IT Support Specialist Course 1 Assignment

“Day One on the Job: Build Your IT Support Toolkit”

Course Title: Foundations of IT Support

Format: Learn-As-You-Go Assignment

Estimated Time: 3–5 hours (flexible pacing)

Learning Mode: Self-paced, hands-on, scenario-based

Scenario:

Welcome to your first day as a Junior IT Support Specialist at a growing company. Your mission: build your own IT toolkit, solve common support problems, and document what you learn so future team members can benefit from your experience.

Each part of this assignment mirrors a real task you’d handle on the job — from identifying devices to handling frustrated users. Everything you submit becomes part of your “IT Support Portfolio.”

PART 1: Know Your Machine (Hardware & OS)

Objective: Identify core device specs, compare OSes, and work with basic peripherals.

Tasks:

• Read this article Know Your Machine [Updated]
• Screenshot your computer’s system info (RAM, OS version, storage type).
• Compare Windows vs macOS or Windows vs Linux in 3–5 sentences.
• Test a hardware connection (printer, external drive, monitor). Note any issue and how you’d troubleshoot it.

Upload:

• 1 system info screenshot
• 1 paragraph comparison
• 1 troubleshooting log (template provided)

PART 2: Connect to the Network

Objective: Understand network structure and basic troubleshooting.

Tasks:

• Draw or describe your home/office network: modem → router → devices.
• Run ipconfig or ifconfig — upload the screenshot.
• Respond to this simulated ticket:

“I can’t access the internet on my laptop — help!”

Upload:

• Network diagram or description
• Command-line screenshot
• Short written ticket response (template provided)

PART 3: Handle a Support Ticket (Soft Skills)

Objective: Practice communication and empathy in IT support.

Tasks:

• Create a support ticket based on this message:

“My screen is black and I’m in a meeting in 5 mins!!!”

• Write a calming, helpful response to the user.
• (Optional) Share your response in the discussion forum for peer feedback.

Upload:

• Support ticket (auto-fill form or text upload)
• User response message

PART 4: Explore Help Desk Tools & Workflow

Objective: Understand how IT teams organize requests and escalate issues.

Tasks:

• Research Zendesk, Freshdesk, or Spiceworks. Name 3 features useful to support teams.
• Write your own basic ticket lifecycle: New → In Progress → Resolved → Closed.
• Identify 2 reasons to escalate an issue.

Upload:

• Short tool summary
• Ticket lifecycle list
• Escalation criteria notes

PART 5: Create Your Personal IT Knowledge Base

Objective: Start building reusable tech solutions.

Tasks:

• Create a digital doc, Notion page, or Google Doc titled “My IT Support KB.”
• Add 3 entries based on problems you encountered in this assignment.
  • Each entry = Problem, Steps Taken, Result
• Bonus: Write 1 “pro tip” or shortcut you discovered.

Upload:

• Link to your knowledge base
• PDF or screenshots if preferred

Final Submission Checklist:

Knowledge base link or file

System info screenshot

OS comparison paragraph

Hardware test writeup

Network map + command screenshot

Simulated ticket response

Help desk tool summary + lifecycle + escalation