January 15th, 2009 by Learning Systems

Cloud computing won’t only carry positive effects for online courseware learners, LMS students, and internet users in general, but it offers vast potential for the environment and impoverished nations as well. If people are able to access all software services in the cloud, the necessity for the newest computer models will disappear–any old computer with internet access will do. 

The demand for other equipment like external hard drives will also decrease, as people simply reach into the cloud to access their data. Companies ranging from LMS and courseware companies to internet providers will be prompted to reform their policies.

Thinking “green” may suddenly shed its superficial catch-all status, and the computer industry might be forced to confront the end of its lightning speed production and dumping of e-products. Web 2.0 programs as well as LMSs and online education are already a big part of this slowly growing anti-waste revolution in the electronics industry.

January 7th, 2009 by Learning Systems

Everyone in the online education and LMS community read about Google’s agreement to censor search results on Google.cn, and Yahoo!’s cooperation with the Chinese government to track down political bloggers. Do LMS users really want to support the movement of entrusting these big companies with the world’s data? 

Bill Thompson poses: “What [about]…the companies that sell cloud-based services rather than operating systems, routers or hardware? What happens when Microsoft, Yahoo!, Google and IBM are actually running programs and storing data on behalf of their customers? We may criticize Google for censoring search results in China, but what happens when Microsoft data centers are being used to store data on political prisoners or transcripts of torture sessions?” 

Using provisions of the Patriot Act, the US government may be able to access confidential records, taking advantage of the fact that main cloud platforms are run by US companies. It’s worth consideration on the part of all LMS users and cloud computing dreamers.

January 7th, 2009 by Learning Systems

In the online education and LMS community, the benefits of cloud computing may seem to outweigh the possible dangers.

But even Wikipedia’s definition of cloud computing is provocative: “It’s a style of computing in which IT-related capabilities are provided ‘as a service’, allowing users to access technology-enabled services from the internet (’in the cloud’) without the knowledge of, expertise with, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them.” 

According to Richard Stallman, LMS users shouldn’t get too comfortable with the idea of security in the cloud. “One reason you should not use web applications to do your computing is that you lose control,” he says. There is a growing concern in the LMS community and beyond that mainstream adoption of cloud computing could create a cocktail of privacy and ownership issues, with users potentially being locked out of their own files. 

January 7th, 2009 by Learning Systems

Having explored some major benefits of cloud computing for LMS users and students worldwide, there are also some real disadvantages and dangers to consider. Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation, has said that cloud computing is simply a trap aimed at forcing more people to buy into locked, proprietary systems that will cost them more and more over time. 

This is a widespread concern not only in the LMS community, but for anyone concerned with privacy and control over their own data. I noticed a Yahoo! answer to a question about data storage in the cloud: “Everything in the Cloud including your OS, then Microsoft will charge you plenty of bucks a week for life. But when they rule the world I don’t know what will happen!” 

Hyperbole aside, it is a real concern not only for users who keep all their data securely on hard drives, but also for LMS and CMS users who are accustomed to pulling information from and storing it in the cloud.

January 6th, 2009 by Learning Systems

Cloud computing, if indeed an inevitable paradigm shift, will open up worlds of opportunity for cleaner, fairer learning systems of all types.

A school district running on a lean budget will be able to access all the programs it needs. Remote or impoverished areas of the world will be granted fair access to all the learning system services that the privileged already take for granted. 

Cloud computing will also mitigate the harmful effects of e-waste worldwide. The EPA estimates the computer industry recycles 60 million electronics products a year, most of which contain toxic materials and are exported to developing countries. With cloud computing, technology will become less wasteful, as fewer features will be required for older computers to serve as useful learning system tools. 

January 6th, 2009 by Learning Systems

Google and other companies are pushing the notion that relying on one particular computer for any software, including courseware or LMS material, will someday be considered archaic. Companies like Google, which offers its open suite of programs as an alternative to costly ones like Microsoft Windows, claim that open source software is inevitable. 

And Google has been consistent in insisting that its goal is to make the internet a better place. Competition isn’t what matters, its spokespersons repeat–what matters is making the internet experience richer and better. 

In doing so, LMS and other educational software companies will be able to create revenue streams in new ways. Courseware and LMS companies will have to rely on indirect revenue rather than direct. But is cloud computing truly inevitable? While some have serious doubts, others believe it’s only a matter of time before we won’t be paying a penny for all the software under the sun.

January 6th, 2009 by Learning Systems

What exactly is cloud computing? Isn’t it just a hyped-up marketing tool used to refer to everything from LMSs to Gmail? Well, yes and no.

Cloud computing is a broad term used to refer to SaaS (software as a service), Web 2.0 and other trends in which users rely on the internet (or the “cloud”) for satisfying all their computing needs. The ability to interact with your LMS on any computer, regardless of what programs the computer has, is an example of cloud computing.

The term itself may be obscure for some LMS users and Google mappers, which some might say serves as testament to its uselessness. The fact is, we’re already using cloud computing in our everyday lives.

October 30th, 2008 by Learning Systems

Cloud computing is a revolutionary paradigm shift for learning systems. In a recent BBC article Bill Thompson writes that when giving a talk about technology, he likes to pull out his iPod Touch, wave it at a crowd and point out that “in the future” it will be a supercomputer with parallel processors and terabytes of storage. He goes on to admit that this “future” is actually now, as new services offer vast storage for his smartphone. If you have a wireless connection, you can play music, see photos and read documents as if they were local. 

The implication of the cloud for school learning systems is gigantic. It means that schools will only need an internet connection to make their computers fully functional. Downloading programs and storing data will no longer be burdens of individual computers, freeing up learning system funds for other purposes.