My Take on Cloud Computing

(Above) My first reaction when thinking about what cloud computing entailed.
 However, after researching and trying to put it into my own words, this is what I have determined:



It seems to be that the word cloud has become a metaphor for the Internet. A year ago, I never would have accepted this metaphor to actually make sense. But after researching and asking around for the past week, it seems to be true!

Cloud Computing lets you access software applications, hardware, data and computer processing power over the web.  One will not need to worry about saving data themselves, or whether or not their server is going to crash. Cloud computing providers deliver applications online that are accessed from another Web service or software. It sounds like cloud computing is very similar to Web 2.0, just may be used for a little more business and industrial computing rather than the applications on Web 2.0.

Positives to cloud computing… well the MAIN and MOST USEFUL part of it, is the fact that one has the ability to use applications from multiple locations. Many of these applications are free and very helpful when people need to work together at a distance. In education, these “clouds” could provide endless experiences for students, and give them the chance to have experiences without actually traveling to the place or person the information is coming from. The idea of having learning opportunities outside of school hours is greatly increased through cloud computing.

Negatives to cloud computing include mainly include security issues. I know that in my school district we are very careful about what students can and cannot access. I can foresee problems with students wanting to use a certain application, or access work done, and our school firewall blocking them from being able to do so. I think filtering the content would be a huge undertaking, and that the thought of viruses or hacking would be more likely. Though some of the applications are free, software still needs to be purchased to protect the content for the district. It is scary for many people to think that their work (maybe a huge presentation for work) is stored “somewhere out there” and having that trust in the server or company storing your information can be hard.

Below, a great diagram on how I now look at cloud computing… (much different than my first reaction)  =)

Images found at: info.cloudprime.net, tomlambert.com