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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 Kenzie Waller on March 6, 2011 at 10:35pm

Teachers can use a photo sharing website to share what is happening in the classroom. I had a class photographer (and myself) taking pictures of events in the classroom or at school. They took pictures of presentations, projects, field day, etc. I had a lot of neat pictures from the students perspectives and I didn't always have to take the pictures. Some websites let people order prints or send them to a local store. It is a neat way to share your classroom with parents that couldn't be there. Some websites are Picasa, Flickr, Photobucket, Shutterfly, etc. Just make sure you get photo permission. This is a great way for teachers to store their photos and be able to access them from any computer since they are hosted online. Also, it is a great way to have a backup copy. I had class photos stored on my computer at school but lost them when my computer quit.

Permalink Reply by Anna Cajiga on March 6, 2011 at 10:58pm

What a great idea! Several times every year, I am asked by our school tech specialist to clear out some of the photos and videos from my laptop because I am using too much server space... this would solve that problem! :) I love that parents and students would be able to see pictures of classroom and school activities at any time - what a way to strengthen the school-home connection and get kids talking about what is going on at school!

Permalink Reply by Sara De Voogd on March 27, 2011 at 12:03pm

Of all the ways I considered using photo-sharing sites, this had not crossed my mind. This seems an excellent way to document and highlight happenings in the classroom. Additionally, it offers opportunities to engage parents and the school community with the events occurring in the classroom. A photo-sharing site offers a unique perspective into the classroom that is not always easily accessible to parents. This concept could also be applied to administrators to keep informed about the happenings in the classroom highlighting student work. Great idea!

Permalink Reply by Anna Cajiga on March 6, 2011 at 10:55pm

This week, I learned about EtherPad (http://ietherpad.com/) from a coworker and I am so excited about the possibile uses of this cloud computing website. EtherPad is a real-time collaborative text editing program. Users can instantly create a "pad" and invite others to join the discussion that takes place here. Contributions to the pad are color-coded by user, and a chat feature is also included in the pad.

The best part is that users do not even have to sign up to participate in the pad discussion! This makes it ideal for classroom use, where it can be used instantly without needing to create individual accounts for each student. Teachers also have an option of signing up for an account so they can save pads for future reference.

My coworker uses EtherPad for collaborative writing projects. He puts laptop computers from our school's mobile lab at each table and has students work together to edit a writing sample, or to create an original piece as a group. This is certainly not the only way to use EtherPad. Students can even branch beyond the walls of the classroom and use EtherPad to collaborate with students at other schools in different parts of the world. I am excited to try the program in my Reading, Science and Social Studies classes - brainstorming ideas about a topic, reflecting on the importance of historical events, answering discussion questions and responding to classmates' ideas... the possibilities are endless.

-Anna Cajiga, CEP 810 SS2011

Permalink Reply by Becky Anderson on March 7, 2011 at 12:52am

After learning about cloud computing I think that the school district that I am working for could truely benefit from implementing it. The district recently started using blended learning curriculums for science, social studies and math, having cloud computing as a recource would be great to further supplement the blended curriculums. I also think that it could save our district a lot of money based on what I have learned. We have 4 high schools in our district that commonly use the same resources, if we used cloud computing we would have to have accounts for each teahcer, or each school. They accounts could work district wide. I think that the district is starting to use some of the ideas based in cloud computing, but hasn't fully implemented it.

Permalink Reply by Christopher Covington on March 11, 2011 at 6:22pm

This cloud computing seems a lot efficent and low maitainence than regular hosting. Here is a site for 8 tips to getting started for cloud computing. Enjoy!!

Permalink Reply by Gina Catania on March 13, 2011 at 8:06pm

This is one of my favorite websites:

http://www.librarything.com

It is an online site that allows you to catalog and keep track of your book collections

I use it to have a class library page for parents to look up great books to read to their kids

Awesome way to share reading resources..

Permalink Reply by Jenny Catlin on August 8, 2011 at 9:17am

I love this site too. I started using it personally last spring, but plan to use it similarly to your description with my class this fall.

Permalink Reply by Sara De Voogd on March 27, 2011 at 11:59am

I read today about a cloud computing opportunity. Scratch, described in the "about" section as a kid-friendly programming language enabling the creation of interactive stories, animations, and games, allows students to create and publish projects to the web. Under the Educators tab, a greater description is provided of how Scratch can be implemented in the classroom and impact student learning. Additionally, the website provides resources for those interested to begin using Scratch. The site also offers research as well. After perusing the website, Scratch appears to be a tool worth considering for use in the classroom allowing students to creatively interact, engage, and share content.

Permalink Reply by Justine Koszela on March 27, 2011 at 4:50pm

Today I learned about the three different types of cloud computing, including SAAS, PAAS and IAAS. I feel that the best option for my school district would be the SAAS form of cloud computing. This way my school would only have to pay for the software or programs that we used, not having to pay for a bundle of programs that may never be used up front. Some teachers in my school only use certain programs more often than others. There is no sense in paying for something that is not being used. This would also save more money for my school since budget costs are being cut everywhere and the integration of technology is crucial to student success!

Permalink Reply by Pam Pilant on April 25, 2011 at 6:48pm

We learned more about cloud computing today in my CEP 810 course and I realized that I already knew what it was without knowing it! And here I wondered what those commercials were all about. But basically its all the apps we need "out there" in the clouds where we can just grab them from where ever we are. I like the idea of using Google Docs or a similar thing for classes as I have found that students don't always have the "latest" software at home. Introducing these apps to students helps equalize access AND makes it so that assignments can't get left at home! They just have to log in and there they are!

Permalink Reply by Dianne L Stemen on May 5, 2011 at 10:38pm

I agree, Pam. My school was talking about buying each student a flash drive to store their information on but I can see that being a problem with the "I left it at home" excuse. I love the idea of having documents on the computer that the teacher can have access to in case a student needs help with something or to review before it's due to give students suggestions for meeting rubric expectations.