Providing a More Collaborative, Interactive Classroom Learning Environment through Video

It’s become increasingly clear that media-rich applications like video are transforming how we communicate, work, and live. As someone who has spent years working in the Public Sector space, I’ve seen a major transformation in Education, including new ways we are approaching teaching and helping individuals to learn. At Cisco, we are continuing our commitment to better education through the use of video through a variety of methods: video surveillance to protect our students; Digital Media Signage to provide a more interactive environment which better connects schools with their communities, students, and parents; and through TelePresence and Webex for enhanced classroom and distance learning applications.

Our Video-Enabled Teaching and Learning Solution platform helps students in K-12 and higher education gain the skills they need to advance in today’s workplace by introducing them to a more collaborative, virtual learning environment. This transformational learning environment will empower them with 21st-century skills needed to increase overall U.S. competitiveness and job preparedness. Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers shared his perspective on the future of collaboration and the value for education during a recent virtual forum for education leaders.

While technology doesn’t address all of our education challenges, it is a strategic enabler for schools to achieve sustainable competitive advantages. Many school administrators agree, in a new survey released today by Clarus Research Group, that 84 percent of school professions surveyed believe that technology will play a large role in “improving how students learn,”and 82 percent believe that technology will play a large role in “helping prepare students for the workforce of the future.” Video itself is seen as a key enabler of this transformation, as more than half (53 percent) of the administrators and information technology decision makers in K-12 institutions, community colleges and universities say they are likely to invest in video technology over the next year to make their schools “more effective and efficient.”

Cisco will continue to lead discussions with Education stakeholders to help bring learning into the 21^st century, and provide the platform and solutions to sustain the conversation for years to come.

by Bruce Klein