cloud+computing

=Tool/technology title: Cloud Computing= Author(s): Heike Geduld Updated: T Young, 8 May 2012 Updated: N. Vajat, 08 June 2012

What is cloud computing?
Cloud computing is use of a **shared** functional data centre online. It is a //'collection of applications and technologies which can be accessed and manipulated by a large number of users in real time'// (Cruz 2011).

The NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) definition: //...a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model promotes availability ...//

The platform is functional and users can store data or run applications. It is faster, cheaper and requires less storage and maintenance. It provides a shared infrastructure with the computing power of multiple remote computers. The individual user can store and access data.

A useful illustration:


Service models include
 * 1) Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Provide for example computers, storage, networks.
 * 2) Platform as a service (PaaS) - Deliver operating system, programming language execution environment, database, and web server.
 * 3) Software as a service (SaaS) - Provides software to clients e.g. email, games.

Why use cloud computing?

 * **Advantages** || **Disadvantages** ||
 * Device and location independence || Concerns about security ||
 * Enables sharing of resources and costs across a large pool of users || Requires access to web-browsing tools and adequate internet connection. ||
 * Performance is monitored and consistent || Concerns about privacy ||
 * Cost is reduced ||  ||
 * Maintenance is easier ||  ||

Examples of products (open source/free or commercial)
The most familiar of these may be social networking sites like facebook and flicker. External mail services like gmail, desktop management systems, spam filtering services and other application based systems such as Google docs for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Cloud systems can also provide access to services such as the iTunes store and Amazon.

Cloud services allow students and faculty to access information remotely, allowing increased mobility and flexibility. Shared data storage options allows collaboration on documents or tasks which can be kept up to date in real time. Students, researchers, and faculty at different institutions can share access to specialized software, such as 3-D modeling programs, and tap into supercomputing power over the Internet. Information can be accessed via a variety of technologies - computers, mobile phones or ipods. It thus enhance engagement among students and educators.

An example of where cloud computing was used in medical education is detailed in //Distance Learning in the Cloud: Using 3G Enabled Mobile Computing to Support Rural Medical Education// by Ryan Palmer and Lisa Dodson []

Resources
> Should We Take Now? Educational Researcher 2009;38;246 DOI: 10.3102/0013189X09336671 []
 * Articles**
 * Greenhow C. Learning, Teaching, and Scholarship in a Digital Age: Web 2.0 and Classroom Research: What Path
 * Goldstein P. The Tower, the Cloud, and the IT leader and workforce, in Katz, R (ed) (2009), The Tower and the Cloud: Higher Education in the Age of Cloud Computing, Educause []
 * Hartig, K. What is cloud computing? Cloud Computing Journal, 2009 Dec. ([])
 * Mell P, Grance T. The NIST definition of Cloud Computing.National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2010
 * Thomas PY. Cloud computing: A potential paradigm for practising the scholarship of teaching and learning, Electronic Library, The, 2011, Vol. 29 Iss: 2, pp.214 - 224 []
 * Waggener S. Cloud Computing. Educause 2010 vol 33 no 2

[|www.youtube.com/watch?v=88ysB-EKA9U] (Cloud computing for education)
 * Videos**

media type="youtube" key="88ysB-EKA9U" height="250" width="447"

[|www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRYRbPCHTck&feature=related] (Why Google apps for education)

media type="youtube" key="IRYRbPCHTck" height="314" width="420"

media type="facebooklike" key="http%3A%2F%2Fchecit.wikispaces.com%2Fcloud%20computing" width="450" height="80"