Hi,
I just want to clarify where/how I should post the review for each week (of the 4 weeks we have to review). Is it best to do it as a new post or as a comment on the initial activity post by the group? (hope this makes sense) I wanted to post a review for the Cloud Based App group but want to make sure I do it to the correct place so they can see it.
Thank you!
How about right here as a comment.
dp
My Review (I could not find the parameters that we need to follow for our reviews… just an FYI) — could you point me in the right direction?
I second that. This is the first I have heard of a review.
Hi I found it on “A Prelude to week 5” I think under announcements. Hopefully this link takes you there:
http://etec522m.sites.olt.ubc.ca/2014/06/08/a-prelude-to-week-5/
Danielle
Hi Week 5,
Congratulations on a great week and for being the first group to go. you have created a really comprehensive and impressive Weebly and incorporated a number of different activities that I found engaging. I particularly enjoyed how you began the week with an introduction and a kick off discussion activating our prior knowledge through the discussion comments where we reflected on what a cloud based app was and created a simile. I have to say that creating a simile was a creative way of getting me to think critically about something so abstract. I had to try to imagine it as being similar to something concrete and it was in this exercise that I realized how normal such a foreign concept as “The Cloud” feels to me now. I also liked that you started your website with an introductions page, this made it seem easier to ask questions. Your Weebly was visually appealing and had a lot of great visuals and videos to support the content. I also thought that the content was appropriately categorized and liked how you incorporated a variety of interactive activities such as the survey, questions on Google Moderator and the additional questions added at the end followed by a summary.
I did sometimes find it a little bit difficult to follow what we were supposed to do next in terms of activities. Perhaps this is the transition to being an online learner but I find it difficult when things are in 2 places, which they have to be for this exercise, so in these cases I find it helpful to have all instructions in one place with numbers (like a checklist). It might have been evident that I was unsure if I had managed to complete all of the content as I posted a list just making sure (to which you quickly responded – thank you!). Even in reviewing the website one last time I noticed that the “pros vs. Cons” -> “Common Apps” section there were three questions at the bottom which I did not answer but 7 people did. I did not even see these and did not read anywhere that I was supposed to answer them, so I am unsure as to if these were requirements or not. Additionally on the “Pros vs. Cons” -> “Review” section, I only just realized that we can also vote via the stars by hovering and clicking them. When reviewing the site for the first time I did not know this and don’t know if I should/shouldn’t do it now.
Overall I think you did a fabulous job this week, my only suggestions would be to provide more clarity of the exact tasks we should be completing and a flow for which content page to read next so that we can ensure we get the most out of the website. The activities themselves were really engaging and interesting and I enjoyed seeing the ending wrap up with the final questions we had asked. It was great that you had us answer each others questions too!
Well done!
Danielle
Group 5 “Cloud Apps” review – I really enjoyed this week’s lesson. Bravo for going first and setting the bar so high! I found the lesson to be very clear, visually appealing, and well organized. I certainly feel like I know a lot more about cloud apps than I did 2 weeks ago. I liked the before and after knowledge quizzes. I liked the use of videos to explain content, and I particularly like the “Cloud Storage Review’s” video on the Build Your Own App page, it got to the pros and cons of the major players very clearly, and the video guys were amusing to watch. There was one video that I found far too long for my meager attention span, so I might suggest editing that a bit. My only other critique would be to indicate somewhere in the lesson (website) that there would be a required follow-up activity (you asked us Friday to answer some of the questions posed by the group throughout the week). I think the idea behind the follow up activity is great, and allows for closure and sums up our learning, but because I worked through your website lesson, and completed the activities listed on Wednesday, I thought that I had finished for the week, and didn’t go back and check. As a result, I missed out on a final contribution. Regardless, an excellent lesson, thank you so much for the information and your hard work Group 5!
Group 1, Week 5!
Very interesting module about cloud apps.
What I found so great about the site was that the information was very accessible in terms of language used, as well as platforms provided to learn, such as video, links etc.
I did also find that knowing where and what to do next was a little unclear, perhaps having a more defined schedule would have fostered more timely participation and we would have been able to have a more synchronous discussion.
I thought you all did great, it is sometimes hard being the first week so thanks for all of the great info!
Week 05 Review:
Thank you for a thought-provoking week! I will focus on Q12 re: Privacy and Security of your final activity for my review.
Q12: Privacy and Security
I once went lock shopping for my old Peugeot bicycle that had more value to me than it was really worth. After all, we covered so many km together. I really wanted to reduce the risk of it being stolen, so I was willing to pay for the best-two-on-the-market bicycle locks. While the salesperson was giving me a tour of his best stuff, he said the following: Listen, my dear. If anyone sets an eye on your bike, they could get it. If they see two ore more really good locks on it, they can still get it if they really want it. But in choosing which bike to go for, they will surely go for one with less locks, so yes, having two good locks could serve as a deterrent. Your call! So I tend to apply this to any situation where my property could be at risk.
We really need to be aware that cloud services are still emerging and that the issues of privacy and security are being examined and improved on an ongoing basis. As an end user how would I know that my security has been compromised “when nothing went missing” so to speak? I agree with Dan Reed that we ought to look at technology (hardware, software, mathematics), policies and how people view privacy when addressing these issues. It almost seems that defining privacy in this context is a challenge, as there are so many varied and divergent expectations to begin with. I understand that companies will pay to protect their information, but how would I do that as an educator who is using free-based cloud services? How would I even know when my property has been compromised? These are the questions I would like to explore further.
Since I wanted answers to these questions, I looked into it a bit further. I use Google Drive and Dropbox daily and found that these are notoriously insecure. Data transfer is not always protected, files are rarely encrypted and when they are, the companies hold the decryption keys. Also let’s say a third party (e.g. the government) requested your files, they would be delivered. However this is what I can do on my end as a “small-time” educator (or a small business) who is mindful of the price tag and being responsible for my own security “in a hurry”. I have checked PCworld.com and venturebeat.com for the following:
1. Client-side encryption: Before I encrypt my entire hard drive (in case my computer is stolen), external and USB thumb drives, my internet traffic, and my cloud storage, I need to start with at least “strong” rated password that is 10-12 characters long and with a great combination of letters, symbols, numbers. I would also look for cloud providers that have zero-knowledge password policy and I am the only one who can access my account. Therefore, the company wouldn’t be able to hand over my stuff but only raw data.
2. I could consider certain storage services like McAfee Personal Locker that require facial and voice recognition, and a pin every time I want to access my files. It is tedious if you want to use this storage daily but maybe fine for personal documents storage.
3. I could get software as a service security in place that doesn’t need downloading but just a button click. Sure, the info is with them but at least they do specialize in this field unlike me. So these are some that are out there and apparently good while focusing on different issues:
1. What gets into your system? Qualys secures your web apps and devices with their cloud-only solution. With data analysis they make sure nothing gets into your system. It scans apps for any vulnerabilities, etc.
2. You want to be less vulnerable from the get go? If you want to protect your website from ground zero and when coding, White Hat Security might be good. It will also assess any holes that might come with your Web apps and even act as a firewall.
3. Your e-mail is one of your weakest security links. Proofpoint protects your incoming and outgoing data and says it doesn’t have the decryption keys when storing data for loss prevention.
4. You know who is inside your network? Then you need to focus on identity management and knowing who is where and why. Okra will know your back-end accessers as well as customers and partners. It can help you with logins across all your apps (Google Apps, Office 365, Box, etc.), tracking from any type of device, single sign-on options, etc. Centrify also focuses on this.
5. Encrypt everything before it gets into cloud servers while using company’s clouds. Vaultive does this with data that is going to apps such as Microsoft Office 365.
6. Track and pull back your documents. DocTrackr sits on top of files sharing services (Box, MS Sharepoint) and allows you to set user privileges for each person you share a document with. Then it tracks everyone who opens the file and you know who is looking at it. You can even “unshare” your stuff.
7. Protect your “as service” products you use such as Amazon, Gmail, Box, etc. Consider CipherCLoud
8. Consider one-stop-shop cloud-based security? If you would like email monitoring, network protection, and protection in general while on your way to be HIPAA and PCI compliant (necessary for online payments and healthcare info) and up to date? Conisder SilverSky.
One of the pages linked to W05 was saying that using clouds is just like doing banking. Obviously whoever wrote this was trying to promote its services. The banks have a fiduciary responsibility to replace stolen funds, but who is to replace my “stolen data” and how would its value be assessed fairly for compensation purposes? Until there are some solid answers to these questions, I will keep my most valued data under my mattress so to speak, and the ones I could easily part with on clouds.
Group 01, Week 5
Great work done on Cloud based apps and your visual warm-up activity. I especially enjoyed navigating your site with regard to the different apps available, learning about Asana and Licidchart (new to me).
Your site is very aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate. Great site! I especially enjoyed reading the various reviews of apps out there now and came across your review of “Evernote”. This is of particular interest to me since it is one of the options employers are considering to help students become more organized. I also liked that you offered apps that are currently not cost prohibitive and wonder about this changing in the future. Another forum I enjoyed was Google moderator. I use this often with students but it was a nice addition to your site, offering stakeholders a chance to contextualize where they would use a specific Cloud based app.
An interesting article now, is the implementation of Cloud based apps onto older STBs. See the articles below.
http://www.fiercecable.com/story/upc-hungary-launches-cloud-based-app-tvs/2014-06-19
http://www.multichannel.com/news/tv-apps/upc-hungary-brings-youtube-set-top/375239
Have you thought about adding the different Cloud services to your site? Such as Amazon, Oracle Cloud, Zoho, Microsoft are some of the current cloud vendors that are currently out there now. Along this same vein, your project brought to mind issues concerning monopolies and privatization of cyberspace. So many Cloud based apps enhance content accessibility but could lead to further privatization by select companies in terms of vendors. Who then will have monopoly over these services and cyberspace as a whole? A scary thought given a great discussion above about privacy. If there is a monopoly, who has access to your private files, would you then need to pay a company to retrieve your own personal data down the line if need be, if such data were lost or compromised?
With increased government oversight into issues of privacy, we need to be so aware of privacy acts and policies that would affect both us and our potential learners using specific apps especially if using apps such as Googledocs to showcase our own personal work as well as student work publicly.
Cheers
Thank you for a well-researched and comprehensive look at cloud-based apps. I am familiar with many of the apps you included but really liked the deep dive into the implications of cloud-based computing especially the security aspect. It made me more aware and I took steps to shore up my security because of it. I also enjoyed the start to the week, getting feedback and asking people to consider contribute to the conversation from the get go. I also appreciated the way you responded to people when they posted. Sometimes in these online courses it feels like you are talking to yourself so it was great to have some conversations started.
As mentioned by others I did have some difficulty determining what I was to do. In the first scan I missed the survey on the intro page, reading your bios but not seeing the reference to take the survey. I answered all the questions posted but wasn’t sure if they were required. I also missed your final activity, posted on June 14th. My time online is limited and this past week was particularly busy so I only got in today and saw the post. Providing an overview or checklist would would give me a guideline to follow to help organize my time and ensure I don’t miss anything.
To add: I was just about to write what Kendra mentioned in her last paragraph. I almost missed the last activity as it was posted later in the week. When I am done with my postings, I only sometimes go back to check other posts but not always. I have a busy schedule and was very close to not being able to contribute. At the end I did, and I wrote a review that was prompted by your last activity question. So, cheers! 🙂