![Picture](/uploads/1/3/6/8/13685025/5138218.png?363)
This week’s class material focuses on the concept of cloud computing. This concept basically means that a large number of computers can be connected to through a real-time communication network using the Internet. Put even more simply, different computers and devices can share information using an internet connection. For example, most people have iTunes on their computers. The newer versions of iTunes have what is called the iCloud. It allows a person to safe all of the music or media that has been purchased through a single iTunes account to transfer that information across different devices. I will give you an example.
I like music. I was a late bloomer when it came to music and I really started getting into it more in High School. I grew up playing basketball and was exposed to Rap and Hip-Hop music at an early age. I get a lot of iTunes gift cards from my lovely aunts and uncles all over the country. I use these cards to purchase music and then download it onto my laptop. Then the unthinkable happens. I have a really bad day, I am working at the school, and my laptop becomes a casualty of a series of situations. My laptop is now dead and I can no longer access my music from that laptop.
I have encountered a rather tragic and super first world problem type of situation. Luckily, a very generous person in my life had taken the liberty to purchase me an iPad. I had iTunes on this iPad and because I was using the exact same iTunes account, I still had access to all of my purchased music on that iPad. When Santa brought me a new laptop (again) I was able to download iTunes, input my username and password, and voila! The iTunes cloud holds all of my purchased music and I may access it from my new laptop and any other device.
That ladies and gents is my attempt to explain how Cloud Computing is being used in your lives. So how might this affect us in education?
One large advantage to the Cloud for schools is the low cost. There is a quote from Thomas Bittman in our notes that says basically that schools don’t need hardware and software on campus anymore. Bittman says, “All that is needed is cheap access device and a web browser, broadband in the schools, perhaps wireless hotspots.” (Bittman, 2008). We all know how schools struggle with budgets and that our province has shown a tendency to take from education when the budget must be cut. The idea that the cloud would allow schools to operate with a high level of technological sophistication, while maintaining a lower budget for the technology being used, would clearly be beneficial to schools all over our province.
Another advantage is pointed out by Bonnie Sutton on a SITE blog page. She says that the appropriate use of technology, including cloud computing, is the possible removal of physical textbooks. She points out the obvious flaws of textbooks in how they can quickly become out of date, they cost a LOT of money, and they “kill trees”. Sutton believes that having these textbooks digitalized the cost would be reduced by a vast amount (Sutton, 2009). Coupled with lowered cost, Sutton believes that, “if the [text]books were e-texts or e-books and could be used only for the time they are needed and we could customize education for every child.” (Sutton, 2009) These are very important things to think about when we are talking about budgets and what schools spend their money on.
In terms of how cloud computing can benefit me as a teacher, I think that Tim McGovern, Co-Founder and CEO of Snap Shots, summed it up in a video we were asked to watch for our notes (I will post it below this paragraph.) Tim appears at about the 3:50 mark in the video and he says, “Cloud Computing is: being able to sleep at night knowing your servers won’t go down. Being able to know that your operations person can actually go on vacation. Cloud computing is being able to have more of a sense of balance between your work life and professional life for your team.”
I like music. I was a late bloomer when it came to music and I really started getting into it more in High School. I grew up playing basketball and was exposed to Rap and Hip-Hop music at an early age. I get a lot of iTunes gift cards from my lovely aunts and uncles all over the country. I use these cards to purchase music and then download it onto my laptop. Then the unthinkable happens. I have a really bad day, I am working at the school, and my laptop becomes a casualty of a series of situations. My laptop is now dead and I can no longer access my music from that laptop.
I have encountered a rather tragic and super first world problem type of situation. Luckily, a very generous person in my life had taken the liberty to purchase me an iPad. I had iTunes on this iPad and because I was using the exact same iTunes account, I still had access to all of my purchased music on that iPad. When Santa brought me a new laptop (again) I was able to download iTunes, input my username and password, and voila! The iTunes cloud holds all of my purchased music and I may access it from my new laptop and any other device.
That ladies and gents is my attempt to explain how Cloud Computing is being used in your lives. So how might this affect us in education?
One large advantage to the Cloud for schools is the low cost. There is a quote from Thomas Bittman in our notes that says basically that schools don’t need hardware and software on campus anymore. Bittman says, “All that is needed is cheap access device and a web browser, broadband in the schools, perhaps wireless hotspots.” (Bittman, 2008). We all know how schools struggle with budgets and that our province has shown a tendency to take from education when the budget must be cut. The idea that the cloud would allow schools to operate with a high level of technological sophistication, while maintaining a lower budget for the technology being used, would clearly be beneficial to schools all over our province.
Another advantage is pointed out by Bonnie Sutton on a SITE blog page. She says that the appropriate use of technology, including cloud computing, is the possible removal of physical textbooks. She points out the obvious flaws of textbooks in how they can quickly become out of date, they cost a LOT of money, and they “kill trees”. Sutton believes that having these textbooks digitalized the cost would be reduced by a vast amount (Sutton, 2009). Coupled with lowered cost, Sutton believes that, “if the [text]books were e-texts or e-books and could be used only for the time they are needed and we could customize education for every child.” (Sutton, 2009) These are very important things to think about when we are talking about budgets and what schools spend their money on.
In terms of how cloud computing can benefit me as a teacher, I think that Tim McGovern, Co-Founder and CEO of Snap Shots, summed it up in a video we were asked to watch for our notes (I will post it below this paragraph.) Tim appears at about the 3:50 mark in the video and he says, “Cloud Computing is: being able to sleep at night knowing your servers won’t go down. Being able to know that your operations person can actually go on vacation. Cloud computing is being able to have more of a sense of balance between your work life and professional life for your team.”
I chose to highlight Mr. McGovern’s comments from this video because I believe his comments to have direct implications in the teaching world. A teacher’s worst nightmare is a beautifully constructed lesson that uses all of the technology that is at their disposal, only to have the WiFi crash that morning, or the projector not work, and on and on it goes. There are a million things that can go wrong with the technology and I can guarantee that the operations person in charge of the school IT does not get many days off during the school year.
I do not have a lot of experience teaching in the school settings. In total I have a little over six months of official training in the classroom. However, I grew up in this system when technology was enjoying widespread use. I really believe I am a part of the “PowerPoint generation”, where it was hip and cool for teachers not to use overhead projectors anymore, and have all of their information for class on a presentation at the front of the room. I have seen these fabulous operations people that Mr. McGovern mentions come into a chaotic classroom and make one simple fix that gets the lesson back on track. These operations people are one of the unsung heroes of the educational system, and if cloud computing could make their lives, and by extension everyone else’s, easier than I think it would be wrong to not at least experiment with the cloud computing in the school setting.
I think by far the most exciting application for cloud computing is the virtual field trip that we see on the Google video. I have actually used this opportunity in one of my own classrooms. During my PS3 my grade four class was discussng what kind of people we see in the community, who are these people that help our community. Paramedics were one of the things that the students came up with. My PS3 was overseas in the country of Oman, and we were able to “hangout” with a real life Paramedic that I knew back home in Canada. Every student in the class was able to ask our Paramedic a question about what they did for their community, where they lived, why they chose to help the community and just what it was that they did to help the community. The class was very excited by the opportunity and It was so great to be able to get them inspired to make a list of questions to ask our expert. I would love to do more of this in my teaching, because I believe it provides powerful and authentic learning moments for our students.
References:
T Bittman. (2008, Nov. 26). Cloud Computing and K-12 Education. Retrieved from: http://blogs.gartner.com/thomas_bittman/2008/11/26/cloud-computing-and-k-12-education/
B Sutton. (2009, Sept. 18). Cloud Computing for Education? Retrieved from: http://siteblog.aace.org/2009/09/18/cloud-computing-for-education/
Image/Video References:
Pros and Cons of Cloud Computing. Retrieved from: http://robotschile.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/cloud_computing_pros_cons_big.png
What is Cloud Computing? Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PNuQHUiV3Q
I do not have a lot of experience teaching in the school settings. In total I have a little over six months of official training in the classroom. However, I grew up in this system when technology was enjoying widespread use. I really believe I am a part of the “PowerPoint generation”, where it was hip and cool for teachers not to use overhead projectors anymore, and have all of their information for class on a presentation at the front of the room. I have seen these fabulous operations people that Mr. McGovern mentions come into a chaotic classroom and make one simple fix that gets the lesson back on track. These operations people are one of the unsung heroes of the educational system, and if cloud computing could make their lives, and by extension everyone else’s, easier than I think it would be wrong to not at least experiment with the cloud computing in the school setting.
I think by far the most exciting application for cloud computing is the virtual field trip that we see on the Google video. I have actually used this opportunity in one of my own classrooms. During my PS3 my grade four class was discussng what kind of people we see in the community, who are these people that help our community. Paramedics were one of the things that the students came up with. My PS3 was overseas in the country of Oman, and we were able to “hangout” with a real life Paramedic that I knew back home in Canada. Every student in the class was able to ask our Paramedic a question about what they did for their community, where they lived, why they chose to help the community and just what it was that they did to help the community. The class was very excited by the opportunity and It was so great to be able to get them inspired to make a list of questions to ask our expert. I would love to do more of this in my teaching, because I believe it provides powerful and authentic learning moments for our students.
References:
T Bittman. (2008, Nov. 26). Cloud Computing and K-12 Education. Retrieved from: http://blogs.gartner.com/thomas_bittman/2008/11/26/cloud-computing-and-k-12-education/
B Sutton. (2009, Sept. 18). Cloud Computing for Education? Retrieved from: http://siteblog.aace.org/2009/09/18/cloud-computing-for-education/
Image/Video References:
Pros and Cons of Cloud Computing. Retrieved from: http://robotschile.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/cloud_computing_pros_cons_big.png
What is Cloud Computing? Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PNuQHUiV3Q