As part of the IT 224 class, BYU–Hawaii Information Technology students host a free computer diagnostic workshop for students and community. The workshop provides the opportunity for students and community members to bring in troubled electronics for IT students to examine them and help to resolve the problems.
IT students at BYU–Hawaii are given time in a lab to take apart, repair, and diagnose problems with computers and their components. “We try to create situations to challenge them,” said professor Joshua Smith. “But we cannot possibly imagine all the situations they will run into in the real world. So when people come in with problems, they have issues that we cannot fabricate, and gives them a chance to expand their knowledge and experience.”
Service is not limited to desktop computers only, students and community members bring in laptops, tablets, phones, printers and other computer peripherals for service. Typically, a computer diagnostic costs at least 50 dollars and that does not include any labor performed. What the IT students provide is a blessing to the community, “and free is a very good price” joked Smith.
The computer diagnostic workshops are an example of service learning at BYU–Hawaii since they function to teach students, and provide a service to the community. Other examples of service learning at BYU–Hawaii include rainforest restoration, elementary school tutoring and other programs. “Along with complex situations and problems, the students also are learning valuable customer service skills,” said Smith. “At the beginning they are very nervous, but by the end they tell me how much fun it is.”
The workshops began November 13 and will finish December 6. Students are available Thursday: 7-9 PM, in GCB 101. To setup an appointment or for additional information, contact Joshua Smith at 675–3388 or j.smith@byuh.edu.
Photo courtesy of Nowah Afangbedji.