Spotlight on technology specialist Malak Hojatnia

Almost all technology management at Aragon is handled by one employee: technology support specialist Malak Hojatnia. Since 2006, she has worked at Aragon, bearing witness to a substantial amount of changes regarding technology usage on campus.
“We are going from … pen and pencil to lots of new technology use,” Hojatnia said. “[Today] the curriculum involves more technology, and I’m part of that change.”
On a daily basis, Hojatnia can be found in classrooms helping teachers with their computer issues or in her office, available to any students needing help.

“[Today] the curriculum involves more technology, and I’m part of that change”

Many across campus regularly interact with Aragon’s IT department for help with technical difficulties.
“The IT department … is great,” said Spanish teacher and department head Alejandra Cheever. “Whenever we’ve had problems, they’ve been quick to resolve them.”
Some students complain about slow wireless connection.
“Opening Canvas takes five to 10 minutes daily,” said junior Aiden Kahane. “On Mondays, when 10 minutes make up 20% of the class, I can miss valuable class time.”
Cheever notes that some of Aragon’s technology issues are not something that Hojatnia or Aragon administration can directly address.
“The Wi-Fi … [is] something that’s out of [the IT team’s] control,” Cheever said. “That’s something the district office would have to improve [on].”
During distance learning, Hojatnia played an important role.
“The school informed us that we were the first line of defense, so we came here every day to provide the material for students who were zooming from home,” Hojatnia said.
She worked with students to set up online communities for Aragon through social media, as distance learning made casual communication between students more difficult.
“I [talked] to [Hojatnia] about setting up the Aragon Discord server,” said junior Roshi Khilani, who founded the Aragon Community Discord server in his freshman year. “[The IT department was] very helpful when setting up moderation.”

“[During distance learning,] we came here every day to provide the material for students”

With the increase in technology use, some teachers advocate for an expansion of the IT department in order to fulfill the needs of students.
“Like with everything in education, we could always use more help,” Cheever said. “I feel like we need additional support in all parts of education, including [in] our IT department.”
Hojatnia finds that she faces many requests for support or repair in a short timeframe.
“One of the biggest problems we have is with the Chromebooks because there [is] a lot we have to repair, especially with hardware issues,” Hojatnia said. “[Sometimes] I don’t have time to respond to all the IT requests [and] I’m overwhelmed.”
While there are a few issues with technology at the moment, it is now more than ever an important part of students’ education. Figures like Hojatnia provide the necessary services to ensure that the Aragon campus runs as smoothly as possible.