How the Cloud has cahanged Education & Training??

Improved IT capabilities and enterprise infrastructure at schools are needed to create a successful digital learning experience. While the technology exists in some forms, the real challenge comes in terms of scalability. The biggest advantage of cloud technologies is that they create a centralised repository of knowledge for students and teachers to access. This is taking the student-teacher collaboration beyond traditional classroom interaction.

Cloud-based technology in education has become such a phenomenon since it ensures sustained academic learning irrespective of the student’s geographical positioning. Moreover, it ensures that the desired data is centrally available for processing and deriving deeper insights for a more effective learning experience. Cloud-based technology also enables educators to boost their reach without making any significant infrastructural spends. This, in turn, benefits end-users by reducing the cost of services, while simultaneously adding value to their education.

A few years ago, the cloud was a promise to reduce costs of IT and improve flexibility and scaling by providing on-demand computing, storage and services to every organization.

Today, the cloud is a ubiquity we take for granted. We expect every file, every service and digital asset we have to be available across all our devices everywhere we go, at any time of the day.

The omnipresence of the cloud has streamlined and transformed quite a number of domains, including education. Today, thanks to cloud computing, education and training has become more affordable, flexible and accessible to millions of people and thousands of businesses.

Here’s a look at how cloud-based education has changed things for the better.


Lower software and hardware costs
One of the problems schools and training departments in organizations have constantly struggled with is to keep up with hardware, software and IT staff costs and complexities. In contrast, the cloud has been offering low-cost, subscription-based model that can support more companies and organizations.

The elegance of the cloud is that the user only requires little more than a browser and an internet connection. This is a welcome shift from the need to manually install and update applications on every single computer in a department.
In the past years, solutions such as Google’s suite of educational tools have provided schools with a free access to general classroom tools such as word processors, spreadsheets and presentation software. Cloud applications such as Google Docs allow students to easily collaborate on assignments in an easy-to-use environment.

Microsoft has also made its move to the cloud, providing subscription-based access to the cloud version of its popular Office suite, which it offers for free to students and teachers.

Virtual classrooms
One of the interesting developments in the space has been the advent of virtual classrooms in the cloud. Virtual cloud classrooms provide teachers with a paperless way to set up classes and courses, distribute material and assignments, and track and grade student progress from their desktop browser or smartphone.

On-premise virtual classroom software have existed for a while, but their installation and deployment came with heavy technical and financial requirements. In recent years, established companies such as Blackboard have started offering cloud-based services, making it possible for more schools and institutions to
enroll.
Bigger tech corporations are also entering the space. Google launched its Classroom app as part of G Suite for Education in 2014 and Microsoft released its own Classroom last year. Both solutions revolve around providing a unified environment to better use office cloud apps in managing classes.

Virtual training labs
Cloud platforms can be a boon to professional education. For instance, IT training is traditionally associated with large investments in hardware and complex setup costs. However specialized cloud platforms have provided a flexible, cost-effective and easy-to-deploy alternative.

One example is CloudShare, a provider of cloud-based virtual machines, which enables companies to setup virtual training labs for their training sessions. With CloudShare, trainers can create any number of VMs of various operating systems in a virtual class environment, assign them to students, monitor their use and actively assist students when needed.

The use of cloud computing and virtual classes in IT training brings huge benefits by cutting back hardware costs and complexity while  providing an interactive experience that is not possible in legacy classroom settings. It also benefits companies that need to train staff and employees across the world by sparing them additional traveling and trainer fees.//


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