October 5, 2020 •Steve Tadevich
The face of learning is changing right before our eyes. Virtually overnight, many schools were confronted with the notion that they would need to shift to a virtual learning platform amid the COVID-19 pandemic in order to continue teaching for the remainder of the school year.
Many distance learning tools have been rising in popularity since then, but one tool stands out among the rest. Cisco Webex is an integrated audio/visual tool that is helping students and teachers excel at distance learning with highly secure collaboration, Learning Management System (LMS) integration, crystal clear voice/video, and more.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 benefits of Cisco Webex for distance learning.
Highly Secure Collaboration
Webex Meetings has several built-in security settings aimed at protecting students and teachers alike in the virtual classroom. With the click of a button, teachers can control who is allowed to join the lesson or share their screen, protecting all involved. Additionally, all Webex meetings are unlisted, meaning that only those that have the specific meeting details are allowed to join in.
LMS Integration
If you use Moodle, Blackboard, Sakai, Canvas, or D2L, Webex Meetings & Teams can integrate with your school’s LMS system through the use of the Education Connector plug-in. Once integrated, you can seamlessly share office hours, class schedules, and other distance learning benefits with ease.
Enhanced Engagement
Through the use of Cisco Webex Meetings’ virtual classrooms, students and teachers can collaborate as one as if they were together in class at school. With Webex spaces, teachers can break students into groups to complete projects, participate in study groups, and more. The cloud sharing feature allows teachers and students to digitally pass documents and information to one another without having to leave the platform.
With Cisco Webex, learning can continue long after the classroom lesson has ended thanks to its ad-hoc meetings, chat features, and more. The robust feature set allows for 1:1 learning, easy question/answer sessions, content sharing, and more.
Store Previous Lessons for Easy Access
Students never have to worry about missing a lesson due to illness or connectivity issues thanks to Webex’s easy-to-use recording function. Teachers can automatically set all meetings to record and can access the MP4 files quickly through the web portal. These files can be distributed with ease via email attachment or a simple link.
Crystal Clear Audio/Video
The HD audio embedded within the Cisco Webex platform ensures students and teachers will never miss a thing during a lesson. There are many options to connect one’s audio during a call, including dial-in meeting numbers, through one’s computer audio, or you can even have the meeting call you! The video quality is also HD and can support up to 1,000 attendees.
Final Thoughts
If you’re evaluating distance learning solutions for your school district, look no further than Cisco Webex. Its robust feature set allows for enhanced collaboration between students and teachers without adding complexity and stress.
Is your school adequately prepared for e-learning? Download a copy of our E-Learning Needs Analysis Template to see if your e-learning infrastructure makes the grade.
