How COVID19 Is Driving Change In Higher Education's Content Management Needs

The education sector has suffered a huge blow from the COVID-19 pandemic. It has compelled higher education institutions to make unprecedented technological changes. Particularly, when it comes to publishing and distribution of content to students, faculties, management officials, and staff. 

The value of data has increased all the more now due to a lack of face-to-face interactions. The main goal of educational institutions is to ensure that the quality of education remains constant, even in such critical circumstances. To accomplish this, most educational institutes have adapted up-to-date content delivery methods for students.

Content Management System (CMS) has been the neural centre that has enabled most of the higher educational institutions to keep information centralized and allow them to publish content more quickly. 

When engaging in the CMS selection process, higher education institutions are focusing on the evaluation of current processes for managing content, determining what is working, what is failing, and sketching a picture of how content will be handled after the CMS is implemented. The institutions are also trying to understand the primary audience and managers of their content, such as faculty, staff, administration, and students.

Higher education institutions are defining the internal processes for managing the information lifecycle. The lifecycle of information management includes content creation, editing, publishing, and archiving. Institutions are also outlining and defining the types of information that are created regularly. 

Some advantages of using content management:

1. It helps to streamline and automate the creating, editing, publishing, and archiving lifecycle of information.
2. Allows digital users to update content seamlessly. 
3. Proprietary software and specialized knowledge are not required as content management happens via web forms. 
4. Content administration database is formed.
5. Multi-formatted content is automatically generated.

Creating a community is critical in any digital-age learning environment. Teachers can help students to internalize the responsible use of technological tools by modelling and supporting digital citizenship. According to a study by Cyberbullying Research Centre, 13 per cent of students admitted to copying and submitting essays or test answers (a form of plagiarism). Teaching students about digital ethics will sustain the learning community as they work collaboratively and share their works with others.

Faculties should carefully preview all digital content that is to be shared with students. Just as they do with any other form of media. Before utilizing digital content for instructional purposes, teachers should consider the specific needs and expectations of their learning communities, like the age of the students; the learning standards; the values of the parents.

Directions given by the universities must be clear as well as brief so that students can use their critical thinking skills. Finally, a variety of formative tests with multiple opportunities should be provided to learners to demonstrate the learning process and guarantee success.

Universities can consider designing effective lessons as they plan the pedagogy for digital content. Faculties can prompt critical thinking about a standard or concept by starting with an essential question. With digital content, teachers can be the subject designers, making the experience of learning even better. One of the advantages of digital age learning through content management is that students can use technology to access a variety of content types. Audio, images, video, interactive websites, applications, and text can all be combined to give students a variety of learning options. 

It is critical to understand how a CMS affects a variety of people and departments in a higher education setting. Analyzing current institution sites and soliciting feedback from key individuals aids in understanding how a CMS fits into the school environment. Choosing a CMS is not a simple decision. It is a thorough process and includes open communication. 

Because of the rapid expansion of knowledge in nearly all subject areas, being clear about the role and purpose of content in a course becomes extremely important. Higher education institutions reap enormous benefits from using a CMS and rigorous planning results in a more successful implementation.

Vikram Kumar

Guest Author The author is Co-Founder and Director of SRV Media and EaseBuzz