Thursday, December 11, 2014

Module 1 Assignment: Identifying Emerging Technology


Moving to the Cloud
Emerging technologies are imperative for the advancement of our society and critical for demands of 21st century learning needs. In Dr. David Thornburg’s (2013b) paper, Current Trends in Educational Technology, he discusses the constant changing landscape of educational technology and explores various technologies that have transformed to help shape and reshape educational practices. One transformational technology, that would be a good addition to Dr. Thornburg’s list of current trends in educational technology, is the transitional process from hardware and software management infrastructures to internet-based computational infrastructures.

Cloud computing is an internet based computing model that creates a virtual environment for users through a shared network of servers. In recent years, cloud computing has helped reshape learning and system management in K-12 education.  The CDW Government (2013) released a study stating that 40% of schools are turning to the cloud for storage to house their data.  However, storage is not the only reason schools are starting to migrate. The study also found that 36% of school used the application for conferencing and collaboration and 33% uses it for office and productivity tools.
From Global Journal of Computer Science and Technology
Although cloud computing helps eliminate the need for computing hardware and software to manage educational system needs, it also helps shape productivity for student learning. I found the figure to the left in an article from the Global Journal of Computer Science and Technology (GJCST, 2012)  and thought that it was a good visual representation of how cloud computing is used in e-learning as a business model to structure learning management. Through the cloud, communication has become essential between teacher and students. It allows interchangeable sharing of documents and other digital activities for students.  However, some issues associated with the application are security, compliance, and possible outages with the main concern of protecting private student data. Pitfalls of cloud computing can be overcome with the appropriate level of planning and architectural effort (Bonfante, 2014). Some experts say that the problem is that many school districts have not set clear polices for storing data effectively (Davies, M.R., Cavanagh, S., 2014).
Cloud computing delivers on-demand computing resources over the internet.  It is much cheaper to run than to purchase software that has to be maintained and the cloud application infrastructure works as a utility for the user.  With major hardware and software brands, like Microsoft and Google, making cloud space solutions (GJCST, 2012), cloud computing is emerging quickly with many advantages that outweigh the issues with the application. With the correct design and implementations of policies and procedures from school districts, cloud computing will revolutionize the shape aspects of K-12 education and directly support opportunities to enhance 21st century learning.

References:

Bonfante, L. (2014, July) Three flawed issues of cloud computing. Retrieved from http://www.cioinsight.com/it-management/expert-voices/three-flawed-issues-about-cloud-computing.html

CDW Government. (2013). 2013 State of the cloud report. Retrieved from http://www.cdwnewsroom.com/2013-state-of-the-cloud-report/

Davies, M.R., Cavanagh, S,. (2014, January 8).Cloud computing in K-12 expands, raising data privacy concerns. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/01/08/15cloud_ep.h33.html

 GJCST. (2012, July). Cloud computing issues and benefits modern education. (12)10 Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/articles/2013/02/19/cloud-computing-to-make-up-35-of-k12-it-budgets-in-4-years.aspx?=THECL

 Nagal, David. (2013, February 19). Cloud computing to make up 35% of K-12 IT budgets in 4 years. Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/articles/2013/02/19/cloud-computing-to-make-up-35-of-k12-it-budgets-in-4-years.aspx?=THECL


Thornburg, D. (2013b). Current trends in educational technology. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration.
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 13, 2014 at 9:09 PM

    I have recently attended a Google For Education Conference, and my district is the middle of a 2nd phase of a 1:1 rollout with Chromebooks, so I am using Google more than I have in the past. I have created a profile in Chrome specifically for Walden to login and even grab research articles. I keep many of class paper in a folder that I am not considering adding to my Google Drive to access anywhere, but there is still a reluctancy for using cloud-based technologies. I can not embrace this sense of security of relying strictly on the cloud. I believe one reason we are so ready to shift to cloud based technologies is the increase access to the Internet, especially for mobile device devices, and the easy access to cloud based applications that have normally ran on a desktop. According to Anderson & Raine (2010), people will frequently use and become so comfortable with the cloud that they will not be able tell the difference between the cloud and the local device such as the desktop computer and for the most part.

    Reference
    Anderson, J., & Raine, L. (2010). Will we live in the cloud or the desktop? Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2010/06/11/will-we-live-in-the-cloud-or-the-desktop/

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  2. UnknownDecember 15, 2014 at 7:47 AM

    I have used dropbox for department and class file sharing. On the department level, it is an easy way for the department to spread files to all of the teachers in such a way that they are easily accessible from anywhere. However, I do save hard copies of all of the files that I feel are important. This has come in handy twice as all of the files were deleted out of the dropbox twice. We think that it was done by a disgruntled ex-employee, but we are not sure. I had hard copies of the important files, so we just changed passwords and reloaded the files. I have never had a problem with class level dropboxes, and find them excellent ways for students to share their work with each other and the teacher to share files with the whole class. Overall, I believe that th cloud is useful, but always have a backup.

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