Universities are used to providing students with the best tools available, but what about the resources instructors need? For most educators, accessing reliable resources usually includes searching through mountains of emails, attending endless meetings, or paying for a service out-of-pocket. University employees spend countless hours just organizing their own classes, let alone trying to collaborate with other coworkers. Luckily, for most universities, implementing collaboration tools is a real alternative. With collaboration tools in place, instructors throughout the university can work much more efficiently and effectively.
5 Ways Collaboration Tools Strengthen Higher Education:
Give A Voice To Everyone
Universities naturally attract some of the best thinkers, educators, and industry experts. Leveraging these employees, however, is often easier said than done. Universities employ hundreds of individuals, all of whom work different schedules, different office hours, and depending on the semester, may not even be on campus. Even if everyone was somehow able to gather together, the sheer number of participants would make collaboration almost impossible. By presenting problems or adding insight through collaboration tools, educators can contribute to university goals on their own time, giving everyone the opportunity to participate and be heard. Coworkers can share ideas, interact with each other, collaborate together, and ultimately strengthen education.
Collaborate Across Classrooms
University departments often work in silos and are typically disconnected from each other. But cross-department collaboration is a reality in almost every industry and an important part of a student’s education. Accessing resources from other departments also gives students new perspectives and additional learning opportunities. But despite everyone’s best effort, collaborating with employees in another department can be time-consuming. Collaboration tools allow instructors to easily reach out to other departments and share guest speaker schedules, upcoming internships, and other relevant opportunities. Instructors can also connect with each other from any part of the university to collaborate on curriculum and incorporate classroom crossovers.
Create A Cohesive Department
Business offices, technical support teams, department chairs, and all other kinds of staff also contribute to a successful university department. It is only when all of these groups can collaborate and work well together that departments become ideal learning environments. Collaboration tools provide departments both the dedicated group space that small teams need, and a comprehensive area for larger department communication.
Share Ideas And Inspirations
In education, different students, projects, research, and learning objectives make every semester a unique experience. Collaboration tools help educators make the most out of each semester. According to recent research, high-quality peer-to-peer collaboration can improve instructor performance and significantly benefit student success. As educators are able to share projects, ask questions, and brainstorm together, they learn from each other and are able to offer students a more comprehensive educational experience.
Simplify Research Projects
University professors, students, and staff regularly conduct research projects. These projects not only benefit the university, but are also a significant component of many educational experiences. In fact, student participation in research activities can leave a lasting impact on students, proven to benefit them during their entire career. But without the right tools, research becomes a frustrating experience and is unable to reach its full potential. Research projects almost always include experimentation, travel, documentation, reporting, assignments, and collaboration. With a centralized collaboration tool, professors, research assistants, and staff can quickly send project updates, share research findings, and communicate with each other from anywhere.
Strengthen Education With MangoApps
At MangoApps, we know the importance of exceptional tools, especially in education. When students and instructors both have the resources they need, education becomes a simple, straightforward, and enjoyable learning experience. With project, department, and team centered collaboration tools, university employees can collaborate together and improve education at any level.
To learn more about how MangoApps benefits the educational environment or how collaboration tools can help universities, contact us or schedule a personalized demo today.
