Cloud-Computing
From Horizon.K12
2009 Short List
Time-to-Adoption: One year or Less
Time-to-Adoption: Two to Three Years
Time-to-Adoption: Four to Five Years
Critical ChallengesKey Trends |
The emergence of large “data farms” — specialized data centers that host thousands of servers — has created a surplus of computing resources that has come to be called the cloud. Aspects of computing that used to be considered expensive, like disk storage and computing cycles, are now becoming cheap and ubiquitous. Layered on top of the cloud infrastructure are development platforms that are enabling thin-client, web-based applications for everything from image editing to word processing to music and video manipulation. Specialized applications like Flickr live entirely in the cloud; there is no single computer, or even specific group of computers, that can be pointed to as housing Flickr, Google, or YouTube. To the end user, the cloud is invisible; the technology that supports the applications doesn’t matter — the fact that the applications are always available is key.
There are three types of services associated with the cloud. The most straightforward set of services from an end- user perspective are cloud-based applications that serve a single function, such as Gmail (http://gmail.com) or Quicken Online (http://quicken.intuit.com/online-banking-finances.jsp). The next tier is one step removed from this: instead of offering end-user applications, these services offer the infrastructure on which to build such applications, along with the computing power to deliver them, like Google App Engine (http://code.google.com/appengine/) or Heroku (http://heroku.com). The final tier of cloud services are those that offer sheer computing resources without a development platform layer, like Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (http://aws.amazon.com/ec2/) or the GoGrid (http://www.gogrid.com).
Relevance for Teaching, Learning & Creative Expression
- Cloud-based applications can provide students and teachers with free or low-cost alternatives to expensive, proprietary productivity tools.
- Browser-based applications are accessible for a variety of computer and even mobile platforms, making these tools available anywhere the Internet can be accessed.
- The shared infrastructure approach imbedded in the cloud computing concept offers considerable potential for large scale experiments and research that can make use of untapped processing power.
Examples
- CloudTrip is a fledgling directory of cloud-based applications, sorted into categories: http://www.cloudtrip.com/index.php?category=Education
- A partnership between SimTone Corporation and Frank Porter Graham Elementary School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, will leverage cloud computing technologies to provide students and staff with virtual computers: http://www.simtone.net/snapbook.htm
- Collections of images can be used for research or learning in a wide range of disciplines; for instance, histology images on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=histology&m=text
For Further Reading
Computing Heads for the Clouds
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2007/tc20071116_379585.htm
(Aaron Ricadela, Business Week, 16 November 2007.) This article defines cloud computing and describes ways it is in use by IBM, Yahoo!, and Google.
Down on the Server Farm
http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11413148
(The Economist, 22 May 2008.) This article describes the infrastructure of Internet computing and its implications for the future.
How Cloud Computing is Changing the World
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2008/tc2008082_445669.htm
(Rachael King, Business Week, 4 August 2008.) This article describes a perceived shift in the way we think about computing.
