On the edge: how a new approach to data handling can enhance teaching and learning

Not only that, but real-time applications such as virtual reality and AI are driving demand for minimal latency: milliseconds matter when it comes to making blended learning as seamlessly interactive as possible.

Edge computing presents a new approach to data handling which addresses all these issues.

Bringing data closer to the user

Essentially, it’s about shifting computation closer to the point of data collection and processing rather than relying on a central location.

Instead of pushing vast amounts of data to a public or private cloud for computing and storage, it’s processed locally at the network edge, and only the results are transferred. This eliminates latency issues that might affect application performance, making activities and processes faster, less disjointed and more accessible, adaptable and cost-effective.

Institutions can save money, too. by having processing done locally. Smart campuses with video surveillance, facility management and energy tracking systems, for example, can especially benefit when data processing is carried out on-campus rather than incurring high bandwidth costs transferring it to the public cloud.

The same applies to researchers whose work involves large data sets.

Cloud or edge? Or both?

More applications and services are moving to the cloud, which forms an integral part of any IT organisation’s strategy. However, traditional cloud may not be the answer to all current data computation requirements, especially in the education and research sector.

In public cloud solutions, for instance, network delays between an endpoint and a cloud data centre can adversely impact the kind of real-time applications that are fundamental to education and research. The transfer of enormous data sets in and out of the public cloud may also be cost-prohibitive or violate compliance obligations such as data sovereignty.

To improve performance for specific workloads that require low latency and/or involve large data sets, institutions need to move the power of cloud closer to their network perimeter.

This can be achieved by including edge computing in a digital transformation strategy to complement cloud and data centre infrastructure.

How can edge computing add value to education?

Of course, not everything is suitable for edge computing, but it is a very good fit and highly appropriate for certain environments in tertiary education, such as smart campuses, virtual learning spaces and large research projects.

Edge is right for any workload that needs to reach geographically distributed end users quickly, reliably and without interruption. It’s good for real-time local tasks that need a fast response, and it can also be useful where connectivity is weak or bandwidth is restricted.

Edge computing can improve the student experience

Edge computing improves learning outcomes by addressing vital infrastructure challenges such as bandwidth limitations, excess latency and network congestion which can hamper access to blended learning.

It enables seamless interactions in physical, virtual or immersive learning spaces, and institutions can use its ability to process data in near real time to build more personalised interactive experiences such as extended reality and advanced chatbots.

And, because edge computing data is stored locally not centrally, a single cyber-security disruption will not necessarily affect the entire system. In other words, edge comes with a layer of cyber protection.

Where to start?

At Jisc, we are seeing growing demand for cloud resources to be made available closer to users.

One of the ways we’re making edge computing available to members is via our smart campus project with Honeywell. This aims to establish a common core platform running on the Janet Network that will enable the sector to collect, process and utilise data from on-site smart devices and sensors connected to the internet of things (IoT) to make campus buildings healthier places to be.

In a first for the sector, we are also working with companies like AWS and Fortinet to create and test a secure, high-performance hybrid cloud environment which the UK education and research sector can share.