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Sharing Tips and Tricks on Cloud Computing

In your courses you have been asked to share your tips and tricks of cloud computing. Post any ideas, activities, resources, or other tips you may have regarding cloud computing in this discussion forum.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Faith on August 13, 2011 at 3:35pm

A cloud computing site that I've been using is www.protopage.com

Protopage is your own personal page, which you can access from any computer or mobile phone.

Use it to read your own selection of news and blogs, keep bookmarks, to-do lists, sticky notes, and much more

Our school media center uses it keep databases, websites, and news articles organized and easily accessible. Here's an example of how we use it http://www.protopage.com/camedia

Permalink Reply by John J. Hertel on October 11, 2011 at 10:25pm

Julie:

Visuwords.com is so cool! I typed in some words that were in stories that we had recently read and talked about in my Freshman English class and the webs were very interesting. I can't wait to use this with students. I read some other posts about it and I agree it does have a Prezi feel to it. It was very interesting to see the limited web of a word like "fastball" (I'm watching a baseball game) and the expansive web of a word like "draft" a word used in reference to taking a drink in a story we read in class today. One idea I have is to have a group of students take a vocabulary word and present its web to the class, with different students explaining parts of a words meaning. I have been looking for good dictionary related activities for my classes and I thank you for this site...it has opened up a myriad of possibilities!

Permalink Reply by Kelly Mahoney on November 3, 2011 at 12:55pm

Wow! This is a resource that I had never heard of! Thank you for sharing. I think it will be a great way to introduce new words for spelling and reading. I also appreciate your suggestions for how to use it!

Permalink Reply by Bob Carl on October 13, 2011 at 3:30pm

StudyBlue:

I found www.studyblue.com today. They are digital flash cards that can be used on-line and with smart phones. StudyBlue allows users to use the data as flash cards, quizzes or study notes. Users can create their own flash cards or use others – including teachers that can be easily looked up by school. I have already built in a set of flash cards and recommended this site to my staff and wife. I am sure to be using this resource soon!

Permalink Reply by Lisa Napierala on October 29, 2011 at 11:53am

The idea of cloud computing is remarkable. I had heard of cloud computing, but never really thought much about it. After reading about the cloud and watching videos on it, it seems to be a very cheap, secure, and easy to use computing method. Before now, I never thought about gmail as cloud computing. Before CEP 810, I always used Microsoft Word to create new documents. However, after using google documents this semester and realizing how easy it is to share the documents with others I will not go back to use Microsoft Word. Also, my documents do not get saved onto the computer. I can locate them anytime I log into gmail. Using google docs has been the best discovery for me this year.

Permalink Reply by jason on October 30, 2011 at 9:04pm

Don't forget Lisa that saving more things in the Cloud, saves space and speed on your computer. Not only does it save paper, ink, and money, but also time in speed on your device, which in my opinion is much more valuable.

Permalink Reply by Brian Jenks on November 2, 2011 at 3:39pm

I agree Lisa. This has already started a new way to interact and store information on the Web, and I think it will continue to grow at a fast rate, and continue to provide new and more interactive tools.

Permalink Reply by Sara Kribs on November 5, 2011 at 11:28am

Hi Lisa, I primarily have only used Microsoft Word for all of my documents until this semester when I learned about Google Docs. The good news is you don't have to abandon Microsoft Word. Microsoft has released Office Web Apps, which provides free versions of the Office tools that we are familiar with and they work just like Google docs. We use Microsoft's SkyDrive to share office applications at our school. I like how Google docs allows more than one person to work on the same document at once. Turns out the Word web app does the same thing. Give it a try if you are someone like me who is used to using Office tools.

Permalink Reply by Steve Veldman on October 30, 2011 at 8:00pm

One great use of cloud computing that my colleagues and I use a lot is the ability to share documents. I have several special education students in my room and I want to keep the special education teacher involved with what they are doing with me. All I have to do is upload any documents we will be using in class and share them with our special education teacher. This gives her a chance to review the material when she gets the chance and let me know what modifications or adaptations would help her students be more successful. It has worked out great and has really improved my instruction for all my students.

Permalink Reply by Brian Jenks on November 2, 2011 at 3:05pm

Steve, this is a great use of cloud computing; collaboration with other instructors should help improve the flow and sharing of documents and other curriculum.

Permalink Reply by Lauren Pate on November 7, 2011 at 11:23pm

I think all teachers can definitely benefit from document sharing. I don't know what I ever did without Google docs. I have worked with several other colleagues on projects through Google docs and other websites, which allows us to complete and share work at our own pace with our busy schedules. You forget that these application don't just have to be used between the students, but between educators as well. This has allowed not only teachers in the same building to share work, but teachers globally can share lesson plans and other information to aid in teaching.

Permalink Reply by jason on October 30, 2011 at 9:03pm

Today in CEP 810 we covered "The Cloud". Though it isn't a new concept, I am ever expanding my use of it. First, in Google Docs I find myself relying on it more every day. I am in charge of the mentoring program and in the past we would have students turn in bi-weekly logs of what they are doing in their mentoring class and have the classroom teachers fill out their grades and then sign the sheets as well. This would consume great amounts of paper, time, ink and cabinet space. This year, students submit all forms and papers via email attachment and its stored in the Google Doc group "mentors". Also, we created a spreadsheet that all teachers with mentors have, enter their grades for the students' performance. At the end of the semester I'll print the 4 page spreadsheet to have them sign and date. We just turned one case of paper (5,000 sheets) into 4! Second, I can enter grades and store their logs anytime, anywhere. Third, our school has their own "ISD Cloud" that when we save anything to our directories (which I never do, b/c of Google Docs) it saves it to the cloud. This is a great idea, however it must be said that the trick is to convince the entire staff to jump on board.