The traditional method of teaching and learning at colleges and universities has long been the lecture. And there?s nothing inherently wrong with the lecture format. Students come to class to listen and take notes on the lecture given by a professor. But the lecture hall format has come under fire in recent years because of the lack of student and professor interaction. While the lecture remains a great way for a professor to provide students with a wealth of information in a relatively short time, an increasing amount of college faculty are trying what?s known as a flipped classroom.
In a flipped classroom, students are required to watch lecture videos and use online forums outside of the classroom, and then come to class ready to engage in more advanced topics and project-based learning. Flipped classrooms have been gaining traction lately, in part because professors report that they see an increase in student engagement and student learning. It makes sense if you think about it. Students are expected to learn the basics on their own, using their own devices and technology. Then they come to class to discuss what they?ve learned and handle problems that may have arisen.
In theory, a flipped classroom engages the students in a way that a packed lecture hall just doesn?t allow. However, as with all education techniques, there have been speed bumps for faculty to overcome. Too much emphasis on the work outside of class gives students little reason to come to class, especially if they don?t encounter problems. Faculty have to design a new curriculum that encourages both sides of the work?coming to class and work at home. Another problem is that most high schools simply don?t use the flipped classroom technique, and students come to college lacking the skills and self-discipline required to complete the work assigned outside the classroom.
But why is the flipped classroom seeing so much of a surge in recent years? The answer is that the technology at colleges and universities has become incredibly user friendly. Combined with incoming students? familiarity with high-tech devices, this means professors can assign video lectures and other online work knowing that their students will be able to access and learn from them without problems. Today?s students are comfortable sitting on their couch and accessing the same information that used to only come from attendance at a lecture hall. This means the classroom experience needs to change, as well. If students can access a lecture on their laptop, then there needs to be something new and engaging awaiting them in the classroom.
New software and applications provide faculty with increasingly innovative ways of reaching their students with the information they need to succeed in the classroom. At N2N, we understand that the need for applications and systems on a college campus is always growing and evolving. That?s why we?ve designed the?Illuminate platformto be the revolutionary system and application integration tool that your college needs. Contact N2N Services today for more information.
Fitbit for learning, anyone? Imagine a targeted alert system where the student is personally notified when an assignment is due, or when grades have been posted, or when the next big game is scheduled? Imagine a targeted notification system when, for example, the balance on student’s meal plan is under threshold?
SaaSification of education
Most edtech companies will be working on plans to convert?their on-premise/hosted solution to a SaaS model during the year 2016. This trend will continue this year and probably reach a feverish pace during the year 2017.
Personalized learning pathways
Competency Based Education, Game Based Learning and other personalized learning pathways will become mainstream and will continue to transform learning technologies this year.
Future of education, powered by?Integration
At N2N, we are committed to transforming education by solving the systemic integration issues at the core of administrative information systems. N2N’s Integration Platform (now called “Illuminate“) is at the core of our offering to support the future of education. During year 2015, we have entered into?following strategic collaborations to support educational institutions and leading edtech companies
During the year 2016, we are looking to transform learning by deploying our real-time, bi-directional APIs (http://illuminateapp.com/apis/sdoc.jsp) at educational institutions.
Powered by N2N’s API Management platform, N2N’s standardized, student information APIs can be used by educational institutions to achieve the following strategic objectives
Share?Student Data with SaaS providers in a secure fashion using turnkey APIs
Expose Student Data to Wearable, mobile and other devices to send targeted alerts and notifications
Synchronize Student Data between SIS and other third-party applications in a real-time fashion
Summary
N2N has been a strong proponent of collaboration and we have partnered with over 60 educational institutions and several edtech vendors over the years. We will continue this pursuit during the year 2016 to support the future of learning.
Join us to reimagine education during the year 2016.?
It’s been a long time since we relied solely on phone calls and voicemail for communication. We’ve since grown into email, instant messages, conferencing, and video calls. Now there are more ways to get ahold of each other than there ever have been, and it takes certain technological know-how for an employee to juggle all these communications and respond appropriately. And if it’s a hassle for an end user to manage all their communications, then you can bet it isn’t easy for an IT department to deal with these systems in an simple and secure manner.
It may seem like a tough call to make, but unified communications are becoming a necessity for higher education institutions that want to encourage a culture of collaboration and innovation. Video conferencing is increasingly becoming a popular option, especially for schools with satellite campuses that are located miles away.
Imagine a situation when a voice call couldn’t quite communicate the concept at hand. Now imagine an easy solution, as the call switches to video and a visual demonstration allows the person on the other end to fully grasp the concept being presented. This really isn’t a radical idea, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that unified communications are improving collaboration and decision-making at campuses across the country. Voicemails can be accessed from email, documents can be shared remotely, and students can watch a lecture from a campus in another state.
This all sounds fantastic, but how do you integrate a diverse set of applications and systems, and truly unify your communications? At N2N, we’ve created the Illuminate Platform, a strategic and adaptable combination of technologies, starting with a flexible, reliable and secure cloud infrastructure platform. Rather than trying to find that one solution that does everything, the Illuminate platform was designed with the understanding that there is no one system that will address all institutional needs.
Illuminate gives you seamless and secure data transfer across all systems, even legacy and strategic programs that still run locally. It works as a central hub, linking everything together and taking data and transforming it into the format that another application needs. Illuminate is like a highway leading between several cities, bypassing the system of existing roads, ensuring smooth data transactions across applications.
At N2N, we pride ourselves on our educational background and expertise. Higher education institutions are not businesses that can be run like any other corporation. Of course, there are business elements to running a college or university, but at N2N we understand that higher education is about more than business, and we pride ourselves on being able to find solutions that integrate both business and academic applications. That way you can focus on providing your students with the best education possible, instead of your IT structure.
If you would like to know more about how our team and the N2N Illuminate platform can help your college or university, contact N2N Services today.
The purpose of innovations in technology has always been to meet a particular need. This is no different when it comes to the integration of new technologies in college and university classrooms.
But some of these higher learning organizations are hesitant to adopt the new wave of technological advancement in their classrooms.
Their reasons for not transitioning immediately into the new paradigm of education are often understandable. The changes brought about by these new technologies are happening before our eyes at a pace so rapid it can leave you dizzy!
But the reality of the global economy and the state of higher education necessitates these changes.
Poor Access
One of the unfortunately more common reasons for colleges not embracing technological innovation is because they simply can’t access it. This can be because they’re in more rural areas, or don’t have the actual infrastructure to include it in their classrooms.
Providing high speed, wireless Internet for an entire college campus can be seriously difficult for institutions in areas of the world where small homes nearby can hardly manage a solid connection. The effort required of IT workers and local ISPs to maintain such a network can be downright Herculean.
Fortunately, the technologies that allow the Internet to flourish in even the most remote locations are developing and spreading at a breakneck pace. The adoption of a more digital environment soon won?t have to rely on grass roots efforts ? it’ll be everywhere.
Authenticity and Efficiency
There’s a pretty sizeable group of academics who are concerned that by adopting new technologies in education, the relationship between instructor and student becomes less authentic.
What technology represents for higher education systems a lot of the time is increased efficiency so more students can be educated at a faster pace than in the more traditional style of learning. Some educators are worried that increased efficiency will mean education has been corporatized and commodified, instead of being valued like it should be.
But this does not have to be the case. Learning technologies lower costs for students, increasing their access to educators like never before. The technologies themselves can be used by the educators as a companion tool to their curriculum, allowing for the learning platforms they work with to become more adaptive and successful.
Above all, technology can increase the faculty certainty that their students have mastered the curriculum to the correct degree through intuitive grading and progress measurement applications.
What the Technological Revolution Really Means for Colleges
Times are changing, that’s for sure. If we want a more educated population, the best way for colleges to produce more graduates is to embrace technological innovation.
Technology is to be used as a tool to address whatever needs educators have in ensuring the best possible education for all of their students. As it develops further into the future, there?s no doubt that technology will be integrated into the classroom setting in new and incredible ways.
There’s no reason for educators to be Luddites! They’re often at the cutting-edge already when it comes to new and improved teaching methods. And while we may not know exactly what the future holds for education, it’s undeniable that transitioning smoothly into it is the best way to stay up-to-date and ahead of the times.
If you would like to learn how technology can help your university reach higher levels of success, contact N2N services today.
Keeping in touch with students isn?t just about a weekly email update anymore. Social media has provided students with a way to open a dialogue with administration, and give that dialogue an audience. People at the top of the educational system are realizing that students want these open lanes of communication, and they want to be able to voice their concerns and comments over social media where they will be seen and followed by other students or faculty.
As this trend continues, it would be wise to develop a plan for interacting with and helping students over social media if you’ve not already done so. So we?re here today to give you some ideas for using social media constructively, as well as dealing with feedback from students and maintaining a dialogue with them.
Students want to see action from their university on issues they care about. Even if immediate action isn?t possible on an issue, students want to see that they aren?t being ignored, and a good way to do that is by responding and communicating through social media. This doesn?t mean the chancellor needs to respond to every tweet thrown his way, but it does mean that he or she should maintain an active presence on social media, especially Twitter.
Twitter is a platform that allows students to directly message higher ups, and it gives their message a huge online audience, as it’s basically a public blog post, unlike tools that require community registration or “friending.” Failure to respond to a well-reasoned request or concern gives off an impression that administration is ignoring students, or simply doesn?t care. Conversely, a timely response, even if it disagrees with a student?s position, at the very least shows that there is someone on the other end considering their argument, and this goes a long way with a student body who may feel uninvolved in university processes.
Another way to improve communication using social media is by giving departments their own Facebook or Twitter page. This works to the students? benefit because it gives them easy online access to ask questions or get in contact with departmental resources. The CIO-led IT department is especially important because of the huge increase in online services and technology that students now use on a daily basis. One misstep or bad link can end up giving students, and faculty, a huge headache. Being made aware of a problem quickly makes it easier for departments to deal with it, and social media gives students an opportunity for quick notification and resolution.
Quick notification is also invaluable in case of a campus emergency. Colleges are finding that disseminating information on social media is a much quicker way to warn students than email and allows viral propagation, even to those not registered for a fast, targeted service like SMS messaging. This improves safety for students and faculty, and helps build a stronger relationship between students and the university.
If you would like more information on the intersection of education and technology, contact N2N Services today.
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SaaSification of education
