Find the Latest Resources in Education Today
eSN Publisher’s Report: Bringing the Cloud Down to Earth
Despite some concerns about security, more K-12 schools are turning to cloud computing for their storage and application needs
More K-12 schools and districts are implementing cloud computing solutions.
Editor’s note: This Publisher’s Report was sponsored by CenturyLink.
Is cloud computing secure? That’s a question many ed-tech leaders have been asking as they’ve considered moving applications to the cloud. And the answer many are finding is: Yes, it is.
Despite concerns about security, more K-12 schools and districts have begun to move toward cloud computing solutions over the past few years. According to a 2011 Cloud Computing Tracking Poll by technology solution provider CDW-G, 83 percent of K-12 organizations already have used at least one cloud-based application, and 27 percent are currently implementing or maintaining cloud computing.
Cloud computing—a model for enabling convenient, on-demand access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources, such as networks, servers, storage, applications, and services, that are hosted by a third-party technology provider and delivered to users through the internet—is an approach that is attractive for education, because it allows K-12 organizations to scale and grow without having to own the technology, says Martin Capurro, senior director of product management for cloud services at CenturyLink (formerly Qwest).
“Cloud computing is a pay-per-use service,” Capurro says. “It’s seen as an easier way to meet budgets. The educational community has been quick to adopt this technology.”
Benefits of tapping the cloud
Cloud computing can be seen as offering three distinct services: Infrastructure-as-a- Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Schools can use any or all of the three, but using the cloud for hosted applications (SaaS) such as messaging, eMail, and creating sites for sharing and other social environments is particularly relevant for education and is a natural starting point, according to Capurro.
2 Responses to eSN Publisher’s Report: Bringing the Cloud Down to Earth
You must be logged in to post a comment Login
lblodgett
October 21, 2011 at 2:05 am
I think most schools are using cloud computing,without a written plan. In fact, I think in many instances, the adminstrators aren’t even fully aware it is going on. There are just so many sites, such as WordPress, that teachers are using that it is happening, like it or not. Security is certainly the biggest hurdle in the minds of administers who just haven’t bought in to the concept–but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening on a small scale in the classroom.
lisad
November 21, 2011 at 11:24 pm
There are lots of great web-based application now for education that I’ve seen district especially here in Georgia use. eBOARD is used for managing things like meeting agenda packets, policies and strategic plans. ThinkGate’s Elements is used as a performance management system. Gwinnett County schools uses that. I think they are great ideas for districts. Imagine what would happen if a natural disaster took out the district’s server room. Here is a blog I wrote on the topic. http://bit.ly/lL5T5n (Hope the links works!)