Virginia Dicken-Gracen

AR4 – Cloud Computing

In my experience as an educator, “cloud computing” has become incorporated into

much of what a person does in education, whether or not that person is familiar with the
phrase or the technology behind it. Increasingly, my Western Michigan University students
complete their work using Microsoft Office web-apps. (One student recently told me she did
not know the difference between the web-app and the desktop app, and she did not know she
had access to the desktop suite as a WMU student.) Some students send me their assignments
through cloud storage providers such as Google Docs or OneDrive. Many come to class on their
presentation day and need to log into Prezi or other cloud-based applications to access their
slides or other materials. And, of course, most of the library resources students take advantage
of these days are actually online databases and journals rather than print copies of books or
software hosted at the library itself.
Writing for the Desire2Learn blog, Jon Paul (2017) explains that cloud computing allows
users to access technology resources as-needed through the internet (“the cloud”) rather than
maintaining servers, databases, and other resources on-site. This is a growing trend in
education. Paul writes that this trend increases accessibility, as resources can be accessed from
anywhere and at any time. It can save an institution money and allow resources to be scaled or
otherwise adapted to meet changing needs. Finally, he writes that cloud computing can
increase data security, protecting student privacy.
Neha Lad (2016) of ESDS agrees with Jon Paul that cloud computing is a growing trend in
education with several potential benefits. In addition to the cost savings,
accessibility/shareability, and security, she points out that cloud computing can offer
environmental benefits, producing a lower carbon footprint compared to traditional on-site
technology. It is also easier to update technology – or roll back to previous versions as needed.
I have seen these benefits as cloud computing has become more ubiquitous on campus.
When I worked in campus technical support from 2000-2003, software updates and other
changing technology needs required deploying our team of technicians to visit every computer
on campus to install the new versions or correct problems. These days, I rarely see technicians
directly interacting with the thousands of computers we have around campus, and I suspect
this is because much of our “updating” is now a matter of changing the nature of our cloud
access and not modifying computers directly.
One potential drawback to our increased reliance on the “cloud” is that Internet access
is not always reliable. I have learned through experience to save my class lecture slides on a
physical storage drive, as there have been times when I was unable to connect to my cloud
storage and download my materials for the day. I have also found it helpful to disconnect from
the Web when completing work that requires focus, removing the easy ability to switch
between browser screens and get lost in tangential activities. There are apps to help with this,
but for now, desktop apps remain my preferred way of completing large writing assignments.
References
Lad, N. (June 10, 2016). Importance of cloud computer in education sector!
https://www.esds.co.in/blog/importance-of-cloud-computing-in-education-
sector/#sthash.NOKJ96LQ.Of3WwfLx.dpbs
Paul, J. (July 12, 2017). How cloud computing is changing education.
https://www.d2l.com/blog/cloud-computing-changing-learning/