Some higher
education campuses are cautiously trading in their well-worn learning
management systems for cloud computing, reported EdTech magazine. Schools are also shifting other technology
services to the cloud, such as student email accounts and administrative
applications.
The move
isn’t usually about cutting costs. “Cloud services are not necessarily
cheaper,” noted a university official. “The value lies in the ways they
accelerate the speed of innovation and free you from day-to-day maintenance.”
The
colleges and universities highlighted in the article chose cloud services as a
means to scale technology services as necessary, remain more nimble as each
school’s needs change, and provide reliability to students, especially for
schools with a large commuter enrollment.
With many
schools tapping into licensed reading materials through their learning
management systems, it’s possible cloud services could offer the same. Marian
University, Indianapolis, IN, used the cloud to provide electronic textbooks to
students at its medical school, along with lecture capture, electronic polling,
and assessments.