Unluckily, according to a leading newspaper daily, schools gradually have to reduce summer school financing to make up for financial deficits. In a few districts the school principals and educators have offered to work minus salary, while some other educational institutes have closed down summer programs completely.

This leading newspaper daily had lately held a discussion among school leaders to deliberate on cost effective methods of giving students the education they need during the summer holidays so that they don’t lose ground between the school years. A manager at Diamond Lake School District near Chicago, suggested organizing summer school around fieldtrips as a substitute for classroom education. He debated that in terms of cost discounts, fieldtrips would need lesser educators on the workforce because, after educators concluded the fieldtrip organization, paraprofessionals (who receive lower incomes) could handle the day-to-day administration. He also proposed that to decrease transportation costs, educational institutes can bring in special programs.

We like this thinking (why not focus summer school around experimental education—way more exhilarating than sitting in a classroom all through the summer!), and we think Cisco telepresence could add a completely new element to his proposed plan. Cisco Telepresence technology, the deployment of which could be a one-time expenditure for school districts, can take pupils to museums located anywhere around the world, back in time to experience diverse ways of life, and even to a different planet. No transport is needed. The Cisco telepresence technology could be multi-purposed throughout the school year to further the progress of education in all sorts of subjects.

Outside cost-effective simulated fieldtrips, Cisco telepresence can interconnect pupils to the content and skills education they require, even if their normal school is unable to directly deliver the class. Cisco Telepresence already interconnects pupils to courses taught at other schools, empowering educators to reach any quantity of pupils outside of the classroom’s physical walls.

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If your idea of a classroom is the traditional, you need to check out Charles County Public Schools in Southern Maryland. In 2010, the district introduced telepresence, installing three completely equipped rooms to service the community’s students and teachers. All of a sudden, the classrooms lost their walls, and prior geographic and instructional limitations ceased to restrict learning.

With telepresence , the district can bring in teachers for important subjects in which current instructors may not have specialized expertise. For example, Kaplan instructors based in New York City will deliver advanced placement (AP) statistics instruction through two high school telepresence classrooms. Additionally, a partnership with Duke University will bring AP math and physics to the Maryland schools, and Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment will take students on virtual field trips to study marine biology.

The district also hopes to use a telepresence room in an administrative building for teacher education. With the College of Education at Towson University nearly two hours away, teachers need options for local, high-quality professional development. The telepresence setup has the potential to bring Towson professors to Charles County—and no one has to drive.

Not only will telepresence increase Charles County schools’ course offerings, but it can also deepen students’ learning. In several Minnesota schools, telepresence brings historical figures to life. In a program with the Minnesota History Center, elementary and middle school students engage through interactive video with impersonated explorers and pioneers. The figures take the students into their worlds, sharing their stories and guiding the students through simulated activities like portaging canoes and harvesting rice.

I don’t know about you, but to me, talking to a virtual pioneer sounds more stimulating than reading about one in a textbook. It’s just one of the innovations telepresence brings to education, and I am proud to be part of an ongoing effort that enhances all levels of learning – and makes it so exciting!

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In a comparable dismal state as California, Minnesota’s state government has borrowed $2.2 billion from its public academic institutions to conclude a government shutdown. The state has still not been able to set a date by which to repay the academic institutions back.

California and Minnesota reveal the unsteady states of the education budgets of numerous states across the country. With each succeeding year academic institutions make larger and larger cuts, stuff more students into jam-packed classrooms, and lay off more members of the faculty.

As the economy finds it difficult to recover, academic institutions need an instant solution. With Cisco telepresence, school districts can make one-time investments which supply all of the paraphernalia required to take pupils anywhere in the universe— even other planets included. The cost of a Cisco telepresence installation pales in comparison to the money required to construct Riverside’s Hillcrest High School, and it necessitates no continuing monetary investments to rollout, modify, improve, and extend programming. Cisco Telepresence technology takes students places that tight field trip budgets may not allow, and it brings students to classrooms where they gain access to courses which their schools don’t have the means to offer.

It looks in like, in today’s modern economy, school districts are unable to afford not having deployed Cisco telepresence connections. The technology exists to keep the education sector afloat, to keep students learning by educating them with the material they require to learn to become resourceful, logical, proficient contributors to society. We know that funds are in tight supply, and it’s due to this tightness that educational financing requires a new course, with ground-breaking investment choices that further enhance educational excellence. Investing in Cisco telepresence leads to instant, considerable educational returns on investments (ROIs) which continue for many years to come.

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