How Office 365 for Education can Transform Your Classroom

There’s been a lot of talk about how cloud-based IT solutions are changing the modern workspace, but what about the impact of cloud and transformation in the classroom?

The benefits of cloud remain the same. Here’s a great summary from Vario:

1. Achieve economies of scale – increase volume output or productivity with fewer people. Your cost per unit, project or product plummets.
2. Reduce spending on technology infrastructure. Maintain easy access to your information with minimal upfront spending. Pay as you go (weekly, quarterly or yearly), based on demand.
3. Globalize your users on the cheap. Students and teachers worldwide can access the cloud, provided they have an Internet connection.
4. Streamline processes. Get more work done in less time with less people.
5. Reduce capital costs. There’s no need to spend big money on hardware, software or licensing fees.
6. Improve accessibility. You have access anytime, anywhere, making your life so much easier!
7. Monitor projects more effectively. Stay within budget and ahead of completion cycle times.
8. Less personnel training is needed. It takes fewer people to do more work on a cloud, with a minimal learning curve on hardware and software issues.
9. Minimize licensing new software. Stretch and grow without the need to buy expensive software licenses or programs.
10. Improve flexibility. You can change direction without serious “people” or “financial” issues at stake.

To illustrate, let’s take a look at one of the most obvious cloud solutions out there and its classroom-specific benefits: Microsoft 365 for Education, which provides students a dynamic learning experience inside and outside the classroom.

Accessibility and storage

With Office 365 for Education, students can access their email, documents, contacts and calendar whenever they are online. They can use up to 25GB of mailbox storage and send attachments as large as 25MB, as well use 7GB of free cloud storage.

Continuity and integration

Students can work with cloud-based programs they are already familiar with such as Microsoft Word, Powerpoint or Excel, and learn new ones that are designed to help them manage their schoolwork and schedules efficiently. Best of all, they are able to do so in a centralized, cloud-based workspace that keeps everything organized and accessible.

Collaboration and communication

Students are given cloud collaboration solutions that allow them to access, view and even edit documents together. These are supported by numerous tools such as instant messaging, presence, screen sharing, audio, as well as video conferencing to offer seamless and efficient collaboration.

Conclusion

If you’ve not considered cloud because of its “commercial-first” positioning, maybe it’s time to reconsider. Contact us and we’ll help you decide if cloud is right for your school.