By Casey Thompson, digital media manager, Skyward, Inc.
Let’s be honest: Two-factor authentication (2FA) can feel like a pain. Now, security experts are pushing for districts to adopt multi-factor authentication (MFA)–multi-factor, as in more than two factors?
You may already hear the chorus of complaints. Do we really need this?
But here’s the thing: With malware attacks rising, authentication systems using two or more factors are the best way for districts to keep accounts from being hacked, and there are ways to make the process less painful.
While MFA and 2FA will always be seen as a pain by significant segments of your constituency, the good news is the process can be fairly painless (especially since often, MFA only needs to happen every once in awhile to ensure the user is who they claim to be). Beyond that, the goal is to have them see and understand it as a very important pain.
And thankfully, there are ways to do that.
What is MFA (and by extension, 2FA)?
MFA is a process that uses multiple sources to verify someone’s identity, usually online, usually so that person can access an organization’s platforms, tools, or email or data servers.
2FA is an incredibly common subset of MFA and has become the norm for many technologies.
MFA is a step up in security from 2FA, which requires you to establish your identity in two ways before allowing you access.
However, both are tested ways of reducing the risk of security breaches within your district.
Only 21% of continuing, workforce and online education leaders say their divisions have the staff needed to execute on their critical work. However, more than half of leaders also report that their division’s roles have increased since the pandemic. This is according to the Modern CampusState of Continuing Education 2022 report, conducted in partnership with The EvoLLLution and the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA).
The study explores the opportunities and challenges facing leaders of professional, continuing and workforce education divisions at colleges and universities across North America. These divisions are often responsible for both making the expertise of the institution more accessible to the community and delivering critical upskilling and reskilling programming that help people find great jobs in sustainable careers.
Moreover, while two-thirds of survey respondents said they had support from senior executives to scale and grow, more than half pointed to administrative burden as their greatest obstacle to scale. In fact, an overwhelming majority of respondents indicate that they don’t have access to numbers as basic as real-time enrollment data—while being increasingly relied on to drive revenue and enrollment growth for the institution.
“The future of higher education is lifelong learning—we at Modern Campus know that. Engaging learners beyond traditional two- and four-year programs is the best way for colleges and universities to thrive,” said Brian Kibby, chief executive officer at Modern Campus. “This year’s State of Continuing Education research—along with nearly every conversation I have with presidents and provosts—confirms it. To support our communities, though, we need to better serve the CE and workforce development administrators who made it clear in this survey they don’t have the resources they need.”
While there’s little wide-ranging research available on the continuing, professional and workforce market, these units tend to be at the forefront of transformation and innovation in the higher education industry. Understanding the trends in CE provides a high-level view into where the rest of the postsecondary industry is moving.
“The results of this year’s State of Continuing Education study highlight what UPCEA members already know – that online and professional continuing education leaders often lack both the data and resources needed to achieve the institutional goals set out for their unit,” said Bob Hansen, chief executive officer at UPCEA. “This is a time of unparalleled opportunity for online and professional continuing education units to improve the broader higher education field, and the data in this study is a key tool as they advocate for institutional change.”
St. Louis Community College, the region’s largest higher educational institution with 26,166 students and 2,127 faculty and staff, endeavors to strengthen the communities it serves through the success of its students. Part of boosting student success has been meeting students where they are – with a mobile app where they can connect to college services, news and information.
To make that charter a reality, STLCC’s Director of Enterprise Services and Operations, Information Technology, Khouloud Hawasli, led the program of creating mobile experiences geared to current and potential students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends, parents and visitors. She and her team delivered the project in phases through the fall of 2020 and fall of 2021.
Powered by Modo, a low-code app-building platform, the STLCC mobile app lets students register for classes, view their schedules and student information, receive notifications and access events. Prospective students can explore the college, apply directly, and chat with representatives through the app. Faculty and staff can access their pay/vacation info, directories, and help desks, while parents, visitors, alumni and friends can join the alumni association, request transcripts, check event calendars and more.
Incentive Program Succeeds with Safety, Speed and Privacy
As the fall 2021 session approached, the college was exploring ways to bring students back for in-person learning safely and developed a vaccination incentive program for students, faculty, and staff. The sticking point was in how to bring students’ private health information into their system securely. When asked to explore 3rd party tools to enable the program, Hawasli smiled, “We already had a secure connection between the STLCC mobile app and the student information system. It was an easy answer.”
Response from Amrit Ahluwalia, director of strategic insights, Modern Campus.
I’ve had conversations with hundreds of provosts and senior administrators at colleges and universities across North America, and around the world, all reflecting on how the industry is evolving, how student needs are changing, and how institutions are adapting to keep pace with those shifts.
While many institutional leaders try to reflect on whether changes are flashes in the pan or meaningful disruption, the fact is that higher education has been on a consistent trajectory to make education increasingly modular and to make the student experience increasingly flexible and learner centric.
Promising: Better Student Engagement
We’re seeing colleges and universities invest in technologies built to support the learner in ways they haven’t before: Platforms built with the specific goal of engaging learners. Technologies that give learners direct pathways to success with clear career outcomes, that personalize the online experience or even simplify things like registration—these digital assets take the modern student from a ‘learner to earner’ in the most personalized and efficient path possible. The fact is that students enroll in higher education to get a job—58% of freshmen say this is their primary motivator for enrolling—and the industry is elevating to support those needs.
Technologies that put the student engagement and experience first—that support the ‘learner-to-earner’ journey—must become the norm in higher education. The modern learner is savvy, they have alternatives to the traditional path to higher education and therefore colleges and universities must adapt to the needs of the modern learner. We saw this during the pandemic: while freshman enrollment in higher education dropped 13% industry-wide, bootcamp enrollment grew 30%. The many alternatives to higher education keep pushing the status quo in how we serve modern learners.
Challenging: Transactional Infrastructure
It’s expensive for colleges and universities to attract students, but most institutions continue to focus on two- or four-year transactional relationships with students. This is a particular head-scratcher when 70% of learners are non-traditional, and when 68% of adults considering enrolling in education programming say they prefer non-degree or alternative credential options.
The commercial world outside of postsecondary education, would go bankrupt if we focused on merely short term, transactional relationships. We always search for ways to provide an experience that lets us work with that customer for life; not for two or three or four years. If that’s the length of our relationship, we go out of business. The relationship between students and institutions must change to reflect the new model of lifelong learning, and it can start with systems and processes that make learners want to stay with you.
Promising: Workforce Innovation
Higher education technology is starting to provide the framework for more workforce-oriented education and credentials. There’s a tremendous amount of innovation that’s not necessarily coming from colleges and universities, where businesses like Guild Education, 2U, Coursera, and others are filling the skills gaps that many schools view as ‘too vocational’. Innovation is coming into their space in spades, and it’s disrupting the system. This makes higher education more competitive, and those colleges and universities will innovate as a result.
Challenging: Low Coachability
Higher education’s acceptance of innovative technologies can be slow. Many colleges and universities are seeing their competitors doing things like workforce innovation well, but they’re folding their arms saying, ‘Well, that’s not for us.’ There are people like Dr. Crow (president of ASU) who’ve been amplifying their technologies and facilities for decades, but other colleges and universities aren’t hearing the call. They’re not being coachable. The innovation is out there, but institutions need to take it and make it their own.
Infosys Foundation USA, in collaboration with Infosys, announces the launch of the Infosys Springboard learning program in the U.S. to empower educators, students, and aspiring professionals with digital skills to be successful in the 21st Century. Infosys Springboard includes content across the digital learning, maker education, and professional life skills continuum.
The integrated digital skills program includes three lifelong learning offerings: ‘Educating the Future’, ‘Upskilling Today’ and ‘Reskilling for Tomorrow’ – meeting all learners where they are on their digital journey, irrespective of background or educational development.
Kate Maloney, executive director, Infosys Foundation USA – “We know that technology jobs are exploding across the US, however only 51% of US public high schools teach computer science. It is imperative that we all work together to ‘start early’ investing in the generations who will need digital skills to thrive in the 21st Century economy. Infosys Foundation USA is all-in to support the commitment to bring lifelong digital skills across the U.S. so that all can fully participate in the technology opportunities of the future.”
Across its three offerings, Infosys Springboard aims to democratize access to digital learning that empowers aspirants across the spectrum from K-12 teachers and students to post-secondary learners, all the way to professionals seeking to reskill. The initiative will be led by a dedicated team of experts, curriculum partners, non-profits and a global network of leading educational institutions, to offer these online programs free to diverse learners:
Educating the Future through the Pathfinders Online Institute, an online platform offering dynamic computer science and maker education content for K-12 teachers, students, and families, including live events, on-demand courses, professional development, as well as free kits and instructional licenses to enrich the K-12 classroom.
Upskilling Today with the Digital Academy, an online platform that provides upskilling opportunities in the latest digital trends, soft skills, and emerging technologies like AI, machine learning, and cybersecurity for the benefit of post-secondary learners or others seeking transferable skills aligned to the digital future.
Reskilling for Tomorrow with Reskill and Restart, an online platform that brings together professionals, trainers, and employers in a guided journey that begins with an aptitude and skills assessment, is followed by curated role-specific digital skills training pathways and culminates in matching skills with opportunities of the digital economy.
Ravi Kumar, president, Infosys and Chairperson of Infosys Foundation USA, “Our goal has long been to put our digital expertise and capabilities to work to improve society, arming people with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the future. Challenges resulting from the pandemic have continued to reinforce the urgent need for accessible instruments of digital learning for people from all walks of life. That’s exactly why we believe the expansion of Infosys Springboard in the U.S. is an important investment in our students, educators, workforce, and the digital infrastructure of our country.”
Instructure, the makers of Canvas, has launched a channel partner program, which will allow the company to expand rapidly to new international markets and address the complex educational needs of higher education and K-12 institutions worldwide by providing them access to its Instructure Learning Platform.
The program is specifically tailored to assist partners in emerging markets and key countries where educational institutions are looking for more robust, flexible solutions to the unique learning challenges facing students today. The Instructure Learning Platform offers learning management, assessment, content, online programs and analytics built into an easy-to implement and use system.
While Instructure’s global market share has grown significantly in recent years, the channel partner program is expected to spur rapid growth in APAC, EMEA, and LATAM markets. Instructure’s flagship product, Canvas, is a market leader among a crowded LMS landscape and is seeing broad adoption worldwide.
Among the greatest challenges educators face today are creating flexible online learning programs, engaging students with technology in the classroom and assessing student learning with timely, actionable data that drives instruction.
Benefits to Partners
Channel partners now have the opportunity to join forces with one of the fastest-growing edtech platforms in the world. Canvas is currently available in 34 languages and counting. The Instructure Channel Partner Program has a tiered structure with expanded benefits for higher tiers. Instructure has invested in deep, collaborative sales relationships with value-added resellers.
“As educational institutions worldwide seek to open access to learning, edtech solutions such as Canvas become even more important in making student success more equitable. Instructure’s Channel Partner Program extends opportunities to key partners that can help identify needs and fulfill with the support of a global edtech leader,” said Jack Jackson, vice president of Global Channel Sales at Instructure.
With the new program, potential partners now have additional ways to realize revenue, beyond reselling products, with opportunities such as implementation, training and support services.
The program will include a channel partner onboarding process, including a partner management platform, extensive training, ongoing sales enablement and marketing support from Instructure’s dedicated channel team. Instructure’s program offers clear compensation and incentives to foster a mutually-beneficial relationship with partners. All partners will be assigned a dedicated channel account manager and be eligible for market development funds (MDF), deal registration and back-end rebates.
Instructure is excited to partner with world-class distributors across the globe such as QBS. “Our teams are eager to enable Instructure to broaden and deepen their partner base across Europe through our QBS community of valued partners. Instructure is the category leader and initial interest in their partner program is very impressive,” said Dave Stevinson, CEO of QBS Technology Group.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed so much globally and made people much more aware of the need to limit potential exposure to viruses. Smart locker systems are one of the changes that came from efforts to reduce unnecessary contact between individuals and that trend is likely here to stay.
Smart lockers allow schools, universities and other educational entities the ability to deliver necessary equipment, technology and other resources to students without cramming them into a bookstore, classroom or other place to collect. Because of this burgeoning and innovative technology, storing personal belongings and picking up packages is easy and hassle-free now at schools across the globe.
Access the materials inside is seamless: students can use their student IDs or smartphones to access them. The lockers also eliminate the need for keys or codes, and some allow students to charge their phones or tablets in the lockers using a USB.
What is a smart locker?
Smart locker systems include a multipurpose unit of lockers, each with a touchscreen and battery backup, providing a constant power supply, with compartments in various sizes, that can be placed outdoors or in, whichever best suits the student community being served.
Here is an example of how they work. In the school library setting, for instance, a student requests materials from the school or its library system. Librarians, administrators, and educators then gather the resources and place them in a locker for the student, who receives a notification letting them know they can retrieve their order. Next, they receive a one-time code to get into the locker, pick up their order and get on their way, with no other contact.
Outside of the library setting, the process is similar. For example, it can also be initiated by school staff and technical support. If a device or laptop ever fails or needs repair, the student can create a ticket and exchange the technology or device through the lockers for service. Same for any assignments or conducting school-related business.
The lockers give students the freedom to pick up learning materials, laptops, or other orders at any time, which offers them a tremendous amount of flexibility in their learning schedules. In addition, because the locker systems are so durable, they protect whatever is stored in them.
Sparking campus modernization
Using these locker systems for more than just mail or package pickup benefits colleges, high schools, universities, and other educational institutions. Operations at many schools were halted during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, which led to issues for students trying to receive mail or packages. That is when the idea for smart lockers caught fire. They became problem solvers by transforming the delivery of goods to students.
Colby-Sawyer College is set to receive $1.5 million in federal funding to support the construction of a new home for its school of nursing and health sciences.
The $1.5 million, allocated as part of the 2022 government funding legislation signed into law last week, is among more than $62 million being directed toward New Hampshire-based projects as a result of the advocacy of U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. These funds bring the college’s total amount raised for the $10.5 million project to $7.9 million.
“We are incredibly grateful to Sen. Shaheen for her continued support of higher education and of the college’s commitment to preparing future generations of healthcare professionals,” Colby-Sawyer president Susan. D. Stuebner said. “A new home for the school of nursing and health sciences will ensure that Colby-Sawyer is prepared to meet changing trends in healthcare education well into the future while also addressing the immediate workforce needs of healthcare providers both locally and across the country.”
As if the education system hasn’t already dealt with enough difficult change in the past two years as a result of COVID-19, the shift to remote/hybrid school also laid bare the cybersecurity gaps faced by many districts. Bad actors took advantage of already vulnerable systems and struck hard.
Ransomware attacks have been relentless. There were a record-setting 408 publicly disclosed cybersecurity incidents in 2020 in the K-12 sector, across 40 states, according to the State of K-12 Cybersecurity: 2020 Year in Review. Numbers for 2021 are still being finalized, but given what we’ve seen in terms of ransomware and cyber incidents overall, we expect them to be even higher.
Steps are being taken at the federal level; Joe Biden signed into law late last year the K-12 Cybersecurity Act to provide schools with more resources. But as we move further into 2022, ransomware attacks are still being perpetuated against schools even as districts try to bolster defenses. It can be hard to know where to focus first, so let’s examine some of the key things security IT teams should consider this year.
Uncertainty creates opportunities for bad actors
This year will experience the heightened cybersecurity threat level that the last two years saw. The year is still young, but we’ve seen schools across the country revert back to virtual learning as a result of the Omicron variant. Those types of shifts can too often open up potential opportunities for bad actors to strike, as cybercriminals operate on a “kick ‘em while they’re down” mindset. And we’ll continue to see malicious actors evolve their methods as needed to bypass or fool current cybersecurity efforts and continue their successful attack campaigns.
Circumstances make it clear that the focus for districts and schools must now become transitioning the short-term actions they initially took – both to facilitate virtual learning and combat cyber risk – into longer-term and more strategic cybersecurity approaches.
Shannon Flynn is a freelance blogger who covers education technologies, cybersecurity and IoT topics. You can follow Shannon on Muck Rack or Medium to read more of her articles.
In the United States and around the globe, there is a gender divide. There is a clear education gap between men and women and even a technological one. These gaps become even larger chasms when looking at women of color. This leaves the question, on a global level: how do we bridge the education gap using technology?
What Is the Digital Gender Divide?
Before we can begin to look for solutions to the digital gender divide, we must first understand what it is. The technology gap itself can be broken up into two key components:
The difference between groups with access to quality technology (or any at all) and those without
The difference between groups with access to the internet and those without
Globally, girls and women will have less access to technology than the other gender. This problem is exacerbated in developing countries.
Several factors can cause a lack of access for women, but the largest factor is stereotyping. In many countries, technology is not believed to be for women and many fear its usage would lead to discrimination from their male counterparts.
When it comes to global internet usage, 12.5% fewer women use the internet than men.
What Is Gender Equality in Education?
There is also a gender gap when it comes to education. Like the digital technology gap, there again must be a solid understanding of the vast disparity between genders in the classroom as well as equal access to the classroom.
While the education gap has shrunk in many highly educated countries, it persists globally. Globally, 16 million girls will never enter a classroom, and women account for two-thirds of the 750 million adults without basic literacy skills.
Even in the United States, this education gap persists between black women and their white counterparts, both in quality of education and access to it. From lack of access to college-ready classes and being concentrated in schools with fewer resources, to the lack of black representation among teachers, the educational gender gap persists for women of color in the United States.
Infosys Foundation USA
Instructure
Colby-Sawyer College
