It used to be that IT in the form of smart phones, tablets and other devices were banned and the teacher would quickly confiscate your device if you were using it during class time. Everything has now gone 360° and technological devices are now permitted in the classroom because they contribute to learning outcomes and in many cases they are a learning necessity. There are actually classes specifically designed so that students can use their devices to learn about research and also to figure out fact from fiction. Over the past two years during the current pandemic, we have really learned about the benefits of information technology and how it can be used for remote capabilities when it comes to performing online classes. Remote learning is here to stay and long after this pandemic has left us, schools and other educational institutions will still be continuing with hybrid classrooms.
There are hurdles along the way of course and so this is why your educational institution needs to take advantage of IT services that can handle anything that disrupts learning and provides support when needed. If your school hopes to use technology to improve learning outcomes then you’re going to need technology specialists to support you. This is why managed IT services are so important because of the many advantages that they offer. The following are just some of those.
- Security for your IT & remote learning infrastructure – Schools have always been using some kind of digital application in the learning process but now that remote learning has become a lot more prevalent, so has security. When a teacher and students are holding an online class about something like Python language, your network will have many access points and all it takes is for one student to click on some kind of a link or to download a file and your whole IT system is now compromised. If schools then allow the students to bring their own devices to school then the risks multiply and any virus that affects the students’ laptop or tablet will surely make its way eventually into the school’s network.
- Protects school & student privacy – Any school has literally hundreds and maybe even thousands of students and many hundreds of faculty as well. This is a lot of data on many individuals and will include students’ grades, their contact details and maybe even details about learning difficulties that they are currently having. Teachers will have information with regard to their tax details and banking information because the school will have to pay them their salaries at the end of any given month. The fact that this information is stored digitally means that there may be issues with their data privacy. Managed IT services will put things in place to safeguard all of this private data and they will be constantly monitoring the system as well.
Your external IT service provider will be able to provide your school with round the clock support and your platform will receive regular maintenance in a remote manner.