Weightless as a Cloud
After finishing ETEC522, Andrew is 2 courses away from completing the MET program. Since the beginning of this program, Andrew has noticed differences in the way the MET courses have been organized and the ways he himself has organized his time.
To understand Andrew’s situation better, you need to know that he has a computer at home and at work, with an one hour train ride between both. His first MET courses included bulky weekly reading packages and textbooks. Andrew would drag these readings around with him where ever he went (while, ironically, reading in them about how beneficial digital/cloud based resources can be for education). During more recent MET course, however, the professors included more online readings and interactive websites. Suddenly, Andrew was finding him less constrained by bulky textbooks and scattered piles of reading packages. He was getting the same info (arguably even more) without the weight. In addition, with the money he saved from not buying texts, he could justify the purchase of an iPad to keep his readings all in one place.
The problem Andrew now faces is a consistent wireless connection. At home and work, he can access MET content without problem. However, on the train he also wishes he could work online (since the roaming wireless fees or tethering is very expensive). He can take the time to load and save everything onto his laptop or iPad, but this can often be time consuming and frustrating. He just wants to enjoy the clouds all day, without having to pay the Earth for them.
Posted in: Week 08: Files in the Cloud
jarvise 5:50 am on October 25, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Good and essential point here. No Internet leaves you with nothing. Hopefully you loaded your iPad with solitaire or tetris.
Emily
murray12 8:00 am on October 26, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
You’re right, Emily, I do have a few games to keep me from falling asleep on the train. Also, if I need to write an email or something that evening, I sometimes get started using the iPad’s “notes” app and then email the text to myself when I get home to my wireless sanctuary.
jenaca 10:10 am on October 25, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Wow, Andrew and I seem to have a lot in common! Trading in bulky textbooks for hand size gadgets that allow me to complete all my assignments and readings. Who would have thought! Now all we need is for the expensive roaming fees to diminish and our problem will be history!
Jenaca
murray12 8:01 am on October 26, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
It really is weight off your mind and shoulders, eh. But, I wonder if inexpensive roaming fees is something we will ever receive. Or is there just too much money to be made?
mcquaid 2:31 pm on October 26, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Nice final phrase, Andrew.
You highlight the great need of infrastructure. Without it, things like mobiles / tablets in schools aren’t even a possibility. In my own school district, we ask / beg for wireless, for example, but only a few schools have small pockets of it. In fact, a first step for us is to have our own network / servers / storage. Right now, we’re tied into the health system, and depending on the day, one of us is often slowing the other one down or monopolizing IT technicians. We’d love to have a partitioned system, perhaps cloud-based… secure documents on one side, student files etc. on the other, open for free access!