UZEP: a cloud-based distance education platform for higher education institutions

Abstract

Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has affected higher education institutions all over the world, causing face-toface education to cease. Schools have tried to carry out educational activities through online teaching either by using on premise infrastructure or by leasing cloud based online platforms. Although these platforms are convenient, most of them do not meet all the requirements for higher education institutions. Not knowing where the personal data is stored in a public cloud creates another problem for some countries according to laws. In this study, a new online learning platform has been developed for higher education institutions to solve these problems using state-of-the-art cloud technologies. The new system enables implementation of individual curricula of many higher education institutions in one software system, and it can be taken into service quickly in emergencies. It expands dynamically by activating a large number of streaming servers to meet the demand. The new system provides easy to use-learn interfaces, offers an economical solution for e-learning by sharing the resources, and compliant with the law on protection of personal data. The new platform was in service at 12 universities in Turkiye during the fall 2020, and its performance was measured with surveys at various levels.