Cloud technology is now pervasive in every field – and education is no exception. On the contrary, educational institutions can benefit greatly from cloud technology, both in terms of costs and the quality of the courses offered. Cloud technology dramatically reduces the time, funds and infrastructure educational institutions need to reach new markets, thanks to its financial advantages for both students and the administration.
This all sounds great, but what are the specific reasons why educational institutes are moving to cloud? There are a plethora of reasons why schools and universities are moving to the cloud. We’ve compiled a list of reasons that make the cloud the best strategic move an educational institution can make. If you’re interested in seeing how your organization can benefit from cloud technology, check them out below.
Real-time virtual teaching
Face-to-face instruction is a highly valued asset in education. Until now, online courses were generally either pre-recorded or based on written materials. Thanks to cloud technology, students can now benefit from a much more engaging learning experience and collaborate in real-time with teachers. This way, institutions with limited staff can also reach a higher number of students worldwide, since they’re no longer held by the constraints of lecture halls – or any kind of geographical impediment.
Easy access
Everything from lesson plans, grades, notes, slides, labs, etc. can be made available on cloud applications. Whether they’re on campus or overseas, with a cloud solution your students can access their courses anytime, anywhere, from any device, as long as they have an internet connection. No more running around for course notes and trying to piece them together before exams – with the cloud, your students have all the materials they need a few clicks away.
Self-paced distance learning online
By leveraging cloud technology, institutions are able to offer long-distance learning to more students with minimal admin support. Since the cloud is always online, students from across the world can access their courses anytime. This allows students that also work or just have a full schedule to learn when they have the time and energy, on their own terms.
No more expensive textbooks
University level textbooks are notorious for their exorbitant prices. They’ve even outpaced the cost of tuition fees, so needless to say, they’re a huge burden on students’ budgets. Consequently, they avoid buying them when possible, or resort to getting outdated versions for lower prices. Cloud-based textbooks are an effective solution to this problem, since digital content is usually a lot less expensive. This way, even lower-income students get access to the same quality of learning material as others.
Learning material can be easily kept up to date
As we previously mentioned, due to high textbook prices, students end up buying older editions that consist of outdated material. Studies showed that an average social studies textbook in junior high schools is as much as 11 years old. A cloud storage and distribution model allows teachers to update the content in real-time, making it much easier to keep resources up-to-date.
No more expensive software
With Software-as-a-Service, learning institutions can offer their users access to applications that would be quite costly for personal use. Services like Microsoft Office 365, for example, allow employees or students to access the Office suite without buying a copy of the software for their personal device. Such services normally charge institutions on a subscription-based model.
Lower maintenance costs
Servers are now a thing of the past for educational institutions. Adopting the cloud model means that you can say goodbye to your old server-based infrastructure – and its associated costs. Instead, that infrastructural capital expenditure is converted into a nominal operational cost that is an on-demand, pay-as-you-go model.
Unlimited storage
Courses and learning materials take a lot of hard drive space – not to mention the students’ assignments and projects – especially in educational institutes that offer a large number of majors and subjects. The SaaS platforms provide practically unlimited and secure storage for courses and student data. Educators can also share course modules and assignments with the learners across a variety of devices. One cloud account can be accessed on multiple Internet-enabled devices.
Better data security
Unlike hardware storage solutions, the cloud is a step ahead when it comes to data security and data recovery. Even if there’s a hardware failure at the teacher or the student’s end, there is no data loss thanks to the cloud backup. Also, the streamed content is end-to-end encrypted, ensuring enhanced security. The permissions-based access to certain files and folders also makes it a more secure medium.
Customization and scaling
Not only is cloud infrastructure highly customizable, but it’s also designed to scale well with businesses. This is an advantage for smaller institutions that are looking to grow their student base. The bottom line is that, no matter how many students or staff you want to accommodate, the cloud is a great boost to your organization.
Significant energy savings
Aside from the aforementioned perks, the cloud can also help you save money – and the planet. Giving up on your local servers will help you save a staggering amount of energy. According to AWS, customers that use their cloud service use 77% fewer servers, 84% less power, and utilize a 28% cleaner power mix, for a total reduction in carbon emissions of 88%.
All in all…
… almost every industry is starting to recognize the potential of could-based applications. They improve collaboration, reduce costs, and eliminate the need for infrastructure. Now, the cloud is transforming the traditional learning ecosystem from the ground up.
If you want to get ahead of the trend and start offering your students a competitive experience, the time to act is now. Cloud is now mature enough to be a safe investment, yet still not widely adopted in the education system.
We hope the benefits above were enough to help you get an idea of how the cloud can transform your organization. The benefits are truly groundbreaking for your students, your teachers, and your bottom line. All you need to do is make the decision.
