Why You Need UCaaS to Adjust to Hybrid Teaching

Have you adopted UCaaS for hybrid learning? 

Over the next year, being able to navigate hybrid teaching situations as seamlessly as possible will become essential for most educational institutions. Hybrid teaching is on the up, according to research from the US Institute of Educational Sciences. While exclusively remote schooling options appear to be falling, the number of institutions offering hybrid learning is on the rise: 

This is set to continue with the uncertainty of COVID, new potential lockdowns, and socially distant learning becoming a certain necessity. If you haven’t invested in the infrastructure for hybrid teaching, now is the perfect time to do so. 

Why is UCaaS Such a Great Tool for Hybrid Teaching? 

UCaaS (United Communications as a Service) streamlines all of your communications channels onto one single, cloud-based platform and keeps students learning from anywhere! There are two main advantages to this. 

Firstly, it allows you to switch between different communications channels as easily as possible. This makes classes, tutorials, and seminars easier to manage, and also saves your institution the admin cost of dealing with several different vendors. 

Secondly, UCaaS is a cloud-based service. Your school, college, or university doesn’t need to purchase and maintain on-premise servers to run your communications system, so you can dedicate more funds to initiatives that will benefit students directly rather than on IT maintenance. 

Cloud hosting also allows your institution much more flexibility when/if they need to scale. To expand an on-premise communications system, you’ll need to purchase and maintain more servers. Enjoy the flexibility of not having to be locked into yearly contracts. Easily add lines and numbers for extra classrooms and or teachers as you grow. 

This is extremely beneficial right now because it’s likely your hybrid teaching needs will peak as current circumstances change. UCaaS gives you the flexibility to adapt. 

What UCaaS Video Conferencing Software Features Should I Look for?

What first springs to mind when thinking about hybrid learning? Video conferencing, of course. Video provides essential face-to-face contact for both students and teachers, so you need your platform to be reliable, easy to use, and secure. 

As well as the basics (video, integrated chat), look for: 

• ‘Raise hand’ and ‘reaction’ functionality, so that your remote students can interact as if they are in class
• ‘Blur background’ to allow you to reduce potential distractions, whether you’re teaching in the classroom or from home
• Easy-to-use video streaming, so you can share educational resources easily
• Top-of-the-range encryption so that both your own and your students’ data remain safe

You should also look for video conferencing solutions that are accessible on a full range of devices (laptop/desktop, tablet, smartphone) across different operating systems. Around 25% of US households can’t offer their child permanent computer access for remote schooling; being able to offer a fully-featured mobile platform increases your hybrid lessons’ accessibility. 

net2phone: a UCaaS System Ideal For Hybrid Education? 

Huddle, our video conferencing solution, is secure, adaptable, and provides a range of features that facilitate hybrid learning - for staff and students alike. 

At net2phone we understand the challenges remote and hybrid teaching can bring and would love to help you navigate your communications needs in the area. Learn more on the benefits of hybrid learning with the help of net2phone. 

Get in touch today to see what we can offer.