In an earlier era, schools and educational institutions mostly frowned upon the mobile/cell phone. These items of portability were banned from campuses with students facing repercussions for possessing and using them within the institution. This was a time when the technology was still new and liable to be misunderstood – educational institutions felt these devices did not fit in with the atmosphere of discipline which they wanted to inculcate.
But times have changed. Today, the mobile phone has delivered a revolution in education thanks to the power of the classroom. The physical boundaries have erased and we live in a world of the digital classroom – technology-enabled learning spaces where instructors and students seamlessly exchange knowledge whether by being present physically and virtually.
The pros & cons of the digital classroom
Obviously, educational institutions have been eager to embrace the digital classroom because o the many benefits it offers. The teaching content can be personalized helping students to learn at their own pace while offering instant access to knowledge from the Internet. Students are more engaged as technology offers more tools to make the learning experience richer and more interesting.
But of course, in all this, educational institutions also have to keep in mind the looming fear of cybersecurity. As educational organizations get more connected, the number of entry points through a hacker can enter a closed network increase. For schools and colleges especially, there is a lot at stake – they store sensitive confidential data of students and teachers ranging from name & address to financial details which could have severe repercussions if leaked. On the other hand, these kind of organizations are always in the cybercriminals’ crosshairs for two specific reasons: i) hackers sometimes correctly estimate that these organizations do not give cybersecurity its due importance, and ii) the kind of information educational institutes store are a veritable goldmine for them.
To manage mobile devices securely in the digital classroom, educational organizations can consider Seqrite’s Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution, a simple yet powerful platform to monitor and manage mobile devices within a network. Some of the features & benefits offered by Seqrite MDM include:
- Comprehensive Mobile Security & Anti-Theft
Since the solution is cloud-based, it can be easily used by educational institutions while offering comprehensive mobile security. Any mobile device can be easily located, locked or erased in case of theft or damage.
- App Management
Educational institutes need to manage control of external applications in a digital classroom situation which MDM’s App Management feature allows seamlessly. App Distribution pushes apps and updates from the server to the mobile with the ability of certain apps to be recommended. Custom apps can be published to a specified organizational App Store while App Control allows blacklisting or whitelisting of specific applications or certain categories of applications.
- Launcher & Kiosk Mode
The launcher & kiosk mode feature is extremely useful for use in a digital classroom environment. The launcher enables control over the use of apps on devices and enables the configuration of selected apps for use within organization. This way, educational institutes can control the type of apps used by students and prevent the use of apps they want to disallow. The Kiosk mode on the other hand transforms a device to use a single app for a single purpose within a system kiosk mode which can be extremely useful for organizations who want to restrict mobile devices to just educational content.
- Fencing & Data Monitoring
Seqrite MDM allows digital boundaries to be defined and restrictions to be applied on devices in regards to Wi-FI, Geo and Time fence. Through this feaure, institutes can regulate usage of mobile devices within the digital classroom. Network Data Monitoring also allows the monitoring of data usage over mobile and Wi-Fi networks.
These features make Seqrite’s Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution a great investment for educational organizations for usage in the digital classroom.
As an IT security partner for your business, Seqrite provides comprehensive security from advanced cyber threats. To know more
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