Hence, Blackboard offers a mobile application for students to access the virtual platform 24/7. Thereby, the importance of creating applications that support these devices are critical to meet consumer needs. Secondly, social media has become a powerful platform that institutions and students can utilize to meet business and educational needs. Instructors have utilized Twitter, YouTube, and other forms of social media to connect with students, while students have utilized Facebook and Google Hangouts to create study groups (BestColleges.com [BC], 2016). Thus, the social interaction in the virtual environment connects students to support their educational needs. Additionally, from a strategic standpoint, the organization can utilize …show more content…
Firstly, as mentioned early within the paper, the SaaS option for both personal and organizational use could allow users to utilize applications as needed instead of having to buy the full solution. This would not only be more cost-effective for institution and students, but enable higher quality results as the option allows users to utilize the correct tools for the task at hand. Secondly, with developments within the virtual reality realm, the technological advancement could create a new avenue to produce interactive learning. The possibilities are endless, i.e. a hologram of remote workers coming to meeting, or students meeting for a lecture; these are but a few thought-provoking developments within the VR realm. Other technological advancements that could influence the Educational sector include chatbots that would utilize AI and language processing to assist users with entry level queries, the use of Blockchains to record and verify any learning activity completed by a student thereby creating a cloud based record with all academic transcripts and achievements recorded, and finally, learning through gamification (Kelly, 2017). However, as exciting as these developments seem, organizations should consider their complete infrastructure and measure the value, longevity, and risks of such technologies to determine if the benefit and learning experience could be balanced with cost effectiveness, thereby creating an overall effective solution for the organization. For the believer, when faced with such complex decisions, he/she can rest assured that according to James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (New International