{"id":7541,"date":"2021-04-12T07:00:46","date_gmt":"2021-04-12T07:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carecomputers.co.uk\/?p=7541"},"modified":"2021-04-12T07:00:46","modified_gmt":"2021-04-12T07:00:46","slug":"virtual-classrooms-a-thing-of-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creativeideasfactory.co.uk\/carenew\/virtual-classrooms-a-thing-of-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Virtual classrooms: a thing of the future?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Learning has never looked more different or changed so much in such a short space of time. For schools and further education establishments, the adjustment to remote classrooms has been a steep learning curve and one which has, in many cases, required a complete overhaul of tech capabilities. Not an easy ask in the middle of a causal pandemic. The news last year that the Department of Education had set up a \u00a314+ million fund (the Digital Education Platform fund<\/a>) to help ease the transition could not, therefore, have arrived at a more prescient time.<\/p>\n

According to publictechnology.net<\/a>, as of mid-February 2021, the fund had already been accessed by over 5,000 schools, providing them with \u00a34.8m of support. There remains a further \u00a39+ million available through the scheme (until the end of March 2021), however, so many educational establishments still have the opportunity to improve their remote learning and flexibility, as well as undergo a digital transformation that will ready them for future challenges.<\/p>\n

So, what does the scheme offer, and how can it help schools and colleges?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fund is available to all eligible state-funded schools, colleges, and referral units, with the aim to get them set up on a free-to-use digital education platform such as Microsoft 365 Education.<\/p>\n

One of the criticisms from parents and pupils alike during the first UK lockdown was that virtual lessons weren\u2019t really lessons at all, rather work set for children that was downloaded, completed in isolation, and emailed back to the teacher. A digital education platform like Microsoft 365 Education changes all that.<\/p>\n

With the education SKU of the Microsoft 365 suite, which includes Microsoft Teams, classes can be run almost as they would be in schools. Teachers can:<\/p>\n