{"id":868,"date":"2014-06-26T10:20:18","date_gmt":"2014-06-26T10:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/?p=868"},"modified":"2014-06-26T10:20:18","modified_gmt":"2014-06-26T10:20:18","slug":"cloud-computing-in-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/2014\/06\/26\/cloud-computing-in-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Cloud Computing in Education"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>What is \u201cCloud\u201d Computing?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-873\" alt=\"cloud_education\" src=\"http:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/cloud_education-300x300.png\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/cloud_education-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/cloud_education-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/cloud_education-624x624.png 624w, https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/cloud_education.png 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>As a technology metaphor, \u201ccloud\u201d computing usually refers the method by which applications and data are hosted and delivered over the Internet instead of local devices. For decades, people store data or run programs from the hard drive of the conventional computers, but the rapidly evolved \u201ccloud\u201d computing supporting real-time data synchronised on remote servers allows people to access the information anywhere, anytime.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCloud\u201d computing can be divided into three separate categories or levels. <strong>Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)<\/strong> is the first level. \u00a0For example, Amazon provides \u201cCloud\u201d infrastructure, which can be used by other business to run their own systems and applications. The second level is known as <strong>Platform as a service (PaaS)<\/strong>. Facebook and Google all provide web platforms to enable users to install and run applications from third parties.\u00a0 <strong>Software as a service (SaaS)<\/strong> is the highest level of \u201ccloud\u201d computing. This holds the greatest potential in education. Many education initiatives are delivered in the form of SaaS and the applications range from personalised training, online assessment and students\u2019 management system etc.<\/p>\n<div style=\"float:right; margin-left:20px;\">\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"ca-pub-5042102399833742\";\n\/* blog *\/\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"1394526448\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 250;\ngoogle_ad_height = 250;\n\/\/-->\n<\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\nsrc=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>Advantages of \u201cCloud\u201d Computing:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Anywhere Access<br \/>\n\u201cCloud\u201d computing increases content liquidity, thus teachers and students can access the learning materials from anywhere in the world. For education, this means that students can study at home or traveling and it is also possible to carry out collaboration projects with students from different geo-locations.<\/p>\n<p>Elasticity<br \/>\nUnlike traditional devices with limited storage capacities, \u201ccloud\u201d computing provides an extendible approach. Institutions can start with small-scale service and build it up gradually without significant up-front investment. There is no need to plan usage levels in advance and you will never have to worry about, you run out of space.<\/p>\n<p>Potential Cost-savings<br \/>\n\u201cCloud\u201d services are generally provided through monthly or annually subscriptions programme and you can usually terminate your use of the service with very short notice to reduce the cost. And since you don\u2019t need to install software, some hardware can be removed or redeployed to free up valuable real estate.<\/p>\n<p>Automatic Updates<br \/>\nWith \u201ccloud\u201d services, education institutions don\u2019t need to have in-house experts to maintain the service. Serve providers will notify you, and usually provide one-click updates. It allows schools and universities to concentrate on their core business of education and research.<\/p>\n<div style=\"float:left; margin-right:20px;\">\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"ca-pub-5042102399833742\";\n\/* blog *\/\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"1394526448\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 250;\ngoogle_ad_height = 250;\n\/\/-->\n<\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\nsrc=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>Risks of \u201cCloud\u201d Computing:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Data Security and Privacy<br \/>\nA major concern about \u201ccloud\u201d computing is around the security of data. Education institutions dealing with students\u2019 information may concern about the breach of confidentiality will lead to high costs and adverse publicity. Service providers can apply spam filtering, data encryption and safer HTTPS access technology to minimize the risk.<\/p>\n<p>Loss of Control<br \/>\nUsing \u201ccloud\u201d means you rely on the providers to update and backup. If the server stops working, users have the potential risk of losing all the data. In addition, the cloud provider may sell valuable user information to third parties for advertising purpose.<\/p>\n<p><b>Future<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Education institutions have specific requirements in order to migrate their core activities to the cloud. Instead of using generic services such as email, they usually need bespoke applications to meet pedagogy, government policies, regulations and funding regimes etc. Due to the risk aversion nature of education institutions, complex learning management systems\u00a0(LMSs) will be slower to move to the cloud. However, with the penetration of broadband Internet, especially through mobile devices, new generation of students are getting used to store data in the \u201ccloud\u201d rather than on their own devices. Students instead of institutions may therefore drive the adoption of \u201ccloud\u201d education. Some LMSs such as Blackboard and Moodle are already available in the \u201ccloud\u201d.\u00a0 More institutions are likely to accept the \u201ccloud\u201d model, if securer and cheaper service can be guaranteed by the providers.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TouchApp_uk\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/twitter.png\" alt=\"twitter\" width=\"25\" height=\"25\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-686\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TouchApp_uk\" rel=\"publisher\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"position:absolute; margin-left:40px; margin-top:10px;\"><b>Follow us on Twitter: @TouchApp_uk<\/b><\/p>\n<p><\/a><br \/>\n<\/br><br \/>\nFrom Mobile App development company\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>TouchApp<\/b><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-395\" alt=\"touchapp\" src=\"http:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/touchapp-300x41.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"41\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/touchapp-300x41.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/touchapp-624x85.jpg 624w, https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/touchapp.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is \u201cCloud\u201d Computing? As a technology metaphor, \u201ccloud\u201d computing usually refers the method by which applications and data are hosted and delivered over the Internet instead of local devices. For decades, people store data or run programs from the hard drive of the conventional computers, but the rapidly evolved \u201ccloud\u201d computing supporting real-time data [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,45],"tags":[222,223,224,218,225,152,52,188,226,227],"class_list":["post-868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","category-technology","tag-cloud-computing-in-education","tag-cloud-education","tag-education-cloud","tag-education-technology","tag-infrastructure-as-a-service-iaas","tag-mobile-app-development-company","tag-online-education","tag-online-learning","tag-platform-as-a-service-paas","tag-software-as-a-service-saas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":875,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868\/revisions\/875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchapp.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}