One system, various parts: why you need a self-driving car for education

Would you trust a company that claims to be good at everything? We'll take a guess and say your answer to that question is "No." But chances are reality begs to differ. Many educational organisations tend to work with comprehensive systems that are managed by a single company, which controls all data and processes. These one-tool-fits-all solutions may sound appealing, but the truth is, they're not agile, and the company providing them usually know a little about a lot. If you store your educational content in a sluggish system like that, you're depriving yourself of the opportunity to respond quickly to market developments. And the latter is crucial in today's educational landscape.

The sum of all parts

Let's have a look at self-driving cars. Teslas and Google Cars are known for their brand names, but their individual parts have been manufactured by several parties. The same goes for Apple computers: the hardware company doesn't manufacture all parts in-house. It works with experts in their respective fields to create its end products.

The thing is, complex systems and tools consist of a variety of components that intercommunicate, and you'll need to join forces with others to assemble them. In the automotive industry and the industrial sector, this has become quite common. But how about education?

Your own autonomous educational vehicle

Electronic learning environments have been embraced by now. But how to share all educational content in a single environment? It requires a complex, overarching system that should be composed of a myriad of components, each manufactured by a supplier who specializes in a particular field. Simply put, you should create your electronic learning environment in the same way you would assemble a self-driving car.

Here's an example: if you currently use Zoom for videoconferencing, you may want to incorporate the resulting data into your student monitoring system. So, this should be a small part of your autonomous educational vehicle.

The point is, if you want to provide personalised educational materials, you need to purchase component-based technologies and integrate them into one coherent system. Want to know how you should go about it? Be sure to read our next blog post.