Since 2014, the European Union has been subsidizing digital education within the member states with fonds, action plans and fundings. It has only been since the pandemic hit, that the importance of the digital transformation in classrooms was fully grasped. Oftentimes improvised and chaotic, teachers and students alike tried to adapt to the new situation with a mix of distance learning, teaching in the classroom and hybrid education forms. Even more fundings have been handed out ever since. Despite it all, the ECA concludes in its latest report that the European goals have not been achieved.
The basics for any type of school are a good overall organization and a sound communication concept for improved coordination. A further requirement are modern and flexible structures for teaching in the classroom, distance learning and a hybrid mix of both.
What Educational Staff Need for the Digital Classroom:
What Pupils Need for the Digital Classroom:
The organization plays a central role when it comes to the efficient planning of virtual teaching lessons. innovaphone myApps allows the teaching staff to bundle all relevant software tools and applications within one single and intuitive interface. These tools are presented in form of apps and are available to the entire class. These apps may contain digital classrooms, a chat messenger, a social platform such as innovaphone Connect, white boards, a calculator, teaching plans, vocab training apps, to do lists, tools for surveys, even virtual exercising and other functionalities students may require for digital education. Whether at school, at home or on the go: myApps can be accessed from any device, and anywhere – this saves time and provides a lot of flexibility.
Interactive collaboration and virtual connectivity of work groups is just as relevant for digital teaching as it is for the professional world. Hybrid or virtual class meetings with live chat and the possibility of sharing the screen with the other participants are vital tools for the digital classroom. So far, most educational institutions have returned back to teaching in the classroom. However, many universities and colleges provide the option to also attend class remotely, via hybrid model. The intuitive tools of innovaphone myApps will thus let you participate remotely, for example when sick or if there are issues with public transportation. Thanks to the secure micro blogging platform of innovaphone, pupils, peers and parents will be able to retrieve information and get in touch with others around the clock.
Instructors and teachers are oftentimes also confronted with the issue of “availability”. How can you avoid having to hand out your private phone number and how can you signal availability so that parents know when to get in touch, without pre-scheduled appointments? innovaphone myApps together with the school’s innovaphone PBX provides a solution where the teacher can easily be contacted via the school’s phone number and at the very own extension. The registered user (in this case the teacher) gets to set the status of availability individually, depending on the current situation. There is no need to hand out private phone numbers and it is very easy to separate private matters and working times. The website of the school can further provide so-called contact widgets. These widgets are an easy option to establish contact. Visitors to the website (for example parents or students) can then get in touch via video call or phone call, they can send a chat message or an e-mail – all directly from within the browser and simply by clicking on the preferred mode of contact. The widget as well as the innovaphone platform always indicate to the user or website visitor who is currently available.
Data security: Just like private businesses, public institutions are also affected by cyberattacks. Schools, colleges and universities may also fall victim to virtual attacks. Securing personal data in the educational field is just as important as preventing damage by viruses or malware. How do you secure passwords? Are the teaching network and school management separated from each other?
For best all-round protection, it is a sound decision to opt for a local innovaphone myApps installation. All data will remain on the own premises of the educational institution - refraining from the public cloud. As a European manufacturer, innovaphone further provides a large array of security mechanisms to protect against a variety of attacks. These include an own operating system, security protocols and data encryption, the innovaphone SBC (Session Border Controller), innovaphone Reverse Proxy and more. Primary school pupils can also navigate safely on the innovaphone myApps platform: Teachers make available the required apps and tools with all the learning materials - the Internet does not have to be openly available to the pupils.
Lars, you are very involved in this topic. What does a modern approach to education mean for you?
I believe that education needs to involve participation and interaction. It should further empower sustainable development. Pupils should be involved in relevant questions, being enabled to decide for themselves, and to make changes. By nature, humans want to explore the world around them. This should be used to understand how my very own actions have an impact on the world around me.
Initially, you kept your personal project strictly separated from innovaphone. What came about that innovaphone myApps was launched as a school platform?
In modern educational structures, pupils have the opportunity to study independently. They get to choose their own projects and goals, and then receive support from teachers and work groups to achieve these goals. What was missing was a platform that would flexibly adjust to changing requirements and differing surroundings. That’s how myApps received attention within the various projects. A comprehensive school in Hildesheim, Germany, is a great example of how to use myApps as a digital classroom.
What makes myApps so special for schools?
One key aspect of myApps is the flexibility: You are free to choose whether you use the already included chat tool, or if you would like to integrate a different one. The pupils of the project, for example, were very keen on using Discord because that’s what they use in private.
Then, you also need to keep in mind GDPR requirements. The [German] federal states need to implement tools that comply with GDPR. During the pandemic, many relied on Team and Zoom, even though there were alternatives such as innovaphone myApps that adhere to these regulations. Tools such as the Big Blue Button or Jitsi can quickly be integrated into myApps – if required, it is also quickly exchanged for an alternative
Don’t forget that myApps is very intuitive and easy to access. All you need is a browser and an URL. If you have a mobile device with iOS or Android, it’s even easier to use.
 | Flyer: innovaphone myApps for Schools (en) | 2024-01-03 | 219 KB |
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