NEWS: Connected Schools for innovative Learning

In the final instalment of the Connected Life series, Cisco Malaysia’s managing director Kumaran Singaram explores the meaning of connected schools and what it means for Malaysia as the nation strives towards a knowledge society.

Education has always been one of the primary drivers for economic growth, peace and prosperity. Increasingly, we are living in a knowledge society, in which connectivity allows us access to all kinds of information at unprecedented speed and multiple formats.

One-wire vision
Innovative school leaders are beginning to transform education to realise their vision of connected schools. Connected schools create the possibilities for changing pedagogy and provide new opportunities to improve the learning experience, so that children and societies are ready to meet the challenges of today’s knowledge society.

Today, schools are increasingly turning to the data network as the “fourth utility” and using it to address facilities management challenges. Thanks to technology, today’s educators can transform the educational environment, bringing out the full potential in every teacher, student and facility. With proper support in place, schools can move beyond basic technology integration, and turn their technical infrastructure into a valuable resource that facilitates administrative efficiency and academic excellence.

Central education networks management
Connected schools can help educational institutions to reduce building capital and operational costs, increase safety and security and support new services and amenities that enhance the educational experience for students and faculty.

Equipped with a versatile network foundation that uses the open standard of Internet protocol (IP), schools can create innovative learning and building environments in which facilities, technologies, and services work together to improve the efficiency of operating and maintaining school facilities.

As school districts depend heavily on communications for school operations and administration, it can improve the dissemination of information such as human relations policies, emergency procedures and even provide districts with the opportunity to hold meetings with parents to discuss important topics.

Productive work and study environment
The connected school, however, is not just a school with a physical network. For each lesson which is possible to do so, teachers and learners are networked to the appropriate place where the information and ideas of supporting teachers and learners are located as well.

Computer technology is integrated into the curriculum providing rich media content and highly interactive educational programs. Enhancing education through video can provide students with experiences that are not traditionally available in the classroom. Integration of video and multimedia can support a range of student needs with various learning requirements as well.

Connectivity offers an avenue for teachers to prepare lesson plans and conduct administrative reports as a network resource. Additionally, it allows for more efficient delegation of tasks to support staff.

Collaborative tools and networking infrastructure will allow teachers the access they require to conduct virtual learning environments. More importantly, it also provides schools in rural areas faster access to available resources and information than otherwise possible.

The Internet is increasingly changing the way we work, live, play and learn and this is especially true for education. An intelligent school network can support a variety of applications that streamline manual processes, reduce paperwork, and keep staff more connected and productive.

With connected schools, education can be transformed, and learning can become an individualised, exciting experience for all students. Teachers can be given the tools, training, and resources they need to make an even bigger difference in the classroom, and schools can be freed from cumbersome administrative processes to become more efficient and cost-effective.

Building knowledge via connectivity
As communicated over the four parts of this Connected series, it is clear that utilising IP networks and harnessing the powers of connectivity in real estate, Government, healthcare, and education can tremendously benefit and move the nation forward into the knowledge society of tomorrow.

No single entity, company or government organisation, can address this challenge alone. It requires collaboration on a very large scale between corporations and government organisations at the state and national levels.

Eventually, the collaborative effort of these four pillars – education, health, government and real estate – with the help of digital technology, will spur the nation towards a new breed of communities that are housed in what will be known as knowledge cities of the future.