Collaboration in educational institutions usually involves cooperation among students, faculties, sponsors, and universities. Unlike the corporate world, higher education institutions have generally fallen behind in adopting the latest technologies and have continued to rely primarily on face$-$to$-$face $($F$2$F$)$ collaboration. F$2$F learning predominates because of the widespread view that it helps students stay focused, connect with each other, follow a standard timetable, and improve their physical wellness and mental alertness. Faculties believe that it enables them to better understand and assess their students' qualities and shortcomings and to fulfill their roles as mentors. F$2$F learning enables students to share their perspectives and have their questions addressed with a level of personal interaction that digital learning can

However, the COVID$-19$ pandemic has forced universities to rethink their assumptions. Although many universities worldwide had already begun to implement virtual learning before the pandemic hit, they were at varying degrees of implementation when the lockdowns began, and many had to rush to catch up$.$

Ahlia University Bahrain, the country's first private university, has effectively moved the bulk of its operations and services online : teaching, academic advising, career development services, counseling services, digital library services, payment services, document management, internship programs, student activities, and student complaint services. The university prepared itself for the online transition by implementing a series of measures spread over a period of two to three months. This included addressing infrastructural requirements for online education: optimum Internet speed, network upgrades, and licensing of Microsoft and other open$-$source or affordable software packages. Short videos and manuals on how to use different technologies and e$-$learning platforms were prepared to help students, faculties, and administrative bodies. Online training and support were provided through a hotline, its official website, virtual training courses, as well as through WhatsApp, other social media, and YouTube videos. The university provided its members with access to Microsoft Office $365$ and a library of ebooks as well. Security policies were implemented to enhance the protection of information and privacy. Faculty underwent intensive training to strengthen the educational process itself and ensure that there would be no disruption in the event of an emergency.

Microsoft SharePoint, a web$-$based cloud collaboration tool for information storage and management, had already been implemented by the university toward the end of $2019.$ SharePoint is used to share and maintain up$-$to$-$date information and to expand awareness of the university's plans, decisions, events, rules, and policies among students and faculty. SharePoint has built cohesion, harnessed collective knowledge, and driven organizational efficiency by sharing common resources. It has also promoted collaboration between the internal units of the university and external bodies.

To conduct classes online, Ahlia University chose Microsoft Teams, a collaborative tool that allows users to chat, make calls, share documents, and conduct meetings. The university's IT team linked time tables and class lists from the university's Student Information System database, which stores and tracks all student information, including grades and attendance records, to Microsoft Teams using application programming interfaces $($APIs$)$ to import relevant course details. Using Microsoft Teams has enabled the university to create a secure environment where access to Teams chats and groups is barred to outsiders. All classes are recorded so students can review and recall all that has been taught. Advice, career development, and counseling services for mental health issues have also been made available through Microsoft Teams chats and calls.

The course details and class list from the Student

Information System have also been linked with Moodle, an open$-$source learning management system. This has contributed significantly to mass enrollment and secured authentication. Through Moodle, instructors use quizzes, chat messages, forums, workshops, uploaded course materials, assessments, and surveys with tracking and reminder options to improve their students' efficiency in studying and to ensure the timely completion of assignments and courses.

Questions.

$1.$ How does Microsoft Teams promote efficient collaboration in universities and colleges?

$2.$ What management, organization, and technology based issues did Ahlia University address before pivoting its operations to deal with the pandemic?

$3.$ What advantages has using collaboration tools provided for Ahlia University?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

1 How does Microsoft Teams promote efficient collaboration in universities and colleges Microsoft Teams promotes efficient collaboration in universities and colleges in multiple ways First it provides ... View the full answer