Cloud Computing: A Game Changer in the Future of Education

While cloud computing is not a novel concept, it plays a significant role in the existing technology. Its evolving nature focuses on user requirements. Through smartphones, tablets, and desktops it has helped reduce the heavy investment in infrastructure and information technology and propagated a wide range of educational resources to a larger audience. With cloud computing, educators benefit from greater flexibility in the usage and sharing of resources, creating a concerted approach to teaching and learning. It also allows greater mobility in using resources for teaching and learning that showcases collaboration, communication, and sharing of resources. Cloud computing creates a personalized learning environment or virtual communities of teaching and learning.

 What the Future Looks Like

Cloud computing is perceived to potentially change the way education is imparted through online classes, creating a significant change in the learning environment. The spread of COVID-19 has acted as a huge catalyst in shifting traditional physical classroom learning to online classrooms. While digital boards, computers, and other tools were routinely used to improve learning through visualization, cloud technologies have allowed us to take this learning up a notch by utilizing these tools online, creating virtual classrooms, and providing access to multitudes of people simultaneously.

 Let us take the example of a virtual classroom set up by Google. Its benefits are multi-fold. 

• Teachers can write/display content through Google Classroom. 
• They can interact with students through Google Meet.
• They can create and share assignments using Google Drive.
• They can schedule with Google Calendar. 
• They can communicate via email through Gmail.

While most existing teachers are accustomed to the traditional way of teaching through physical presence, immense developments in cloud-based technologies are underway to allow better adaptation to virtual classrooms, thereby bringing the same at par with the actual classroom setting.

Streamlining Workflow for Education Administrators  

In the past, educational administrators limited the use of the cloud to solely video conferencing and online classes. It has been observed that administrators now understand that they can gain more from cloud solutions and streamline their workflow too. 

With the pandemic locking out physical movements, educational institutes are directing their spending towards resources that create and further develop a robust distance education system. Their focus is on launching online content creation and programming classes that engage and educate students.

 Easy on the Pocket 

Capital expenditure funding has been a big challenge for many schools and colleges. They have been left with no option but to use outdated classroom resources. With the pandemic gearing everyone towards virtual learning, many schools may not purchase the resources required to support online teaching. Compared to buying new hardware, cloud computing has a negligible cost and provides the much-needed infrastructure for such schools to grow. Its ever-evolving features allow virtual classrooms to become more versatile and provide teachers with additional resources to improve distance education.

 Immediate Benefits of Cloud Computing 

1. No more expensive textbooks, thereby bridging the gap between lower-income students and their higher-income counterparts, concerning quality learning material.
2. No more outdated learning materials. Cloud-based materials are easy to update and access..
3. No expensive hardware is required. Even a smartphone can access these applications with options of free cloud-based storage.
4. No expensive software is required. You can access the software free or at a low subscription cost.

6.With the help of cloud-based applications, students can connect to a virtual classroom anytime, anywhere, and with any device, making it possible for every student to keep up with the class’ progress.  

To summarize, it is a great time to explore the benefits of cloud-based applications for a student, teacher, parent, or even the administration. 

EduplusCampus has been redefining education with cloud-based online learning solutions and offers an array of products and services to manage educational institutions of all sizes, which will revolutionize the overall teaching-learning process. 

To know more about EduplusCampus and its products and services, visit us at www.edupluscampus.com.