The internet has revolutionized the world of education. No longer should students rely on physical classrooms of institutions to go for studying, since internet enables students and teachers from any part of the globe to interact with each other. The restriction of physical boundaries is no longer the prerequisite for gaining access to top quality education. People of any age and living in any part of the world, having access to electricity, internet and a computer system, can easily learn any course from their place of convenience.
Such kind of education is called ‘Online education’, wherein the teaching and knowledge are imparted virtually using computers, mobiles or tablets via the internet. Online education creates a ‘Virtual classroom’ which includes audio and animated lesson explanations, live chats with professors, online study material, video lectures, live lectures using web cameras and online tests. Many of the best institutions across the globe now use online education as a means of providing quality education to users residing in remote and distant places.
Online Education and ERP software
Just like the way schools and colleges require ERP software to function smoothly, online education portals also need to use ERP software to an even larger extent. This is because all the activities like admission, selection, teaching, etc. are done online and there is no need for the physical presence of any of the parties like students, parents or teachers. ERP software ensures that there are no technical glitches or other hassles. There are many reasons as to how ERP software helps online education portals to run efficiently, some of which include –
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Virtual admissions
In online education, the only way students can get admission is by first applying for the course online. Then, they have to attach the supporting documents in PDF format along with their online application form. ERP software provides the perfect solution for managing online admission of the candidates in the smoothest possible manner, by providing a separate module called ‘Online admission’. This module has features like providing online application form, checking status of online admission, as well as intimating the students about the fee payment, course content, rules and other important details.
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Online Lectures
ERP software provides features that enable the teachers to conduct the classes’ online or even offline by way of sharing recorded video lectures with the students. Online classes are conducted with the help of web cameras, laptops and most importantly a stable internet connection from the end of both the teachers and the students. Offline lectures may comprise of recorded content, which might be in an audio, video or animated form.
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Separate Online Portals for Various Stakeholders
The need for the physical presence for the purpose of sharing important information and/or documents of important stakeholders like students, teachers, parents and management is eliminated by online education. Using ERP software, each and every person, who has an important role in the functioning of the virtual school, will be given a separate portal for the purpose of checking the student’s performance, online attendance, assignment and project submission, course content, timetable, fee payment, teachers’ remarks about the students, uploading content, etc.
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Payment Gateway Integration
Since all things happen virtually in the world of online education, even the payment of fees is to be done online. Online payment can be done by using internet banking, credit card, debit card or online wallets like Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay, etc. ERP software offers effective methods for payment gateway integration, thereby facilitating the students and parents in making online payment of fees in an easy and secure manner, on their respective portals.
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Online Examination
There is no need for students to come physically to complete their exams in online education, as the exams are conducted online. ERP software has a module for conducting the an examination, which enables the students to complete their examination using computers or laptops, from their place of comfort.
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Course Material
In online education, students get access to the study materials on their portals. Using ERP software, teachers can constantly upload course content in the form of PDFs and GoogleDocs. This greatly helps the students as well as the management in reducing the amount of money spent on publishing and purchasing paperback textbooks. This reduced use of paper promotes eco-friendliness.
In this way, online education portals must make use of the best education ERP software as this will help them in providing the online courses in a truly virtual, professional and paper free manner.
