Being there: a "teach them to fish..." approach to training and support using WebEx™, videoconferencing, and the telephone

The Challenge: As training and support staff at North Dakota State University we are continuously "expanding our boundaries" by providing more of the one-on-one and just-in-time training our clients want and need. Unfortunately, while our boundaries are constantly expanding, our budget is not.We provide training and support not only to our on-campus clients, but to our external clients on 11 campuses within our University System, and county Extension Service offices throughout the state of North Dakota as well.One Solution: The NDSU ITS training staff of two depends heavily on WebEx™ (a Web Conferencing and Remote Support application), videoconferencing, and the telephone to conduct successful training sessions at remote locations without traveling long distances, and to provide one-on-one training on demand while responding to support requests received via an online help ticketing system, email, and by telephone.Combining the web conferencing capabilities of WebEx™ with videoconferencing allows us to provide training at a distance while saving manpower, travel time, and money.WebEx™ also allows us to use a "Teach Them To Fish..." philosophy to provide remote support via telephone and the Web. Rather than simply "fixing the problem" for them, we use WebEx™ to help our clients learn by doing. We can see what they see while they fix their own problem with our assistance.This paper elaborates on this training and support philosophy, and details what works and what does not.