The pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of virtually every industry. Overnight, countless organisations were forced to shift away from legacy tools, systems, and processes, to embrace a more agile, flexible future in the cloud. Not only did the way we work change forever, but our attitudes towards learning and the nature of education evolved too.
Even now, as pandemic restrictions ease, the educational landscape remains irrevocably altered. There’s a new and consistent focus on ensuring knowledge can continue to flow freely throughout communities and teams when face-to-face interactions are impossible.
To thrive in this new space, schools, training facilities and universities alike are investing rapidly in digital tools. At the core of this strategy is the shift to Unified Communications. UC tools align educators in a distributed environment to ensure teams can continue to inspire students wherever they are. They also open the door to a new era of virtual education.
The question is, how do you build a business case for UC in education everyone can understand?
Step 1: Consider the Future of Education
In the past, remote and online learning solutions were extremely limited. Though various higher education and training options had begun to sprout before the pandemic, in-person experiences were still the choice for the majority of learners. Since lockdowns, the trend has flipped.
We’re now living in a world where e-learning is accelerating at a pace of 20% CAGR, and the multi-billion dollar market isn’t just focused on higher education but on foundational teaching too. Countless schools and institutions are embracing digital tools to ensure they can continue to deliver meaningful experiences to students wherever they are.
Even schools welcoming students back into classrooms and campuses are beginning to think about how the right digital technology can serve students unable to visit specific spaces. Unified Communications tools are becoming a lifeline to help bring education to those who need it most, wherever they are in the world.
Going forward, delivering a consistent quality of education to future generations will require educational institutions to invest in UC as a core part of the tools they use every day. From “Rooms” for delivering hybrid learning experiences to both offline and online students to apps for aligning distributed staff, UC will power the future of learning.
Step 2: Empower and Augment Educators
Educators are responsible for shaping the next generation of world leaders, employees, and innovators. However, like any other staff member, the faculty of a school or university still relies on the correct tools to remain productive, engaged, and innovative. Unified Communication tools aren’t just opening the door to online webinars and video conversations with students.
At the core of a Unified Communications platform is an ecosystem where team members from various environments can come together to share ideas, lesson plans, and strategies for connecting with learners. Mobile apps and desktop systems connected to the UC platform allow teachers to reach out to admin, IT support, and specialists when they need help delivering lessons.
Unified Communication tools even allow schools to access substitute teachers and additional learning opportunities by tapping specialists from around the globe. In today’s hybrid world, anyone can step in to deliver a class over video and assist in shaping minds.
As UC tools become increasingly flexible in the age of cloud and AI, there are even numerous ways to empower educators to accomplish more. Staff can collaborate with worldwide specialists, using in-line translation to understand their guidance. Virtual assistants and bots can help with marking and processing digitally delivered workpieces and reports. Many UCaaS solutions can even integrate with Learning Management Systems (LMS) to keep more of the tools educators need in one unified space.
