Cloud Computing and Educational Institutions… Is There A Link?

In 2006 a number of companies and a few universities began a series of research projects concerning Mass Cloud Computing which in turn circulated the idea of socializing through the computer network service. This works as a new method for developing education information.

Many people today are much more open to cloud services than ever before. Cloud computing provides teachers and students with the necessary tools to gain important background information and resources for learning. Another important point is the modification of the education system, teaching methods and also understanding what teaching means. With further development of cloud computing, the education industry will have the ability to identify the teaching, administration and exchange of information. In order to combine education development and cloud computing technology, the main method should be to use the cloud computing technology in a system that replicates college teaching.

When it comes to software and hardware, cloud computing reduces much of the cost in assembling this system. The most attractive feature in the system is the configuration requirement reducing the use of terminal tools. In this system, the colleges’ hardware resources such as servers, lab computers and also personal computers may be in a cloud computing network. People will not only be able to use this in the “cloud” network, users that have digital devices such as 3G mobile phone and PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) can also use these resources if they are not physically in the office or even in the building. This means that the service quality is not only optimized, it will also meet the requirements of different users. The basic computer cost can be reduced with the integration with the university’s teaching management.

It is not an important fact that the user has to upgrade the hard disk and the CPU. When using a cloud computing system, the only requirement is that the teacher, student department and group be able to reach the information. As a result the request to use the terminal required to use cloud computing is not high, and it is greatly cost effective.

Various software systems from "Cloud Sea" and different databases can be used in a similar manner. Since most software upgrades and maintenance are handled directly by the manufacturer via the internet you do not need to waste time doing these fixes yourself! Cloud computing is also quite useful in that it offers security for teaching management. A cloud system with a specialized application for security purposes can significantly decrease error rate in the server. Teachers in the system only need to offer students a username and password which they can use to log into the system.

The students also need not download or use the U-disk copy courseware. This can improve the security of the teaching resources as well. Think of a situation where the server malfunctions, you can still recover the documents/information by copying them into another server. Through the use of this system and the security feature educational institutes can be sure to achieve continuous high quality security for confidential and sensitive information.