junior field service engineer fresh from college, traveling across the country to repair various devices, from computers to printers to projectors, and from schools to offices and even universities. I’ve seen it all. Remember those early days when schools had limited IT and a single projector and whiteboard in the Year 6 classroom, if you were lucky? Not to mention a few old, clunky computers in an “IT suite.” iPads and Chromebooks were the stuff of dreams (or nightmares, depending on which way you look at it!) and were still a few years off. Even Wi-Fi was new technology and not widely in use. The phrase “have you tried restarting it?” was a common refrain.

As my skills grew, so did my responsibilities. I later moved to a senior engineer overseeing a group of technicians and then to a manager overseeing technicians across the country.

At the end of 2019, I decided to take the leap and hop over to the other side of the fence and began my career working for White Woods. I had a little trepidation at first, as while I’d worked in support IT across many schools over the years, I was now going from being the IT support provider to being one of the customers. In a way, it gave me a unique perspective, having been in both positions: the one providing the IT support service to a school and the one receiving it. It has also helped me develop a good, close working relationship with IT suppliers and service providers, as metaphorically speaking, I’ve been in their shoes. I know how working in education IT is a unique and often challenging environment, very different from other sectors.

Today, as Trust IT Lead, it is an incredibly fulfilling position. I’m proud of the work I’ve done to help schools develop their IT systems and embrace technology. It’s always nice to see systems I’ve helped put in place being used to great effect, enhancing teaching and learning. The use of Google Workspace across the Trust for collaboration and communication, the use of technology and applications on iPads to deliver engaging lessons and support teaching and learning, and the Games Expo where pupils created games and showcased them to each school, are all wonderful to see. They give me a great sense of pride that I had a little hand in making them possible.

Now, new technologies like AI, which once upon a time were only seen in movies (remember Terminator and Skynet?), are emerging and starting to be used for teaching and learning. Who knows what other technologies are just around the corner being developed? I suspect the classic “have you tried restarting it?” will remain a staple of IT troubleshooting for years to come.

Andy Blatch

Trust IT Lead