Cloud computing is the use computer based services over the internet. An individual’s home computer needn’t be the home base for computing or storage for computing services anymore. A major advantage of cloud computing is not needing to have software and storage capacity on one device or devices. Mobile devices or a home computer can access the same information anywhere or anytime as long as an internet connection can be established. The “cloud” is a host server on the internet which stores, manages, and processes all your data for use personal use. There are three types of cloud servers available to users. Public clouds are available to any user over the internet. Private cloud servers are owned by businesses and serve the single business or organization. Finally the hybrid cloud is a combination of the public and private. The entire infrastructure of individual computer is based at a second or third party location.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing#/media/File:Cloud_computing.svg

The benefit of cloud based computing for education is ubiquitous learning. Students can use whatever type computing device they have available as long as they can connect to the internet. They can collaborate, write, create, watch tutorials, and receive feedback. Another benefit is schools districts which lack substantial budgets for technology can utilized this low cost alternative. Many cloud based services are free or at competitive prices. Many of the largest companies such as Micorsoft and Google have cloud based computing for education on the internet. Schools no longer need to have private servers, storage capacity, purchase software, or a team of IT staff. 

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My school has recently decided to utilize cloud computing for educational purposes. We are seeing positive results and are looking for ways to expand our usage. We use two programs, Schoology and Google Education. The benefit is students, teacher, and parents alike have quick access to learning. The access is available from any location that has a stable internet connection at any time. Students are able to collaborate with each other, students from other school, and teachers. Parents are also able to access and monitor the learning environment.

Recently my students collaborated on a project using Google Education. All of our students have an account and can access it at any time. They worked in teams of three and had to summarize some information from some text. Each student worked on this in class as well as at home together from different locations. I am able to access their notes as needed when they share with me.

Google Docs collaboration