Classroom in the Cloud

Innovative Ideas for Higher Level Learning

Jared Covili, Nicholas Provenzano

• Publisher: Corwin
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781506322568
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Technology

Get your head in the cloud! In this easy-to-use primer, the author of bestseller Going Google teams up with Twitter’s The Nerdy Teacher to demonstrate how cloud-based instruction can work for your school. With cloud computing, students connect with teachers, educators connect with colleagues, and opportunities for meaningful collaboration and innovation grow exponentially—without budget-busting investments in hardware and software. The book includes

• Practical tools for integrating cloud computing into the curriculum
• Student and teacher testimonies detailing examples of cloud-based instruction in action
• Step-by-step directions for classroom activities
• Chapters on storing, communicating, sharing, and creating
• Strategies for ensuring safety and security for students and information

1 Storing in the Cloud

The idea of storing your data on a remote server is not new. For years teachers have been able to store their files on local networks and servers. The concept of storing your files on the Internet is one that many saw as a game changer in the past decade. Teachers and students could have access to files beyond the walls of the school, giving them more time to work and better access to learn.

By moving files from these local servers to the web, schools could cut costs of purchasing and maintaining network servers. Now, storing files in the Cloud requires that schools and districts change some traditional ways of thinking when it comes to protecting student data. Using the Cloud will ask us to “trust” the companies we use to house our files and back up our data.

Security

A huge concern for any school or district looking to store student files in the Cloud is security. We need to know that our students’ work is safe online and that other parties aren’t going to be able to access student information. In this world where data hacking seems to be an everyday occurrence, is it possible for students to feel safe putting their files in the Cloud?

Storing files remotely has been around for quite a while. For years many districts and schools have allowed teachers and students access to shared network drives. This allowed teachers and students to save their work on any computer within the building. This was a great solution for many teachers because it provided them the ability to store files without having to worry about filling up their computer’s hard drive. For students it provided a place to save files to work on later. The files were backed up and stored on shared network servers that were protected and maintained by district or school tech personnel.

Herein lies the problem; districts and schools have limited resources and personnel given the responsibility of protecting student and teacher information from attacks by hackers. Even if your data is behind a local firewall, it is still susceptible to attack from outside parties.

Districts and schools who have moved file storage away from local servers now have greater security than ever before. Rather than a handful of local employees fighting the battle against outside intruders, you have access to thousands of dedicated security experts at companies like Google or Microsoft.

“We back up the data every night, and employ staff that perform regular penetration and audit testing to continuously test the limits of the security apparatus,” describes Jim Peterson, technology director at Bloomington (IL) School District 87. “We provide multi-million-dollar levels of security that schools can’t afford on their own” (Asher-Schapiro, 2013).

Teachers recognize that the benefits of storing files online outweigh the minimal risks by having those files in the Cloud. Many are willing to take the chance because they see the power of have files available 24/7 through the Internet.

I think many teachers are saving things in the Cloud without realizing it. Email is in the Cloud, we store pictures there, documents, and major software companies are all following suit behind Google and creating Cloud-based versions of their software. Fortune 500 companies are doing business in the Cloud. Even though nothing is foolproof, the Cloud has become a very viable, secure place. (Kyle Pace, personal communication, September 20, 2014)

Access

Perhaps the largest benefit of storing files in the Cloud is that of access. Our world relies on having instant access to information, and schools are no different. By moving files from a local computer or device and storing them online, teachers and students can have access to their files whenever they need them.

Think back to the way things were a few years ago. Students would be working on a project in the school computer lab. It was nearing the time for the final bell to ring, and students would rush to back up their files for later access. Some would search their bags for a thumb drive so they could save the file, others would hurriedly save their project to the desktop with the hopes of attaching it to an e-mail they would send to themselves. Many students would successfully navigate through this world, some would not.

Now, think of the students’ world when their project is stored in the Cloud. The bell is about to ring and the student confidently clicks save (many programs do this automatically). That’s it! There’s no panic, no frantic search for a device, no workarounds to get past the district firewall. Just a simple save and the project is stored online.

Before Cloud-based tools my students had to save projects on their network drive. If they wanted to continue working on something at home they would have to email it to themselves because our students were not allowed to use flash drives on school computers. Cloud-based tools not only solved this issue, but it allowed students to create and collaborate easily with other students. (Beth Still, personal communication, September 20, 2014)

The world of technology is in constant evolution. In just the past few years we’ve seen a dramatic shift from schools with computer labs throughout, to halls being full of students with mobile devices. With the rapid change in technology, we need access to our information using a variety of devices. Students can start a project using a laptop at school and complete it using a tablet at home. The Cloud gives teachers and students access to files, regardless of the device—all you need is an Internet connection.

Capacity

As the information age continues to expand and grow, our need for increased storage is growing as well. Where attaching files to e-mail was sufficient in the past, now our storage needs have increased dramatically. Students regularly work with multimedia files with sizes in hundreds of megabytes (MB). We need access to large storage drives to meet the demand of the modern classroom.

Students using Cloud services now regularly get storage in gigabytes (GB). Enough storage to back up every school project they’ve ever created. Having increased storage in the Cloud gives them options. They are not limited to a few files here and a few there. For teachers having storage of 30, 50, or even 100 GB means they can back up and save their entire digital library from their school computer.

Dropbox is my default drive for saving anything and everything. I am able to save space on my local computers and I have constant access to my files. (Jeff McCauley, personal communication, January 17, 2014)

Tools like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Evernote provide schools with some incredible options for storing files online. More than simply backing up student and teacher data, these programs are revolutionizing the ways in which we work online. In the next few chapters, we explore how students and teachers are using Google Drive, Dropbox, and Evernote as effective Cloud-based learning tools.

Dropbox

Bird’s Eye View: Five Things to Know About Dropbox

1. Dropbox provides teachers and students with 2 GB of syncable storage when they use the basic version.
2. Files can be synced to a variety of devices including tablets, laptops, phones, and more.
3. The public folder allows users to share a link to files they want others to access.
4. Dropbox automatically creates a URL for photos.
5. Users can share files with others to create a community folder for easy access.

What Is Dropbox?

Have you ever been working on a file at school and it’s time to go home? I’m sure we’ve all wanted an easy way to take that file home with us without having to e-mail it or save the document to a portable drive. Dropbox is the solution for Cloud storage and sync for all your important files.

Dropbox relies on the Cloud to transfer your files from one device to another. Each personal device is connected through a single account you set up. On the computer, you visit Dropbox.com to access your files. On a tablet or mobile device, you can access content through the Dropbox app. Either way, a file is automatically backed up and synced through the Cloud. If I stop mid-sentence on one computer and save the file, it will be saved as-is to any other device connected to the same account.

Source: ©Dropbox 2014

Dropbox Features

Dropbox has three unique features to upload and share different files with others.

Photos. The photos folder was added to Dropbox a few years ago. At the time it seemed like any other folder in Dropbox, but, on closer inspection, there is a special little feature that makes this folder something special. Any image added to the Photos folder immediately receives a unique URL. This makes sharing your photos a snap.

Camera Uploads. Dropbox...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Acknowledgements
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• About the Authors
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction What Is the Cloud Classroom?
• 1 Storing in the Cloud
• 2 Communicating in the Cloud
• 3 Collaborating in the Cloud
• 4 Creating in the Cloud
• 5 Best of the Rest
• Conclusion Next Steps
• Resource: If You Like That, Try This
• References
• Index
• Publisher Note