Guest Contributor |
New technologies are transforming education by driving a shift toward more accessible, flexible, and engaging educational experiences for students and faculty, while providing administrators with a more manageable and secure IT environment. .
Cloud-based solutions provide institutions with the foundation for intuitive, collaborative, and scalable applications, deep insights from cloud-scale analytics, and artificial intelligence-driven strategies that improve student experiences and outcomes.
“The future of education is being transformed by new technologies Microsoft and our partners are developing for the cloud,” says Brooke Daniel of Microsoft.
Microsoft Azure is playing a pivotal role in the transformation of education by providing powerful cloud-based solutions aimed at empowering educators and learners around the world. Microsoft helps schools reinvest in what matters most by helping them simplify and protect data, improve efficiency, and accelerate learning. There are three main ways educational institutions can achieve these goals with cloud-based innovation.
1. Security and backup restore made easy
According to Microsoft's Global Threat Activity Report, more than 80% of malware attacks target the education sector, so educators and administrators must take action as they develop new best practices to protect students, faculty, staff, and infrastructure. We keep security top of mind. Cloud providers prioritize security and offer multiple layers of protection beyond most on-premises systems. Advanced encryption provides protection against unauthorized access, and disaster recovery plans ensure continuity in the face of unexpected interruptions. For example, the robust security features built into Microsoft 365 A5 Security allow schools to focus on providing a safe and engaging learning environment where their IT systems are backed by industry-leading security measures. Microsoft 365 Defender provides multi-layered phishing protection to protect students and teachers from complex phishing attacks. Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management also helps organizations identify and respond to risky activity by leveraging various services within Microsoft 365 and third-party metrics.
Additionally, automated backup and recovery services provide a secure, automated way to protect critical data while enabling institutions to quickly recover from security incidents and system failures. Secure Backup and Recovery helps schools strengthen their security posture by encrypting data at rest and in transit, and with easily configured access controls and monitoring to track how information is accessed. Microsoft's partner ecosystem is helping to improve security for education with integrations built specifically for the Microsoft Security Platform. Cybersecurity companies CDW and BlueVoyant are collaborating to help schools gain visibility and protection from cyber risks. Meanwhile, BlueVoyant's Conquest Cyber helps protect multi-cloud environments, and Forsyte's security management services monitor and respond to threats.
2. Better learning environment
Cloud technology and AI are a game-changer for educators looking to personalize learning and improve time management. Educators can leverage Microsoft Copilot with commercial data protection capabilities to personalize learning, saving time and energy that can be reinvested in students. For example, staff at Wichita Public Schools, a public unified school district headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, accessed Copilot through their Microsoft 365 A5 account to create and coordinate lesson plans for students. They used Copilot's AI tools to help teach students who have a variety of learning differences and speak over 100 different languages.
Microsoft Copilot also offers AI chat for the web with access to models such as GPT-4 and DALLE-3 at no additional cost. Commercial data protection features also remove chat prompts and responses to protect your organization's data and protect your privacy. teachers and their students. Teachers can find the information they need to deliver lessons using links to content sources and make it accessible at different reading levels and languages using Copilot.
Additionally, higher education students can leverage Copilot to learn in the way that works best for them, including brainstorming assignments, summarizing information, and step-by-step explanations of mathematical solutions, making projects more visual. You can make it attractive.
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3. Simplified management
Educational institutions are places of connection between faculty, students, colleagues, and the broader community. For educational networks to be fruitful, schools need systems that easily, securely, and quickly connect information where it is needed. This means you need intuitive, collaborative, and scalable applications and low-code tools that improve productivity and processes to positively impact school experiences and operations.
Cloud technology improves efficiency and improves experiences by optimizing core systems, data, and analytics. Your staff can deploy business applications, databases, infrastructure, and AI services on Azure and access the cloud agility and optimized performance they need for administrative and academic advancement. Azure enables users to take a lake-first approach to using accurate, real-time data by connecting disparate systems. That data can be translated into natural, contextual language using chatbots powered by Azure Cognitive Services and Azure OpenAI to better support faculty and students. The Microsoft Power Platform, Dynamics 365 portfolio, and extensive Microsoft partner ecosystem also provide the connectivity you need to achieve every aspect of your organization's potential.
Looking beyond learning
The future of education is being transformed by new technologies developed for the cloud by Microsoft and its partners. Primary and higher education institutions are increasing operational efficiency while improving the quality of education for their students. AI, learning management systems, online education platforms, and student information systems are simplifying IT for educational institutions.
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Primary and higher education institutions are investing in Microsoft technology to enhance their courses of study.
Cloud-based technology offers significant benefits to education by making IT easier and more secure for educational institutions and reducing the time and effort required to manage IT. These technologies give educators more time and resources to support student growth.
For more information on these technologies, please visit Microsoft Industry Webinar Series on Education.
Brooke Daniel is Director of Industry Partner Marketing for Global Partner Solutions in the Americas at Microsoft.
