The inherent flexibility and versatility of cloud computing solutions make them a very suitable fit for many areas. The education sector is one of the best examples, where leveraging the cloud can deliver great results. With technological advancements, the education sector has also been evolving at a fast pace.
In order to meet today’s challenges, the focus of education is drifting from conventional learning to development of specialized skills and abilities. This unique skillset enables students to come up with innovative and out of the box solutions to complex problems.
How Does the Cloud Help?
In Cloud Based Solutions, all hardware is the sole responsibility of the Cloud Service Provider (CSP). This relieves the deploying educational institution from procuring and maintaining expensive hardware in house. In this way, such entities can focus more on their core domain of imparting knowledge.
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- Cloud Benefits for Higher Education Institutions
In this post, we will highlight the ways cloud computing is transforming the education sector. The true results of a cloud enabled learning environment will be possible once more educational institutions embrace the cloud.
Minimal Hardware
Once all the learning resources have moved to the cloud, educational institutions no longer have to maintain an elaborate hardware on campus. All the hardware required to run the learning infrastructure is entirely managed by the CSP. This results in saving fixed, operational and administrative costs.
Outreach
As cloud based solutions are delivered over the web, there is no concept of geographical boundaries. An institution in UK can easily offer its course to a student in Australia. All this would be managed seamlessly over the cloud environment. The cloud has eliminated geographical boundaries to learning.
Agility
Cloud Based Solutions are structured around agility. It implies that educational institutions can rapidly improve their learning material in minimal time and by incurring very low costs. No elaborate printing resources are committed as all changes are made to the learning material that resides over the Cloud Infrastructure in digital form.
Innovation
There is some degree of monotony to learning, which tends to reduce the motivation in students. Learning resources over the cloud can be diversified into multiple mediums such as videos, quizzes, online assignments and much more. This would make the learning process fun and more engaging for students over the long term.
Scalability
The resource demand for educational institutions is very seasonal in nature. Some of the peak times are admissions, examinations and evaluations. The cloud allows users to scale their resources in real-time, with no hidden costs. This is a cost effective measure and it also prevents redundancy costs.
Security
Learning material is one of the most valuable intellectual properties for knowledge centers. CSPs invest heavily in securing their cloud based solutions from any unintended intrusion. Students also remain connected to their learning environment with absolute peace of mind when it comes to data security.
Cost Saving
The fixed and operational expenses that education providers save can be channelized elsewhere. One of the most lucrative avenues is Research and Development (R&D). The savings can be used to fund R&D initiatives, which will serve as an engine for innovation. These cost savings can also be passed on to knowledge seekers.
Accessibility
With learning material residing over the cloud, students enjoy round the clock access to their courses and other academic resources. The other great advantage is that students can access the learning material through multiple device platforms such as desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone.
This adds an element of convenience to the whole learning process. Students can access learning resources as, when and however they like. This can greatly increase the engagement level, which in turn will proliferate knowledge. A higher participation rate will surely improve the student’s level of learning as well.
Virtual Learning
The cloud is the main enabler for a virtual or distant learning environment. From the perspective of an educational institution, this eliminates the need for developing vast campuses and then maintaining them. The physical footprint of schools, colleges and universities can be greatly reduced and replaced with a virtual environment.
For students, this eliminates the need for physically showing up on campus. Welcome to a fully virtualized learning environment made possible by the cloud. Students will submit their assignment, quiz, examination and all other evaluation material over the cloud, from the comfort of their home or office.
This will make education accessible to a whole new market segment that has the drive to enhance their qualification, but lack the enabling environment due to administrative constraints. Some common examples of this segment are stay at home moms and on the job professionals.
Affordable Education
The cloud has the potential to make education much more affordable for the masses. The inherent cost savings that are made possible by the cloud can be passed on to knowledge seekers. This will not only proliferate knowledge, but also elevate the standard of living that will be achieved in the form of better paying jobs.
Parental Integration
With the availability of all learning resources over the cloud, the parents or guardians of students can be integrated with the student’s progress. They can enjoy real time access to the academic progress of their children and intervene if, when and wherever required.
Higher Education
Most professionals fail to pursue higher education due to financial constraints and a growing compulsion to become financially self-sufficient. By the time they become established in their respective field and even have the finances, they realize that it is too late and unmanageable to pursue this goal.\
Read More: Improving student success in higher education | Deloitte Insights
Thanks to education over the cloud infrastructure that all such professionals can now enhance their academic and professional credentials by pursuing advanced level studies, courses, trainings and degree programs over the cloud. This will be a great value addition for ambitious professionals in various walks of life.
Conclusion
The cloud based solutions are highly conducive for sectors such as education. Both the parties to this transaction, namely education providers and seekers, can greatly benefit from the cloud. It is imperative that more educational institutions migrate to the cloud and reap the benefits thereof.
