How to Achieve Virtual Learning in Higher Education?

The need for virtual learning throughout the pandemic has seen higher education providers scramble to up their game. Whilst it may have leapt forward driven by lockdowns, we can now slow a little and ensure that we make the most of the wealth of benefits virtual learning can bring to education provision – as it’s clear there are benefits to it.

Students will now more than ever want or need to access areas of study remotely as part of course provision. Online learning provision needs to be ready for increased demand and the possibility of restrictions returning to ensure we don’t face the same disruptions to education we saw from coronavirus.

Remote learning is undoubtedly a welcome development that opens up courses and study locations wider than traditional methods ever could. Digital and online elements are also becoming part of conventional courses, and an increasing number of institutions offer a blend of in-person and virtual learning. Universities and higher education providers should now incorporate virtual learning into the continuity of provision plans and use web conferencing to conduct lectures, which benefits both students and learning centres by opening up the audience to access courses from any location. But how can they get it right?

Equipment

One of the most prominent remote learning challenges is access to technology and ensuring all students have suitable equipment to use course contents efficiently. Virtual learning provision in the future may see students supported with the cost of internet access and appropriate study equipment, perhaps by way of loaned laptops or interest-free hire purchase schemes.

Training

It is not only students that face significant changes by greater use of virtual learning. Higher education lecturers and professors have faced incredible disruption to their own lives. Delivering lectures effectively online can involve engaging themselves with technology in unfamiliar ways. Providing training to staff members to gain the required level of familiarity with technology and access to equipment that enables them to meet the specialised needs of the courses they deliver should be viewed with the same importance given to student provision.

Cybersecurity

The speed of change has seen many universities and colleges facing holes in their cybersecurity, and many have already faced challenges from unwanted attacks or security breaches. Virtual learning facilities must have robust cybersecurity protocols and knowledge in place. Security actions such as having versatile cloud storage in place and network support provision are just the start. 

Taking control of VDI

Managing VDI is more effortless and robust when done from a central point, which can be managed for you. Using the services of specialist companies when it comes to installing virtual workplaces throughout education and industry could be a smart move. Remote classes can then be delivered effortlessly. Students and teachers can access large or graphics-heavy applications via any device with no worry about the performance or reliability of onsite servers. Data security and storage are managed with backup facilities that can grow or shrink as demand dictates. Technology issues that are increasingly complex and fall outside the knowledge of in-house IT provisions will remove risks and hiccups waiting to disrupt learning.

Talent

Use the wealth of talent in students and staff to assist the virtual learning journey. Students with skills and understanding of technology can be used to help other students and tutors. This can also help with the isolation some students feel and more quickly assist others in handling the transition to remote learning. Students can help with issues, set up forums and provide social or educational platforms to build up a community that supports students social interactions in a remote environment.

An effective virtual learning environment will place heavy demand on IT infrastructures. It must maintain high speed and consistent availability for all applications to deliver the wealth of available virtual-learning applications. A virtualised infrastructure will reduce higher education providers’ hardware costs and IT headaches by providing a safe and sturdy remote learning platform for future challenges. Virtual learning is here to stay, and it can be rival in-person learning, but only if we get it right.