Dan, Qaixen Consultant, discusses how the Education sector can successfully get to grips with the Cloud in his latest blog:
Facing the fear of the cloud
Every school has one. There may even be more than one. That one person who perceives technology as a rival, an arch nemesis or even an object of fear. Teaching staff who are reluctant to embrace technology are a great gauge to measure how confident a school feels with adopting and applying cloud-based products. Training these individuals is vital, as they can be very vocal in their approach to online learning.
What’s the point of cloud based systems?
Typically, these people perceive new apps as “pointless” and vehemently promote the value of just using a paper and pen. Fear of the unknown and a lack of understanding is usually the reason for this reluctance to embrace technology. This can be a massive problem for education settings, as the naysayers can hold sway over a large group of staff members. As a teacher, I once heard a colleague question in the staff room, “What is the point of moving online?” I can still feel the tang of irritation in my gut to this day. However, they had a point. This person had hit the nail on the head. What was the point? It was this comment that made me realise we really need to take a moment and educate teaching teams around the values and benefits of working, collaborating and teaching using cloud-based systems, in order to drive acceptance and adoption. Many schools simply roll out a new cloud environment and all the associated applications, expecting staff to adopt the new systems without actually helping them to understand any of the benefits this new environment can offer to them personally.
Bringing everyone together at the same time is paramount to ensure that the culture of a school evolves both naturally and organically. But how do you do it successfully?
How to introduce a cloud culture in education
No-one likes change. Any new implementation of a cloud-based system needs to be done with care and respect. From my experience working with schools, colleges and universities, change needs to come slowly and at a pace that everyone is comfortable with. It is all very well announcing that, “from Monday, everyone is to use SharePoint for saving documentation,” whereas, in reality, people will still be saving confidential documents to their desktop. Instead, thought needs to be put into support and training around these new solutions and all questions from staff need to be addressed. Your teaching staff are the frontline users and if the new technology is not making their lives easier, they simply will not use it. Those staff members who find using technology difficult, should be identified (discretely) and given one-to-one support and coaching to alleviate any worries or fears.
Answering the cloud whys and what’s
Questions regarding why something is being done in a certain way should be addressed as well as questions about how something works. Context is key to bringing a school’s culture with you.
We recommend dedicating time to understand staff concerns and even devote time to staff meetings for questions. Ask staff if they would like to explain new features and share tip tips they have discovered whilst using Microsoft Teams to their colleagues. By doing these simple things, it allows everyone to feel part of the journey and no-one is left behind. We will always have that one person, every school does, just make sure that that one person knows you’re there for them.
Here at Qaixen, we offer a range of bespoke Microsoft 365 training services for teachers to help drive adoption and increase understanding of all the cloud tools, including Microsoft Teams and SharePoint. If you would like to learn more about how Qaixen can help your school, college or university, simply contact us.