Week 6: Cloud Learning – Advantages
More great stuff on your Advantages page! I’m curious about your decision to include so much about iPads. No doubt as to their benefits, and the video highlighting autistic and other special needs children was very powerful. But many of the apps highlighted are actually resident on the iPad once downloaded & installed I suspect, rather than living in the cloud? I know I can still play Angry Birds when I don’t have WiFi access.
Peggy
Posted in: General
Colin 6:25 pm on October 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Peggy, I agree that many of the apps that we install these days can be run locally without an internet connection. Though I do believe that cloud computing in general will be a necessity for mobile learning. Many software developers want to move to a system where you log in to their server to use an application. Students can pick up an iPad at school or log on to their computer at home an their information will be downloaded. The video didn’t do a good job of relating this aspect of Mobile learning.
jenbarker 7:33 am on October 9, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Peggy,
Thanks for your comments and getting the ball rolling this week. Next month my class is going to receive a set of iPads for two months. Although my students will be working on many apps that reside on the iPad itself, once their projects are complete we will be using the share button to access the cloud and transfer their digital media to blogs (which I am calling their EPortfolios). So in this respect, cloud computing becomes necessary with the iPads to save student work. I think this is going to become more common as schools tend to be sharing iPads among several students. Therein lays another privacy problem where students have access to each other’s work.
Ranvir 9:16 pm on October 9, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
This is an excellent discussion on use of iPads for project work and then transferring, sharing it on the cloud! Students would be able to progressively develop an ePortfolio as they move on to higher classes.
Jen – Would you mind sharing how the “share” button might work?
jenbarker 7:50 pm on October 10, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Ranvir,
The share button is located right on many apps. It allows you share the digital media that you have created to either your facebook account, twitter or email it to yourself. I plan to have my students email it to themselves and then they can move their projects onto their personal blogs.
adi 4:11 pm on October 10, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I haven’t yet looked at the ‘limitations’ section; however, though I know security is an issue, there are clearly lots of advantages for using cloud computing. In developing countries the cost benefit factor is key, including the savings on energy bills, and making fewer trips thank to online collaboration. I can see how these factors could be of great benefit for school districts or educational boards short on resources and money. This idea of ‘pay as you go’, is also better than spending thousands of dollars on software and applications that soon become obsolete. I think more money should be spent on finding solutions for the security issue; it’s well worth it given the many benefits of cloud computing. (Ben in this group’s blog makes some useful suggestions of how to avoid having problems with security.
tomwhyte1 7:58 pm on October 11, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I understand the value of the pay-as-you go model, but are educational institutions and classrooms ready for that? As individuals we see the benefit, but a district has significant issues that may impede or hamper this or any adoption.
For example, I have been pushing Google Docs in our district for nearly 3 years, we are now just starting to explore what it might look like, and it is free. Secondly, sometimes tech budget dollars are tied to the purchasing of specific software only, which does not allow other, and maybe more beneficial software from being purchased.
Thoughts?