How to make technology your ally in supporting student success

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Further Education (FE) institutions face an uneven playing field in their higher education provision, with more restrictions and compliance, and less funding and resources. Technology can be a great enabler in overcoming operational challenges and improving student engagement, but is often pushed down the priority list, due to funding and budget constraints.

The IT environment colleges operate in is complex, with most users studying part time, and a significant number only studying short courses – from a day to a few months in length. IT teams and budgets in further education are often a fraction of those in universities, even though they provide very similar services, with similar demands for technology adoption, seamless user experience and flexibility of learning.

Now more than ever, college leaders need support from their external partners to leverage existing technologies and use their limited resources more effectively. Software delivery is one of the key areas where institutions are starting to see efficiencies, particularly through cloud computing.

Cloud solutions are often perceived as expensive or unattainable, but the landscape has changed significantly in the last few years. Through software platforms such as AppsAnywhere, institutions can outsource a lot of heavy lifting that is involved in delivering applications to student devices, allowing IT teams to focus on other strategic priorities. Newer technologies such as Cloud Delivery offer many benefits to resource-poor institutions, as it removes repetitive and admin-heavy tasks such as packaging, reimaging computers or security patches and updates.

Students working on laptops in an entertainment setting
Students need access to their learning anytime, anywhere

How AppsAnywhere supports FE institutions

AppsAnywhere provides education institutions with a platform to make it easier to access and deliver software applications to students and staff, helping to address many of their IT challenges:

  1. Enhancing digital accessibility: Our cloud-based software delivery ensures students can access the tools they need anytime, anywhere, on any device, addressing issues like limited device access and connectivity problems.
  2. Reducing IT costs: By streamlining application delivery, we help institutions maximise their budgets and reduce the need for costly infrastructure investments. We work with what you have and deliver significant value from day 1.
  3. Strengthening cybersecurity: AppsAnywhere supports secure access to software and data, reducing the risk of cyber threats while ensuring compliance with GDPR and other regulations. We help with Cyber Essentials Plus certification and compliance, as applications accessed through AppsAnywhere are isolated in virtual or cloud environments. Thanks to Analytics, it’s easier to identify, isolate and rectify any vulnerabilities or breaches.
  4. Supporting hybrid learning: With seamless remote access, students and staff can continue their learning and work from any location, supporting the 40% of learners who prefer a blended approach to education. With cost and unavailability of transport, and work or family commitments alongside their studies, your students can study from anywhere.
  5. Easing IT management: Our platform simplifies software deployment, reducing the burden on IT teams and freeing up resources for other critical tasks.
  6. Facilitating technology adoption: We enable institutions to integrate new technologies like AI, AR, VR, and cloud computing without disrupting existing workflows.
  7. Boosting staff productivity: Staff can easily work across campuses, accessing all their files, software and work in progress across any location, including from home. Less time is wasted logging into multiple systems and applications – with AppsAnywhere your staff can pick up their work where they left it without wasting precious time.
“As a college and particular within finance we use AppsAnywhere for logging into our finance system, authorising orders and invoices which we can do across our 3 campuses and also when we work from home. I love the easy access to my dashboards, HR systems and finance software, and I can save my work in one location and continue it on a different campus the next day” – Gita Gorman, Director of Finance, Solihull College.

A technology partner you can trust

Over the last 15 years, AppsAnywhere has been a trusted partner to over 300 institutions, delivering seamless digital experiences to over 3 million students.

Our people have a deep understanding of the education sector, where we work exclusively. We are application delivery specialists, motivated by making a difference to students, staff and IT teams. We simplify software deployment for a unified and seamless experience and reduce complexity and workloads for IT teams.

We constantly innovate and evolve our product and services with feedback from our customers. We challenge the idea that software delivery must be complex and expensive, and we make it our mission to remove barriers to student success.

What are the key enablers of student success in further education?

We asked further education leaders to share their views on the biggest enablers of student success in the UK. The results will surprise you. Read our report to find out more.

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FAQs

Is there an option to still auto-validate?

Auto validation is still available as an option. We aim to ensure there are as few occasions of attempting to launch but being unable to as possible, and where they occur, explaining why.

Directory path local execution, when does detection occur? During login? During validation?

Detection occurs during validation - the client is given a list of directories to look in and it returns what it finds.

Any CSS options like Dark Mode available for users to customize the look of the portal?

Dark mode wasn't something we were able to do for this version, but it is something that we are looking to include in the future.

Can Download the Client be hidden?

If client download is not available in that instance - such as in labs mode or if client install is suppressed, then the client link will not appear. The client download link will also only appear on platforms which have a client - i.e. Windows and macOS.

When can we get 2.12?

If you would like to upgrade to 2.12 please submit a support request and the team will be touch.

How to implement BYOD in schools

To implement BYOD in a cost-effective and sustainable way, schools will need a clear idea of a number of key data points to understand which technologies are necessary and how many licenses of each technology are required: Number of users/devices Weighting of device type/platform (Windows vs Mac vs Linux) Software titles to deliver Usage data on software titles for licensing User groups requiring specialist software You can read more about implementing BYOD policies in schools in the SecurEdge article, ‘How to successfully implement a BYOD program into your school’ > https://www.securedgenetworks.com/blog/how-to-successfully-implement-a-byod-program-into-your-school

How communication is improved in school with BYOD?

With a BYOD policy implemented, schools can begin working to introduce centralized communication points such as Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) or Learning Management Systems (LMSs). Software delivery tools such as AppsAnywhere also provide areas that can be used to communicate with students. Once BYOD is enabled, schools can be more confident that students are actively accessing digital academic resources through specific channels, and that communication propagated through those channels is much more likely to be seen.

Does BYOD save schools money?

Yes, it can do. While BYOD technologies may be expensive, with the correct provisioning and tools implemented, the decrease in hardware investment required from schools by allowing students to bring their own device and insight from reporting data can help schools save money on their software delivery.

Why BYOD is good for schools?

BYOD policies in schools reduce the hardware investment of electronic devices, including mobile devices, needed for schools to offer equal access to digital academic resources to all students. By leveraging student-owned hardware, BYOD policies in schools can increase the resources available to students, such as software, digital media and digital learning environments, at a fraction of the cost of ensuring there are enough organization-owned machines for every student to use. Furthermore, BYOD allows students to access school resources outside of school and outside of teaching hours via their own device.

Why is BYOD important in schools?

BYOD policies in schools help to introduce students to completing work from their own devices in preparation for higher education and employment. In an ever-more-digital world, getting used to using personal devices to complete work can help desensitize students to the potential distractions offered by those devices. BYOD can also help students learn to manage their time effectively in a society where the lines between work time and free time are becoming more and more blurred.

When is AppsAnywhere 3.0 out?

We’re excited to be releasing AppsAnywhere 3.0 in December 2022, in time for January enrolment. Your dedicated Customer Success team will be in touch when it’s available to ensure your institution gets the most out of AppsAnywhere.

How can I get the latest version?

To get the latest version if you are currently using AppsAnywhere, schedule a call with your specialist implementations team and we can help you to start benefiting from AppsAnywhere 2.12 now.

Who can help me deploy VDI?

Most IT professionals get excited when considering new technologies and solutions. Without a doubt, the prospect of a VDI deployment project is likely to get your team’s juices flowing. However, deploying VDI is complex and often includes a host of new infrastructure and unique software management tools. The best advice is to engage with a vendor partner early on so that the design for your campus can be vetted by experts who work with VDI on a daily basis. A vendor partner can also help guide through different architecture scenarios, use cases, and potential pitfalls. All of the knowledge transfer gained will put the IT team in a far better position to successfully deploy and support VDI for your campus.

Which is better: DaaS or VDI?

As is the theme throughout the rest of this article, there isn’t really an objective victor in DaaS vs. VDI. However, when it comes to Higher Ed, we rarely see full DaaS deployments. They’re often saved for more limited use cases, such as temporary BYOD access, or delivering to satellite campuses. For the scale of delivery required by HEIT, VDI will usually come out on top. However, you still need to decide whether to go for legacy VDI, or newer, hosted solutions…

What is the difference between DaaS and fully hosted VDI?

DaaS refers to virtual desktops being provided to organizations as a service-based solution. It will include support for managing, upgrading and maintaining virtual machines. It is a more complete out-of-the-box solution with a price tag to match. Fully-hosted VDI is just like legacy VDI, except you don’t need on-premise server infrastructure, and they are often pay-as-you-go. Fully-hosted solutions are also referred to cloud-hosted solutions and they are the same as VDI, except hosted for you, as the name suggests.

Citrix or VMware?

Both VMware and Citrix have a robust product offering across many different solution suites. Historically, Citrix has excelled in the realm of remote app delivery or app remoting solutions. On the other hand, VMware leads the way with full desktop VDI delivery. Deciding on the right approach is solely dependent on the needs of the institution and what goals they are hoping to achieve with the project.

Why have a BYOD policy?

A formal BYOD policy helps to ensure a high chance of success and adoption as well as communicating practical information to users on how to interact with and use software on their BYO devices.

What is in a BYOD policy?

To put it concisely, a BYOD policy should include any or all of the following: Device type Operating system Available resources Security Usage conditions

What is BYOD policy?

A BYOD policy is a formal definition and agreement between the BYOD provider (universities) and the BYOD users (students). It is similar to an SLA (Service Level Agreement) between service-providers and outlines how users can expect to interact with their university's BYOD program, as well as any limitations, usage conditions, and compatibility information.

Related reading

AppsAnywhere Admin Dashboard and AppsAnywhere Portal
NEXT STEPS TO IMPROVING YOUR SOFTWARE DELIVERY

Your apps anywhere, anytime, on any device

Register your interest for a demo and see how AppsAnywhere can help your institution. Receive a free consultation of your existing education software strategy and technologies, an overview of AppsAnywhere's main features and how they benefit students, faculty and IT, and get insight into the AppsAnywhere journey and post launch partnership support.

AppsAnywhere Admin Dashboard and AppsAnywhere Portal
NEXT STEPS TO IMPROVING YOUR SOFTWARE DELIVERY

Your apps anywhere, anytime, on any device

Register your interest for a demo and see how AppsAnywhere can help your institution. Receive a free consultation of your existing education software strategy and technologies, an overview of AppsAnywhere's main features and how they benefit students, faculty and IT, and get insight into the AppsAnywhere journey and post launch partnership support.