A Teacher's Guild to Cloud Computing - Part1

Every year there is a new buzz word.   In technology it seems to be every month, there is something new for a teacher to keep up with. If students are doing it, teachers should know about it. 

The latest buzz in technology is cloud computing. Just what is cloud computing? Can students use the technology to help in their education? What do teachers need to know. 

This teacher’s guide to cloud computing is my attempt to answer some of those questions. If you read all the information in the guide and follow some of the exercises, you’ll see how to tap into cloud computing and use it in your classroom. 

A look back on Computers in the Classroom:

Since Personal computers have found their way into schools, the same model for

student computer use has applied:

1. A computer is placed in the classroom.
2. Software programs are loaded on the computer
   
3. The student types their work into the program on the computer.
4. A file is created and the work is stored on a locally, either on a hard
   drive, floppy or flash drive.

There are several problems with this system:

First, Students can and do lose their files.   If the student is working on a different computer than yesterday, the work may be on the hard drive of yesterday’s computer. If the student stored their work on a removable storage devise (Floppy, flash drive) they can lose it.

Secondly, the files can be in the wrong format. Students bring work in from home, but their file may be saved in WordPerfect format and the classroom has Microsoft Word. Or the student works on an Apple computer at home.  The file is too difficult for the teacher to open. 

The software industry is constantly changing. They have to come out with upgrades
and new features to keep people buying their product. Each program stores their files in their own format. If a student work in Microsoft Works as home, but at school there is Microsoft Office.  Office can’t open works files. Or student are using the latest at home – Office 2007, but at school there is still Office 2000, which can’t open the newer files. The technical incompatibilities can sidetrack even the most diligent student.

This is where “cloud computing” comes into play. Instead of storing the work locally, student work goes into the “clouds”.   Programs are not stored on the local computers.  The programs
are on the Internet (up in the clouds).  Students simply need to access the Internet to run their programs and access their files.

So Cloud computing can change the way school store student work. Before we explore
cloud computing further, let’s see how we got to where we are today with computers in the classroom.

Models of computer use at schools

The personal computer got started in 1980 with the IBM PC.  School quickly adopted computers for use in education, utilizing Apple II computers.  One of the first uses of computers in education was word-processing.  This is how word-processing on a computer is done in a school: 

1. A software  program is loaded on the computer
   
2. The student types their work into the program
   
3. A file is created and the work is stored on a local storage device (hard
   drive, floppy disk, flash drive).
   
   

 

Students at home have no access to the files or applications at school.  The work is stored on the computers. In the last few years, cheap flash drives have made carrying files back and forth easier. The work is stored on the drive and can be carried from machine to machine or
home. If the flash drive is lost, or if the student leaves it home, the work is not available.

The cloud computing model is different.  Student still sit at the computer to do their word processing, but the programs are not installed on the local machine.  Student work is stored in "the cloud" of the Internet.  This model allows students to get access to their work anywhere there is an internet connection.

Students at school save their work into the Internet based applications.   Students at home can also gain access to the document.  Since the work is not housed in the school district's computer network, the documents are available from anywhere with an Internet connection. 

Now that we've seen how our student can use cloud computing, in the next blog post, we'll dig deeper in just what cloud computing is.