Side-by-side, the workflow for school and business are not that dissimilar. There is still a systematic generation of paper between two groups – just in the case of schools it’s between a teacher and their students rather than a business.
Just like businesses were revamped by the invention of cloud computing, the same change is now happening to the education sector. Utilizing the cloud can allow greater collaboration between teachers and their students—all the while allowing them to access, share and store educational content.
What do these these changes mean for schools?
Given that many businesses are still in the process of adopting (and adapting to) the cloud, we can likely expect the change for schools to be just as slow and uneven. However, a growing percentage of educators are incorporating the cloud into their classroom and that number is likely to rise.
For those following this transition, be prepared to see schools face challenges like those seen among businesses. There will be some schools that struggle with the transition due to the nature of demographics, socioeconomic backgrounds and other factors. In fact, schools could even face bigger challenges than businesses during the transition.
One service that blends cloud computing and education is Knowledge Matters. Knowledge Matters is a business-simulation cloud service that distributes simulations to roughly one-third of U.S. high schools, specifically for management, personal finance and retail courses.
According to Peter Jordan, CEO and co-founder of Knowledge Matters, before the cloud Knowledge Matters would have to manually ship CDROMs out to schools to provide them with the simulations. The cloud has made the task monumentally easier.
Another example of the advantages of cloud services in education comes from the Maine Township High School District in Chicago.
According to assistant superintendent for technology and learning Jason Klein, cloud tools are changing the very fundamentals of how teaching and learning happen throughout the district. Teachers are no longer simply the providers of information (nor the students mere waiting receptacles), but teachers and students work alongside each other with the teacher playing the role of facilitator. This leads the students to be a more active participant in their own education.
This is only the beginning of cloud-based education. Just imagine what it will look like once it matures!