ClassLink Blog

 From the E-School News article by Gregg Downey

Experts point out there are several well established technology trends that are poised to have a significant impact on the world. Gregg Downey points out that:

“…educators might do well to take heed of four of the more ubiquitous of these trends, which I’ll allude to by means of these labels: (1) parallel computing, (2) cloud computing, (3) brain mapping, and (4) the “global dis-assembly line.”

Taken together, these four trends could add up to a profound and historic phenomenon: Humanity is developing a network-enabled, computer-assisted global consciousness.”

For today’s post let’s focus on “cloud computing”.

“Although the concept has been around for at least a decade and half, the terminology is only lately gaining popular traction. Cloud computing is just a poetic way of alluding to software that runs on remote servers accessible via the internet or a similar network. It might also be called the World Wide Computer.

In 1993, Eric Schmidt, Google’s current CEO, was the chief technology officer for Sun Microsystems. At the time, he made a prescient prediction. He said, “When the network becomes as fast as the microprocessor, the computer hollows out and spreads across the network.” The company boiled Schmidt’s prediction down to a memorable tagline: “The network is the computer.”

More recently, Schmidt elaborated. “The servers should be in a cloud somewhere,” he said. “And if you have the right kind of browser or the right kind of access, it doesn’t matter whether you have a PC or a Mac or a mobile telephone or a Blackberry … or new devices still to be developed–you can get access to the cloud.”

The cloud is a metaphor for the internet (suggested, incidentally, by how engineers traditionally have depicted the internet in their diagrams of computer networks).

So now, you have what’s called “software as a service.” Software on the internet shelf, in other words, instead of software in a shrink-wrapped box. Now, the software runs on a server, but that server no longer needs to be down the hall from your office. It can be anywhere.”

For schools this has enormous potential. First, it extends learning from the classroom to home. Students can access the “cloud” from home, the library, or anywhere there is Internet access. They are able to use any of the software that the school has assigned to them. No longer are the school’s resources available only within the building itself.

Second, managing the “cloud” and its resources is much easier than managing thousands of individual makes and models of computers spread throughout the school district. In a time of shrinking resources and budgets “cloud” computing offers improved reliability and increased access at a lower cost.

Finally, schools can purchase a variety of computing devices so long as they are able to access the Internet. The software isn’t downloaded to the device, it runs on the servers in the “cloud”.  As Eric Schmidt says,

“…it doesn’t matter whether you have a PC or a Mac or a mobile telephone or a Blackberry … or new devices still to be developed–you can get access to the cloud.”

Add to that list of devices inexpensive Thin Clients, and the new sub-$500 mini-netbooks and suddenly the concept of “cloud” computing’s promise for educators comes into focus.

I believe Downey is right…”cloud” computing is a trend that could change everything!

pete