CLOUD COMPUTING

When I first heard about cloud computing, I thought it is some complicated thing that can only reach the minds of programmers. But I was wrong. It resulted that it is a long time since I have been using cloud computing services. I use them when I access information stored in my e-mail, or Dropbox, etc. In cloud computing practices, our applications run on a shared data center in the "cloud", i.e. in the Internet. 

Cloud computing offers really impressive advantages. First of all, we do not need any servers and storage space for our data. So, our computers no longer have to do all the hard work when it comes to running applications. The network of computers forming the cloud handles them instead. This is just remarkable!

People can access applications and data from everywhere at any time. This is just an invaluable feature we can make use of during teaching. Institutions can also save money on IT support. Another useful feature of cloud computing is that cloud computing services are either free of charge or you are obliged to pay only for what you use.

The only concerns about cloud computing are related to privacy and security. Jonathan Strickland offers partial solutions to these problems in his article "How Cloud Computing Works". The basic step for ensuring security would be using authentication techniques and letting users access only relevant data. Another issue in cloud computing is whether the cloud computing subscribers own the data located in the cloud and whether there is any chance they won't be able to access it some day. Well, a solution to this problem could be setting terms and conditions for the use of the cloud computing service that will clarify these questions. 

In short, cloud computing is really a breakthrough in information technologies. It is also revolutionizing education by making data available to students, administrative staff, parents at any place and at any time. 

This does not mean, however, that it has come to replace on-premises software (Cloud Computing for Education). Rather, many educators find that the best solution for education institutions is combining cloud services and on-premises software for getting the most effective education practices.