How the cloud is transforming education

Cloud technology is becoming a necessity across all sectors of today’s digitalized world. Education is preparing to benefit immensely from a transition to cloud computing, as both teachers and students anticipate the improvements in their productivity and learning that this technology can offer.

Governments and administrations are now backing the global drive for digital transformation in educational environments, as they realize the need for cloud computing in schools, universities, and other online learning platforms.

An EdTechreport demonstrates how 90% of the K–12 school districts that responded to CoSN’s 2018 Infrastructure Survey reported using the cloud for storage, while 88% said they used cloud-based software systems. This shows the rapid shift we are seeing towards this form of computing across the country’s education system.

Here, Kyocera considers the benefits of cloud computing, presenting five of the biggest advantages for education providers:
 

 1. Reduced costs

One of the big advantages that schools will notice once they integrate cloud technology is a considerable reduction in overall financial costs. Instead of having to spend money on expensive workbooks and textbooks, both teachers and students will have most of the content they need online. Using cloud technology has proven to be cheaper than investing in physical paper books in the medium term.

Similarly, cloud computing eliminates the enormous paper costs that schools face as cloud-based content is compatible and accessible via phones, tablets, or laptops. Not only is this good for educational institutions financially, but it also contributes massively to minimizing their carbon footprint.
 

 2. More readily available resources

Through cloud computing, schools are able to transfer, create, and edit more content in a digital format than ever before. This translates into more universal and complete access to educational resources.

This also promotes learning, as some pupils will find it easier and more appealing to enroll in educational programs, courses, and even university degrees when these are offered online. Having all the necessary educational content only a few clicks away will permit future students to study whenever they so choose, or whenever they are able to.
 

 3. Increased quality and accuracy of content

Cloud technology enables educational providers to update and modify any content that needs to be edited, as well as ensure that all the teaching resources stored in the cloud are up to date and of high quality.

This will have a significant impact on learning. The textbooks that were traditionally used in the education sector were not updated very frequently. As a result, the schools that relied on them would sometimes end up using outdated resources while they waited for new editions to be published. With the cloud, this is no longer an issue.

 4. The ability to implement innovative teaching methods

Today’s ongoing technological advances present new opportunities for teachers to innovate and be more creative in the way they plan and deliver their lessons to students.

Using cloud content is a great way to encourage electronic and interactive learning among younger students, who will lead the way in tomorrow’s digital world. Multimedia learning has been proven to be stimulating for students, making classes more enjoyable overall.

 5. Time saving tools and practices

A shift towards digital content has proven to be timesaving for education providers. The flexibility offered by online cloud technology allows teachers to prepare lesson plans when and where they please.

Through one single platform, teachers’ collaboration is also made easier. Education providers can instantly share ideas and resources at any given time. All in all, the global education sector's necessary digital transformation begins with the use of cloud computing. It's easy to see how much every person involved in education stands to gain from a transition into digitalization.

Cloud computing envisions a solution to the education sector's present and future challenges, by offering a modern and simple way to digitally access, share, update, manage, and download important educational content. Through this approach, not only can organizations reduce their financial burdens, but students can also benefit from a whole new world of resources and efficiency which improve their learning experience and student satisfaction.