With a crisis comes both challenges and opportunities. Continued limits on large, in-person gatherings alongside an ever-changing landscape of regulations at both local, state, and federal levels contribute to concern in the educational community regarding their ability to pivot.

In general, educators have concrete worries concerning distance learning, including:

• That distance learning may be considered dull by students that are challenged and those that are ahead of their classmates
• That the sheer enormity of bringing lessons online will overwhelm teaching staff
• That the need for bring-your-own-device (BYOD) environments will widen the equity gap
• That unsatisfactory experiences with online learning during COVID-19 will make it harder to promote distance learning in the future
• That FERPA compliance may become more difficult in an online setting

While these are all valid concerns, many opportunities have been afforded by the COVID-19 crisis and the push to distance education, including:

• More exposure to blended learning can supercharge innovation and interest
• More interaction and engagement for increased satisfaction and higher retention
• The educational community will receive appreciation — and respect — for rising to the challenge
• Quality educational materials will be more widely available and better curated
• Distance learning will foster teacher collaboration for better educational outcomes

As the public and private sectors continue to adjust to the “new normal” brought about by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, educators are leveraging the power of online learning-specific technologies to continue to provide their student bases with high-quality learning experiences.

Adopting IT for Education to Better Serve Students — and Faculty

As the educational community continues to adapt to the “new normal” of learning, more institutions are looking to IT providers who are knowledgeable in education-specific technologies as an essential tool for success.

Specific IT for education can help minimize the challenges and magnify benefits by allowing teachers convenience and flexibility in lesson design and access to myriad learning materials that can increase student interest — and education quality.

To begin with, managed IT services can help provide the kind of security protections recommended by the federal government to protect student privacy under FERPA.

From there, a strong managed service provider (MSP) can bring learning to life through industry-leading products including software, workflow automation, and VoIP solutions for maximum reach and efficiency.

Productivity solutions such as managed print and document management options provide full network coverage to support your network from end-to-end, ensuring positive classroom management, swift problem diagnosis for maximum uptime, and productivity solutions that go the distance.

Finally, an MSP team will improve processes and operational efficiency by integrating seamlessly with your current software and applications. This gives busy educators instant access to learning apps, attendance records, student records, and other materials they need to do their jobs well.

Managed services also provide the highest level of data security safeguards and protections to ensure your organization is compliant with FERPA and other data privacy regulations for peace of mind.

Also, an MSP will provide ongoing tech education for staff and students to ensure everyone understands how to easily navigate the system for the greatest benefits.

Let Blue Technologies Help Your Organization Embrace Distance Learning

The Blue Technologies team of education IT professionals can expertly guide educators, administrators, and their support staff through the twists and turns of managing an online learning platform.

Our team will listen closely to the challenges and needs of your school system, district, or individual school to get a comprehensive understanding of your current strengths and vulnerabilities.

We’ll assess your existing infrastructure — hardware and software — and develop a targeted program to keep your educational institution on the cutting edge of distance learning.

We’ll incorporate a variety of state-of-the-art technologies that will help you explore learning potential in your student population while helping teachers manage online protocols with ease.

Educators have strict financial guidelines, and a managed service program is the perfect remedy for a tight budget. With managed services, there are no surprise fees or upcharges. Everything you need —from equipment and support to maintenance and security — is included in the monthly fee.

Let the distance learning experience be a benefit rather than a challenge for your educational staff and your student population. Contact a Blue Technologies consultant today to discover the wide range of IT solutions for online learning.