Cloud Fundamentals

Cloud Services
Cloud Fundamentals
Services like Flickr for pictures, YouTube for video
and SoundCloud for audio, provide services to store
content and then make it available on any device.
When a Cloud service stores content and then
makes it available, it’s called hosting.
There are other Cloud services that do more than
host content. Services like Google Drive, Office 365
and iCloud have services that allow you to create
content. What makes these services different is
that they provide the software to create the content.
The software is often free and available for
most devices and computers.
A huge benefit to services like these is that you
don’t need to install the software on your computer.
The software is installed on the Cloud service
and provided over the Internet. The software is
regularly updated and you take advantage of the
latest updates for free when they are released. As
the technology gets better the services get better
and the tools get easier to use.
Cloud services like Google Drive, Office 365 and
iCloud also provide free storage for content. This
means that you don’t have to save the content on
your computer. The content is saved on their server.
It’s like creating music at a radio station and having
the radio station save the music for you. You know
that the radio station has the money and resources
to keep your music safe. The same is true for cloud
services like Google Drive. It stores content and
keeps it safe.
Another benefit of having these services store content
is that you don’t have to worry about losing it
when something goes wrong with your computer
or device. Let’s look at an example.
Let’s say you’re using your smart phone to write an
important letter. You’re using a cloud service like
Office 365. Let’s assume that you drop your phone
and it shatters, Oh No!. Since your document is
hosted by Office 365, you can go to any device or
computer and access the same document. You can
buy yourself another smart phone and easily continue
to edit the important letter on that phone.
Can anyone see what’s in my Cloud? Most cloud
services require that you create a free account to
use their services. When you create this account
you’re asked to provide an email and a password.
This account ensures that you will be the only one
to access the content.
Can I choose to share stuff in my Cloud? One of
the many benefits of cloud services is the ability
to share content. Services like Google Drive, Office
365 and iCloud have options to share content
you’ve created with others.
In addition to sharing, many services allow collaboration.
This is very true for Google Drive, Office 365
and iCloud. Collaboration is when you give others
permission to edit your content or add to your
content. When collaborating on content you and
the collaborators can work on content at the same
time or at different times. Collaborators can be in
the same room or the same building. They can also
be on the other side of the world.
What does this mean for your classroom? This
means that your students can work on the same
document using two or more computers or devices.
You can divide the work to be done by each student
in a group. For example, on a biography research
paper on Abraham Lincoln, one student can write a
section on his life and childhood. Another student
could write a section on his life before becoming
President and one student can write about his Presidency
during the civil war.
Let’s look at three Cloud services that can be used
by teachers and students.
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Digital Maestro