For any business, digital transformation has become essential in recent years. In some sectors, it is essential not only for success, but for survival. In fact, according to a recent study, 89% of companies plan to adopt or have already adopted a digital business strategy.
As we’ve covered elsewhere, digital transformation is the process by which technology is adopted by a business, group, or sector in order to modernise and transform its systems. Processes are streamlined, innovation is sparked, and, generally speaking, higher-quality outcomes are achieved.
Digital transformation can take the form of anything from the installation of new and improved software, to automating current processes with RPA (Robotic Process Automation).
The top adopters of digital transformation strategies include Services (95%), Financial Services (93%), and Healthcare (92%). But where does that leave the education sector?
What is educational digital transformation?
Cantium Business Solutions works with over 700 educational customers across the UK. We deliver bespoke IT support assistance and digital transformation services.
From Microsoft 365 collaboration tools to faster, more resilient broadband networks, the education sector is constantly benefitting from technological advancements. Just a few of the services that can come under the broader term of digital transformation include:
- Broadband and business continuity services, to keep things running smoothly should something unexpected happen.
- Cloud services to help students and teachers access shared resources in real-time, and work on them collaboratively from anywhere.
- The modernisation of telecommunications to allow for a greater interconnectedness between schools, students, teachers, and parents. Our Cantium Voice system is a VoIP hosted telephony solution that gives our educational clients access to fully-managed, business-essential telecommunications, helping people to stay connected without disruption.
- The implementation and refinement of education-specific technology, such as SIMS (School Information Management System). EIS, part of Cantium, has helped 550+ schools and trusts across the country to implement SIMS successfully so far and are Capita SIMS Accredited. Bradfield Academy invested in SIMS with Cantium back in 2017 to achieve an outstanding OFSTED result. Take a look at our work with Bradfield here.
What does digital transformation in the education sector look like?
The integration of new technology and the classroom can take many forms. However, the most crucial digital transformation areas involve artificial intelligence, virtual reality, online learning software, and analytics.
Artificial intelligence
AI applications can be put to great use inside and outside the classroom. Delivering custom learning experiences to students in the form of voice-to-text technologies for students with hearing impairments, and text-to-voice tools to help students who have trouble processing written language.
Staff efficiency can also be enhanced by AI. Instead of teachers, chatbots can be set up to answer questions about the curriculum and homework, for example. In large educational institutions, such as trusts, this can be rolled out on a mass scale. Back-office administrative processes can also be automated and sped up by AI through things such as RPA, saving staff time.
Analytics
Educational institutions are responsible for collecting and safely handling a lot of personal data. Anything from dietary requirements to examination results can be collected.
But, after digital transformation improves educational software, this data can be organised and analysed to great effect. Using the latest analytics tools, data about student performance can be interrogated and manipulated to reveal patterns and trends that can help a school better target its teaching efforts.
With Cantium’s digital transformation services, the technical design of your educational institution can be revitalised according to your goals, strategies, and budgets. While you focus on delivering a high-quality learning experience, we can design and implement school-specific IT solutions that help secure and better analyse data to the benefit of your pupils’ education experience.
Learning software
During the COVID-19 pandemic, software such as Microsoft Teams became essential. With digital transformation, it is possible for educational institutions to build a completely online class system, share resources, and assign tasks all thanks to the implementation of intuitive learning software.
Here at Cantium, we recommend that educational institutions opt for Microsoft over other platforms due to the numerous benefits for schools. Through Microsoft 365, your institution can access your files from anywhere with a 99.9% uptime commitment as well as secure cloud storage and simple licensing.
Included in the 365 subscription is Microsoft Outlook, a communications service that allows you to do so much more than just send and receive emails. If optimised, it can also be used to store contacts and manage calendars, enabling your staff to stay connected and well-informed.
What’s more, applications such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote make it easier than ever to create engaging, high-quality resources that can be circulated and worked on collaboratively.
Download our Guide to Using Microsoft 365 in the Workplace to find out more.
What are the benefits of digital transformation in the educational sector?
A successful digital transformation strategy in the education sector is highly multifaceted. Educational spaces are constantly evolving with the times, and technology is too. So, when both spheres of innovation crossover, excellent things happen.
Just a few of the benefits of digital transformation in the education sector include:
- The cultivation of innovative teaching and learning methods.
- Greater interconnectedness between staff, students, shareholders, schools, and parents.
- A technological edge that can act as a draw for parents to send their children to your school.
- Increased engagement. Computer technology and AI can allow for more interactive learning, changing the game from outdated methods of copying and reciting.
- Improved accessibility. Integrating technology into learning environments allows for far greater levels of accessibility. As the COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated, there is always a need for greater diversity in educational technology — from communications to resource creation. Online resources are more easily circulated and can be shared with a wider range of people who, for one reason or another, can’t access the classroom. For students with disabilities, technologies such as text-to-speech software have become a lifeline over the years.
Contact us
If you’re a stakeholder in the education sector — perhaps a trust owner or a headteacher — and are looking for effective solutions, get in touch with Cantium today.
In the meantime, you can browse our IT services for the education sector here. Or, to find out more about digital transformation in its own right, head over to another of our blogs.
