As the country gears up for limited face-to-face classes, the Department of Education utilizes blended learning to combine offline, online, television and radio-based instruction learning for SY 2021-2022. However, this also meant learning modern technology, high expenditures, and risks on the cybersecurity front.

In recognizing the emerging role of cloud-based IT platforms in powering the schools of tomorrow, Cisco offers educational institutions special pricing for the Meraki Education suite of solutions.

According to the Officer-in-charge (OIC) and Managing Director for Cisco Philippines Robin Llamas, “Learning and innovation are at the core of Cisco’s culture. In our commitment to strengthening education through technology, Cisco, through Meraki, hopes to provide quality education in an accessible, remote, and secure way at a low cost.”

Meraki Education Advantage is a centralized platform that provides a quality blended learning experience through high-performance Wi-Fi and secure networks in a distributed workforce. The platform is available at minimum cost through the Meraki Education Advantage Pricing or MEAP, where Cisco Meraki Channel partners can receive additional discounts for K-12 schools, libraries, and small non-profit customers in the US, UK, EEA, and the Asia Pacific.

Filipinos struggle with the transition to blended learning. Civil society group movement Survey for Safe, Equitable, Quality and Relevant (SEQuRe) Education stated that public school students and teachers found blended learning difficult because of costly internet services and heavy workload. Another study from the Social Weather Stations (SWS) shared that from 1,200 respondents, around 89% found blended learning more difficult than face-face learning.

Meraki hopes to combat the struggles of transitioning to blended learning through three core solutions. First is intuitive IT management, which adopts a centralized platform to provide easy and cost-effective blended learning. Second, connect remote networks securely with high-performance Wi-Fi and automated updates of security features to protect the students and staff. Lastly, enable a remote and flexible workspace from any location by securing remote access to data and infrastructure via the Meraki app or desktop.

"Cisco identifies the education sector as a critical component to achieve its mission for an inclusive digital future. This move powers Cisco's overall goal of building digital resilience through UGNAYAN 2030 - a collaboration platform where Cisco works with the public and private sector to advance the country's digital resilience in connectivity, collaboration, cybersecurity, and COVID-19 response.'" Llamas shared.

The future of education is cloud-based IT platforms. Meraki embodies this by providing quality blended learning through accessible technology, efficient internet access, and information security at a minimum price. To know more about how your institution can take part in powering the school of tomorrow, visit merakipartners.com and become a Cisco Meraki Channel Partner today.