What Education Services are Learning with Kubernetes
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered the landscape of education. Since2020, institutions and EdTech companies have rushed to keep up with the sudden need for distanced and hybrid learning options as government restrictions have left schools closed and students in lockdown. In response to these challenges, organizations around the globe have turned to digital solutions to keep teachers and their pupils connected. From online platforms to videoconferencing and remote proctoring applications, these resources have enabled millions to stay on track in the face of considerable odds. What’s more, these solutions remain in high demand in the post-pandemic world thanks to the scholastic and financial benefits they offer. To thrive in this new environment, leaders in the educational services sector need IT tools that encourage innovation in the classroom and the workplace. One such tool is the open-source container orchestrator, Kubernetes (K8s). Let’s review how K8s can enable the education industry to extend learning access on the hybrid cloud, protect sensitive data and ensure compliance, and unlock savings in the process.
Extending educational access on the hybrid cloud
Made available to the public in 2015, Kubernetes has become the benchmark for managing cloud-native applications, or containers. What makes K8s unique is its ability to virtualize operating systems, which permits application bundles to run seamlessly across public and private clouds. This innovative technology is particularly attractive for organizations in the education sector given its ability to promote institutional efficiency, educator connectivity, and student choice. Kubernetes provides academic institutions with a means of increasing productivity. Because of the disruptions caused by the pandemic, these organizations have needed to rethink how they hire and onboard employees. By running the applications used for these tasks on K8s and the hybrid cloud, managers can avoid authentication issues and give new employees segmented, online access to important training protocols and benefits information. A cloud-forward approach can also help these institutions to manage the admissions process. For example, an admissions system running on containers can be customized to digitally collect and sort application data, coordinate interviews, and streamline decision notification. On the backend, this gives admissions committees easy access to applicant documents and speeds up workflow. The hybrid cloud is also a boon for educators. In addition to creating a means of collaborating remotely, cloud-native applications provide teachers with a way of connecting with their students from any device or location. Whether they’re using ane-learning platform to facilitate hybrid instruction or virtual examination software to create, proctor, and grade an online quiz, they can concentrate on providing students with enriching experiences rather than worrying about issues like hardware compatibility. For students, these systems create exciting possibilities for learning. Container technology and K8s, for instance, open up new paths for delivering courses, accessing textbooks, and monitoring progress. This gives students and their families the flexibility to make the right, most cost-effective choices about when and where to pursue their education. For primary schools, secondary schools, and colleges alike, Diamanti’s Kubernetes platform provides a centralized means of extending educational support. By centralizing and simplifying container orchestration in a single interface, it facilitates the deployment of application clusters capable of keeping teachers teaching and students learning.
Protecting student data and ensuring compliance
As more and more academic institutions adopt these digital tools, it’s important that student data be kept safe. This data is particularly sensitive and includes details about academic progress as well as student and family financial and health information. Learning institutions and companies are legally bound to keep this data secure, and failure to do so can result in swift penalties. Diamanti makes sure that the data fueling education today is always protected. From its automated approach to back-up and recovery to its fortified analytics pipelines, the Diamanti platform lets administrators choose who has access to what information. In addition to ensuring compliance, these added layers of data protection give organizations the ability to leverage analytics to continually improve the student experience.
Unlocking educational savings with K8s
n addition to granting educational services providers—be they schools, colleges, or EdTech start-ups—with tools for promoting learning, Kubernetes unlocks savings. Container technology allows these organizations to reduce spend on hardware and computing resources. Rather than wasting money on cumbersome legacy infrastructure, leaders can use container-based systems to stay cloud-native and grow at scale. With the Diamanti platform, they can also save on computing costs by automating application clusters to respond to demand in real-time, such as at the beginning of the school year or during exam periods. Finally, thanks to this platform’s centralized Kubernetes model, institutions can make holistic, data-driven decisions about cloud investment to limit subscription fees. Together, these boosts in operational efficiency and savings allow academic organizations to navigate disruption and invest in the future of education—regardless of where learning might take place.
