Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Viewpoint: Time to reimagine virtual learning

A virtual learning program should focus on inspiring teachers if it expects teachers to inspire students

reimagine-virtual-learningJust over a decade ago, the idea of virtual learning carried with it the potential to revolutionize the education industry. It was a beautiful concept. It offered the ability to serve students in a one-to-one setting, to build intimate relationships with them, and to assist each one in pursuing his or her personal best.

But today, virtual learning faces new skepticism in the wake of subpar results from many programs.

What happened? In short, the implementation of virtual learning was substandard to the original vision. Many factors, both external and internal, were at play to cause this, and I have written about these in my own blog. However, my purpose with this article is not to point out all of the faults that have arisen, but rather to sound the call for reimagining virtual learning programs to make sure they are implemented correctly.…Read More

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What to look for in a cloud provider of Microsoft Exchange

Here are five key things to consider when looking for an Exchange Server host

microsoft-exchangeMicrosoft Exchange provides a rich feature set for email, which has made it a popular option among schools and colleges. And the latest version, Exchange 2013, is a more robust offering than its predecessor, delivering many improvements for schools. These include:

  • Better availability. Exchange 2013 offers higher availability and is more fault-tolerant than previous versions.
  • Greater transparency. Servers are now self-monitoring and work in teams to ensure high availability. When a server detects a problem that could affect the user experience, it transparently switches users to another database.
  • Increased speed. Exchange 2013 provides users with significantly faster speed than Exchange 2010.
  • Windows 8 interface. Microsoft’s Windows 8 interface simplifies navigation on mobile devices.
  • Improved support for mobility. The Outlook Web App has been modified for mobility and will adapt to the user’s screen, whether it’s an iPad, iPhone, another tablet, PC, or laptop.

That said, some educational institutions face challenges in setting up their own Exchange Server. It can be costly and labor-intensive to do this, and using the advanced features of Exchange 2013 requires hardware and training that aren’t financially feasible for some schools.

To overcome these roadblocks, an increasing number of schools and colleges are making the switch to Exchange Server hosting. A dedicated, remotely hosted Exchange Server enables schools to save money on administration and the total cost of ownership, while also redeploying IT staff for other projects and initiatives.…Read More

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