No matter what kind of an institution it is, if it has something to do with teaching people something, there is a strong chance that it is fairly heavily reliant on the use of various kinds of technology in order to do its important work. Of course, the quality of that technology is likely to have a profound and lasting effect on the quality of the education. It is clear then that ensuring such an institution has access to decent quality technology is hugely important, not just for that individual institution but on a grander scale for the whole of society and the society’s future. In this article, we are going to look at some of the major kinds of educational institution and see how they might use technology to improve their important services to society.

Schools

First of all, let’s take a look at the schools for younger children. In many respects, these are among the most important, as they provide the bedrock on which all subsequent education is built. Clearly, then, using the right kind of technology is likely to be hugely important for these places, as the ongoing effects may be considerable. Schools these days are making more and more use of many different kinds of tech, but there appears to be a particular focus on that which is actually student-focused. In other words, while other institutions might use the latest tech more on behind the scenes work, in schools they tend to make use of that which students themselves will find interesting. An increasing focus on the use of computers, tablets and the like means that this trend is set to continue. Schools needs to ensure that they use technology not at the expense of good quality education, but as a means of maintaining it.

Universities

A University is quite a different kind of being to a school, and its manners towards technology also tend to be quite disparate. Generally, Universities need to think much more like a business, and often the technology that they use reflects this, as does the way in which they use it. There are, for example, many ways to use PeopleSoft for universities, and these uses themselves very much reflect the huge number of difficulties and challenges facing the majority of Universities today. Universities need to be careful with keeping data about their students as secure and safe as possible, as well as ensuring that as a business things stay strong. Software which provides all-round help is likely to be popular in these circumstances.

Colleges

Similarly to Universities, a college is much more likely to think of itself as a business, however at this point in the education system the syllabus is still relatively strong as a force within the institution, and there is limited freedom as to what the college can and cannot do. In many respects, this is one area of education which is particularly exciting for its use of technology – colleges more than anything else are likely to radically encourage their students to use technology in a variety of exciting and new ways. This is the kind of approach that we really need to see more of.