8 Surprising Ways Cloud Computing is Changing Education

Published on: 19 October 2020 Last Updated on: 13 September 2024

Higher education may face a fall in the number of students enrolling during and after the pandemic. Many universities in the UAE and worldwide have taken a different approach to education. Most offer online learning, while others offer online and in-person learning.

Most students will not wait for the end of the pandemic to start or continue their studies; they will study online from anywhere in the world. This will create stiff competition among universities because students don’t have to go to colleges closer to their homes; they can finally study in the best universities.

Understanding Cloud Computing

This is the delivery of computing services such as databases, servers, networking, software, storage, intelligence, and analytics over the cloud (the internet). Companies and other institutions don’t have to own data centers or computing resources; they only have to pay for the cloud services they use. This is affordable and effective when applied in higher education.

Most students will prefer higher education institutions that offer excellent digital services to those with a more traditional approach to education. Cloud computing consulting will help the educational institution elevate the existing education system and deliver remote learning.

How Cloud Computing is Changing Higher Education

Cloud computing is not a new trend that universities have to keep up with; remote learning has always been around. This is about utilizing existing resources and technology to provide better and affordable education.

Here are some ways cloud computing is changing higher education.

1. Textbooks are Expensive

University textbooks can be quite expensive, and not all students can afford them, and the cost rises each year. Some students prefer not to buy textbooks because they have other essential expenses to pay. Cloud-based books, on the other hand, are an excellent solution to this issue.

Digital resources are affordable; this allows most students who are not financially stable to access the same educational materials and resources as other learners. This makes it convenient to study at your dream university in Dubai.

2. Enhances Student Experience

One of the reasons why you should study in a reputable university in Dubai is that it will utilize modern technology in all areas. Digital-based learning can review and improve individual student learning processes. It provides an in-depth summary of learning activities, transforms learning processes to accommodate every individual, and assesses students’ wellbeing.

3. Virtual Classes

Cloud-based software makes it possible for higher institutions to organize virtual classrooms for their learners. This reduces most of the infrastructural costs. Teachers can also create courses and resources for students to use remotely. Virtual exams can reduce expenses and save time for both the teachers and students.

4. Accessibility

Cloud computing is very useful because it makes learning easy and readily available for every student regardless of location or time. You can access resources, learning materials, applications, and course contents at any time. You can enroll in a university in Dubai and participate in group discussions and virtual classes. You are no longer limited by time and location. The good thing is that you can access these resources even on your Smartphone.

5. Updated Learning Materials

College textbooks are expensive; this makes some students forego buying them while others use books with obsolete information. Cloud-based learning allows students to access relevant information and resources without much hassle. This makes learning enjoyable and convenient. Students excel in their studies and become productive members of society.

6. No More Expensive Hardware

Cloud-based resources rely on web browsers and can run on any Smartphone and hand-held devices like tablets. Students and higher learning institutions don’t need to own laptops or computers to access resources.

You can use a basic Smartphone to access learning materials. You don’t need to spend much on external storage devices; you can utilize avenues that provide free cloud-based storage. These platforms can safely store your data; higher education institutions that use this system use a VPN for security.

7. Diversity

Cloud computing in higher education gives students many opportunities. This is beneficial for students who feel left out by the traditional education system. Learners can learn remotely or pursue studies abroad. Professionals who have no time for full-time classes can pursue virtual learning to upgrade their skills.

8. Real-Time Feedback

Feedback is crucial in learning because it enables the instructor to see whether students understand the course. Students’ feedback is necessary; they can provide real-time feedback, allowing the institution and professors to make adjustments to cater to their needs. This shows learners that their voice is heard and appreciated, increasing student experience, which leads to smooth learning and better grades.

Cloud computing can be used in various sectors, including higher education. Students and institutions benefit from this technology in many ways; it reduces expenses for both parties and is more convenient than the traditional education system. The goal is to utilize digital services to provide high-quality education to students. Institutions that have already adapted to this technology will continue to improve education for many students.

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Process Mining and Data Privacy – Key Points to Remember

The global pandemic of 2020 was challenging for frontline workers, the public, and businesses. Besides a dwindling economy, governments and organizations suffered various setbacks, including exponential data thefts. Security incidents became more costly and harder to contain for the latter due to a drastic operational shift. As per experts, the cost of a data breach reached a record high, shelling $4.24 million per incident on average from affected ventures. As more businesses migrate to the digital world, data security becomes a reason for severe migraine for owners. Keeping the incidents and the present situation in mind, the European Union introduced the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for improved data privacy controls for EU citizens. GDPR requires a thorough evaluation of every software application before its implementation to prevent possible data breaches and loss of customers, employees, and corporate data. Automatically, business process management solutions, like process mining, RPA, automated process discovery, and others, fall under the tight scrutiny of GDPR data privacy guidelines. Process Mining in Business Process Management – A Brief Overview Process mining is an intelligent technology solution enabling owners to build a reliable visual map of business processes elaborating how every task within a process is executed. It captures employee-software system interactions and converts data into event logs. This provides an overview of end-to-end processes. Process mining tools provide task and process insights to evaluate task executions for scaling improvement opportunities. These insights also support informed decision-making pertaining to process efficiencies and complexities. Process mining bridges the gap between traditional model-based processes and data-centric processes for further analysis. There are three basic types of process mining; namely, process discovery to discover a process model capturing the behavior in an event log (collection of events), conformance checking for identifying commonalities and discrepancies between a process model and an event log, and process re-engineering to improve a process model using event logs. In a human-centric process, each event comprises a case identifier, an activity name, a timestamp, and optional attributes such as resources or costs. Usually, a case identifier refers to individuals and includes much personal data. And herein lies the significance of improving data security. The Importance of Data Security in Process Mining Automated process mining relies heavily on enterprise data and captures confidential information about the company or the clients. Data collected during the mining of processes are categorized under the following datasets: Key identifiers: These datasets contain unique information identifying individuals, such as their full names and social security numbers. Quasi-identifiers: These datasets are considered indirect identification of individuals—for example, gender, age, and postal code. Sensitive attributes: Information related to salary, payment, financial statements, and others are private and sensitive for individuals or companies. Insensitive attributes: These datasets contain general or non-risky information not covered by the other features. Given the confidential and sensitive nature of the above-mentioned data, attention to cybersecurity in process mining has gained momentum recently. Also, third parties can offer the latter; therefore, choosing providers with secure products and processes is equally crucial. Any breach in data security can prove costly for the company owners and tarnish customer/client/partner relationships. But the shared responsibility of protecting critical information should rest upon employees. After all, it is said that the usual source of security incidents are current employees and, in certain instances, ex-workers. Respective teams, while handling information, should protect sensitive data at every step of task execution. In order to achieve the same, decisions regarding data transparency and usage should be made aforehand. Most specifically, such decisions involve the type of data used, data extraction methods, data accessibility, data protection, and compliance requirements. On the other hand, process mining can be leveraged to detect silent internal attacks on data. It can quickly identify abnormal behavior in the company’s internal network and indicate apparent security breaches. Therefore, data is integral to process mining, and the security of which should be the core objective of software applications and associated teams. Key Privacy Metrics in Process Mining In order to evaluate the privacy of specific data, owners should decide on particular metrics for measurement. These privacy metrics tally the security level of each data in terms of disclosure and are broadly categorized under the following sub-heads: Bounded knowledge: Data is restricted with specific rules to avoid disclosing confidential information. Need to know: The unnecessary data is eliminated from the system to prevent any breach. This metric controls data access. Protected from disclosure: Data confidentiality is observed during data mining using the classification method. Data quality metrics: These metrics measure the loss of information/benefit, while the complexity criteria validate the efficiency and scalability of different techniques within this scope. Process Mining and Data Capture – Key Points to Consider Since process mining extracts granular data at the process level, care is taken to ensure that any new process doesn’t come into conflict with personal data policies. Owners should also ascertain that software solutions for mining processes comply with the specific data security requirements. Therefore, people involved with the entire system must consider a few data capture points. Access to raw data: The process mining team requires access to corporate data to understand what’s most important for analysis. Here, the company can choose and grant access to specific datasets for further research. Choose the right strategy: Besides mining processes for raw insights, the team also translates the raw data into broad terms and updates it into dashboards. Later on, the respective team can decide what features to focus on. Filter: Occasionally, the company tracks information that doesn’t require further analysis for specific processes. In this case, the data can simply be omitted from the system. Datasets that are sensitive or do not directly impact the business analysis outcome are deleted to maintain the focus only on valid and relevant data. Pseudonymization: Encrypting the information to protect the confidentiality of sensitive information prevents users from correlating them to real data specific, like specific names, addresses, or other PII data. For instance, if the company wishes to maintain secrecy about employees directly involved with process-related tasks can follow this approach. Here, the case identifier’s name is replaced with numbers. Anonymization: This is similar to pseudonymization, where the names are replaced with unique pseudonyms instead of numbers. Hence, unauthorized users cannot identify individuals’ names or confidential information about them from the available data. Conclusion Besides handling data in bulk daily, enterprises using online systems leave behind their digital footprints. These footprints are valuable data captured by process mining to examine how employees execute each process and sub-tasks. Needless to say, mining for such insights is done with the company’s best interests in mind, namely, to optimize operations and resources and derive maximum value. However, such datasets carry sensitive information of various interested parties, any breach of which can prove highly hazardous for all. Therefore, data is the primary source for process miners to carry out their objectives, but the company must ensure the data is handled with care. Hence, data security is a significant factor in process mining. Have A Look :- How to Get Copy of a Divorce Decree 7 Secrets To Make Your Baby Fall Asleep Faster All That You Need To Keep In Mind Before Selling On Facebook

How Can BYOD Improve Your Productivity?

BYOD services within the workplace have become more and more popular in recent months with a majority of companies implementing them to boost productivity. But with many others hesitant to do the same, how could this begin to change in 2020? In this article, we will be looking into some of the ways that a BYOD policy in the workplace can aid in improving productivity. It Helps To Save Time One of the biggest benefits of a BYOD policy is the ability to save you time throughout the course of the working day. This is because a majority of the major workforce in the UK use modern-day devices such as the iPhone and Samsung device to ensure you have the Best business mobile phone. These can aid in saving time as the running systems are significantly faster and can help phone calls and tasks to be completed significantly faster than using a designated work phone. Aids Effective Communication When Working Remotely In addition to helping to save time, you can improve lines of communication between those that are working with you when working remotely. This is a huge benefit to using BYOD contracts and has helped to maintain a healthy level of productivity throughout the office. With instant messaging and phone calls capable, this can help to improve the daily working and improve lines of communication across the office as well as with individual teams regardless of the product or service that you are working towards to ensure that it is completed to the highest standard. Allows User To Customise Their Experiences The use of their own devices for work calls and messages it also allows for your workforce to tailor their equipment to the running systems that they like to use. For example, several people use IOS devices and prefer this running system compared to the Android running system. This, of course, can help to streamline the process and improve productivity as files can be shared with ease across multiple different devices. This also allows for files to be shared with colleagues over email without the need for them to be converted when sending them back and forth. Saves Costs For Companies The final benefit that comes from this software is saving the costs for the company. Without the need for work phones across all of your employees, this can help to reduce overhead costs. This is particularly good for those small to medium-sized enterprises as they can help to save money in the long term. Whether you are allowing this in the future or you are looking to implement this immediately, several costs can be saved over time whilst providing you with the ability to capitalize on the latest mobile technology through personal upgrades. With this in mind, there are several benefits that can come from implementing a BYOD contract that can also help to revolutionize the daily routine of your business when working remotely. Will you be implementing a BYOD policy for the workforce in your business this year? Read Also: 8 Tried and Tested Secrets of a Productive Home Office 5 Different Things You Can Try During Quarantine 7 Reasons Why Your Business Needs A Mobile App

5 Indispensable Things to Keep in Mind while Picking a Hard Drive

The modern era of technology has undeniably transformed the conventional ways of storing massive data. The latest storage media such as hard drives and flash storage drives are capable of storing huge data without compromising on performance. Let's proceed to know the top things to know before picking a hard drive. There’s always a dilemma while choosing an appropriate hard drive for business as well as personal requirements. One needs to understand the basic difference in a Solid State Drive and a hard drive. 5 Indispensable Things to Keep in Mind while Picking a Hard Drive In this article, we’ll be discussing some aspects that one must consider while picking a hard drive. Analyze your Requirements If you are looking a hard drive for a computer system that you need for personal work, you must think about a disk drive instead of a Solid State Drive. In general, people do not have an idea about the basic difference between both the drives. SSD (Solid State Drive) vs. Hard Drive An SSD is superior storage media based on flash storage, which is comparatively fast than a hard disk. There are no rotating disks or moving parts on an SSD drive and is smaller and compact. Moreover, hard drive data wiping is faster in SSD as compared to HDD. Read also: How To Securely Wipe Your Confidential Data From A Hard Drive A hard drive, on the other hand, has moving parts and takes a lot of space in your system. Furthermore, a hard drive is many times slower than flash storage media. Physical Size Well, after you’ve got an idea regarding the basic difference between SSD and hard drive, the next thing is to choose the right size. You need not worry as there are only two sizes available. One is the 3.5-inch drive, and the other one is the 2.5-inch drive. The traditional disk drive contains a spinning mechanism that requires more space. The desktop hard drives are usually of 3.5-inch size with a maximum of 4TB space, whereas the laptop hard drives are of 2.5-inch with a maximum of 2TB storage. The size of the disk depends upon the number of disks in the drive. Interface The interface of a hard drive is usually a SATA connector for both SDD and HDD. There may be some portable hard drives that are connected through USB but can’t be used for a permanent drive on a laptop of the computer. Furthermore, one should ensure the interface of the hard drive matches their laptop or computer’s hardware specification. Performance People seeking a storage media for their business purposes must consider a flash storage drive instead of a conventional hard disk drive. An SSD drive delivers outstanding performance and has lesser downtime as compared to the regular disk drives. These drives are available in the same storage options as that of the conventional drives. You can choose the one according to your requirements. The primary benefit of an SSD drive is that it can deliver superior data transfer rate that you can’t expect from a hard disk. It is an ideal option for businesses that rely on massive storage of data. Internal or External Another important aspect to consider is the need for a hard drive. Sometimes people often get confused between picking a portable hard drive and an internal hard drive of a computer. If you are seeking a hard drive that can store your additional data apart from the system, you should think about a portable hard drive. A portable hard drive can be connected to your system’s USB port. Conclusion One should be very precise while picking a hard drive for their business use. There are numerous options available in the flash storage drives that can offer superior performance.

8 Surprising Ways Cloud Computing is Changing Education

Understanding Cloud Computing