[Guide] How school districts can upgrade cloud infrastructure to accommodate e-learning

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus, schools across the world are closing to minimize risk. While some have paused instruction indefinitely, many are shifting to an e-learning model, requiring staff and students to engage in e-classrooms and use cloud-based tools for communication and file sharing. While many businesses and higher education institutions have gradually transitioned their technology infrastructure over the past 15 years, school districts are now facing an unprecedented expectation of cloud-based learning.

K-12 education is one industry where legacy applications still dominate, mainly due to budget cuts and a desire to maximize ROI on costly, early 2000’s solutions. Modern cloud infrastructure includes online-based tools, file storage, data streaming, and more, enabling work-from-anywhere connectivity and minimizing maintenance costs.

Below is a five-step transition outline for districts interested in changing to a cloud-based infrastructure.

Five steps for upgrading cloud infrastructure to accommodate the e-learning model

1. Inventory your current systems.

What tools do you have now? How are you currently set up? Make an all-encompassing list of all tools used by your employees and students at a classroom, school, and district level. This should include the software, its purpose, and its annual cost.

2. Itemize what needs to change.

There are numerous interconnected tools and stakeholders involved in successfully running a school district. Teachers, students, administrators, healthcare staff, and parents use tools to teach, learn, and/or monitor performance. Which tools do you need to improve? Widespread video conferencing? File storage for students and teachers? File sharing and real-time collaboration? Virtual classrooms? The more detailed you are in this step, the faster it will be to enact change.

3. Compare on-prem, hybrid, and cloud storage options.

Regardless of which tools you choose, it’s important to carefully consider your data storage and strategy. Accessibility, maintenance, and long-term cost are all improved by switching from legacy systems to cloud services, but each situation is unique. If you prefer a hybrid model, is your infrastructure ready to support it? How can you fill the gaps? Items to consider include:

• The impact of video sharing and video streaming on bandwidth and performance.
• The scalability of your tools and services.
• Legal requirements surrounding security, data privacy, and record-keeping. Is your cloud set up to handle personally identifiable information (PII)? What about streaming versus storing data?

Want to learn more about how to upgrade your tech for e-learning? View the final 2 steps of the guide, and the rest of the article here: https://www.logic2020.com/insight/coronavirus-e-learning-upgrade-cloud-infrastructure-guide?utm_source=social&utm_medium=Medium&utm_campaign=eLearning