This Lunch and Learn discussion is being sponsored (and led) by Cisco, who is helping us reimagine learning in this new hybrid era. According to Mary Schlegelmilch, Cisco Education Consultant, “As we re-imagine education, we'll really have thought backwards too, about where we have been in the industrial revolution model and notice everything's always been in rows, and the teachers are lecturing.
“So I think we are changing and thinking differently about how we reach students. We are really working with architectural and engineering firms, as they build schools, asking what do the schools need to be like now? How do we reimagine the space? And so that's a big piece because as we reimagine space and space usage, not only has this pandemic done this in the retail and business world, now we're seeing a lot of space come open because we have so many hybrid workers. We also have the ability to not just have hybrid workers within our districts, meaning maybe it's our purchasing office, that some of those people can choose to stay and work from home certain days of the week, or whatever it may be.
“But now we're rethinking the space for teaching and learning. And that's what I'm most excited about as a former district administrator for Omaha public schools and for being a building principal. I think that this is something that we need to keep our vision on. And that's where at Cisco, my task is to really help our company make sure that we are creating the software and the hardware systems that our schools need so that we can continue to have great brick and mortar classrooms. We don't want to get rid of those at all. We see the value in them, but we also see anytime, anywhere learning education is our first strategy. We are a company born in education, two Stanford professors married, working in two different colleges on the campus back in the eighties, had no way of connecting with each other, other than a phone number.
“And they're the ones that created this Internet of, Hey, um, can we, can we share data back and forth between different buildings? And we think about this, and we're only in 2021. And so this really hasn't been that long and look at where we've come. And since the pandemic, look at what we've done as well. But at the core of it all is always student retention and student success. And if we have that at the core, then we know faculty success is truly as important in our districts, as we can strive to be truly successful.
“We can have a hybrid model. This teacher doesn't mind having students come in remotely and students in person, but over in the other building, we still may want to have a virtual building where we set up for the success of those faculty members, as they have the tools that they need to reach students. Now, again, this hybrid experience we're looking at, how can we help our schools build that flexible and be as elastic as we can, based on what's going on in their communities. That's, that's the truly important piece based on your community. Are you ready to have that elastic city of your learning models and have the experience for staff and faculty and students? We're always thinking about this.”
When it comes to thought leadership, Cisco is helping to define the leading edge. Tune into this most informative Lunch and Learn presentation. You won’t want to miss a single moment of this enlightening look at hybrid learning. See how Cisco technology is defining the modern classroom, and dissolving the barriers between in-person and at-home attendance, bringing the power and simplicity into the hands of the teacher, and making sure they deliver the best, most seamless learning and teaching experiences possible.
