Computing in the Clouds Is There a Storm Looming on Your School’S Budgetary Horizon? Cloud Computing May Offer a Silver Lining

Home , Cloud (operating system), Netbook, Platform as a service, Software as a service

By Doug Johnson

Computing in the Clouds Is there a storm looming on your school’s budgetary horizon? Cloud computing may offer a silver lining.

eachers and administrators for grades K–12, pay attention: The Tprogram I used to write this article and the place I stored it may be just as important as the content you’ll read in it. Why would you care how I handle my files? Because following my example may save you time and money. Consider these facts: • I wrote this article without the aid of word processing software loaded on my computer. For schools, this may be very • I used several computers in several good news, and not a moment locations to write this article with- too soon. Cloud computing, you see, out using a flashdrive to move the has the potential to offer file. staff and students better computer you’re using. If you’re • I shared this article with the editors services at a lower cost on a computer with Internet of L&L without attaching it to an than the technology deployment access—whether it is on your e-mail. models they’re using now. And desk at school, on your lap • I saved my electronic draft in a saving money and improving ef- at home, in any computer place where I will have access to ficiencies are two areas where schools lab or coffee shop in the world, or the content, even if my laptop is can use all the help they can get. at Grandpa’s house—you can work lost, the external hard drive where without worrying about transporting I keep my backups fails, and the Silver Linings files on flashdrives, keeping track of new version of Microsoft Office The term cloud computing originated the latest version of a document, or refuses to open my file format. from the cloud metaphor and graphic having the right software to open a • And I am doing all of these things that often represent the Internet on file. You can easily share and collab- at no cost. network diagrams, because cloud oratively edit your files with others in computing relies on applications and a cloud-based application, such as a How did I do it? I used the cloud. file storage that reside on a network— wiki or Google Docs, as well. Chances are, you have too. Have you either a local-area network, a district Unlike most software that resides ever used a Web-based e-mail program? intranet, or the Internet itself. on computer hard drives, Web-based How about an online photo-editing This offers several real advantages. applications that perform a wide array tool? Or maybe you’ve been invited Because the files and the programs of productivity tasks are free. These to collaborate on a wiki or on Google are all stored elsewhere, your local tools may not be as comprehensive as Docs, a set of online productivity tools computer doesn’t have to hold much Office or Adobe Photoshop, but they that allows the creation of documents, on its hard drive, so it can run faster often have surprisingly full feature spreadsheets, presentations, and sur- or be smaller. And you can work on sets and are compatible with standard veys. All of these use cloud computing. any project, anywhere, no matter what programs.

16 Learning & Leading with Technology | December/January 2009–10 If you’re on a computer with Internet access—whether it is on your desk at school, on your lap at home, in any computer lab or coffee shop in the world, or at Grandpa’s house—you can work without worrying about transporting files on flashdrives, keeping track of the latest version of a document, or having the right software to open a file.

interchangeable, so if a device E-mail. Both my school’s Microsoft Ex- needs repair or is left at home, you change system and my personal Gmail can easily substitute another accounts already have robust online machine. The only e-mail clients. My biggest challenge has applications a student been moving all my saved e-mail from needs to keep on a my hard drive–based Entourage/Out- netbook are a full- look client to my online Gmail account, fledged Web browser and then tagging all that old e-mail so I and antivirus and can find it again. (I have a folder mind, spyware programs. not a tag mind, I’m afraid.) I predict that Web searching and bookmarking. K–12 schools will at I already have a delicious.com ac- some point ask par- count, so I just imported the book- ents to provide basic marks I had saved in my browser. computing devices for their children as a part of the school supply list. As a Word processing, presentations, and parent, I was asked to purchase a $100 spreadsheets. After years of using Of- graphing calculator when my son was fice, the move to Google Docs for my in high school six years ago. How big a day-to-day productivity has been sur- Cloud computing also makes it stretch is it to ask parents to provide a prisingly easy. In fact, getting away from possible to use less-powerful comput- $250 netbook computer today? Office’s “feature creep” has been refresh- ers, such as netbooks (see “Netbooks: ing. However, although Docs is fine for Back to the Basics” on page 20). A Living in the Cloud writing short pieces, it’s not practical for school district can lower its Before advocating for cloud com- writing a book. But how many of your computing costs by using puting for my staff and students, I students will be writing books? these inexpensive com- decided to see if I could “live in the The presentation program lacks ani- puters to access the cloud. The savings cloud” as a computer user myself for mation, transitions, and in-program just accumulate from there, as cloud the past few months. I have found that image editing, but for 95% of my work computing’s file storage and basic ap- the move hasn’t been all that difficult, and for storing my files, Google Docs plications are free. Schools can reallo- even for a geezer like me. Here’s how works just fine, thank you. And all the cate money from student workstations I moved my tasks to the cloud: work I create in Docs is compatible in labs, big file servers, and expensive with Microsoft Office and Open Office. software to pay for increased band- Computer. Rather than using a full- width, greater wireless coverage, scale laptop computer, I’ve been using Photo storage and editing. I’ve been or—maybe, just maybe—smaller class a 10-inch ASUS 1000HA netbook that storing my best photographs on a sizes. That’s why many U.S. colleges, cost about $350. The smaller keyboard commercial storage site for years and universities, and K–12 school districts and screen size took some getting editing them with Photoshop Ele- are already working in the cloud. used to, but now I can work on the ments. But Flickr and Picasa are free Cloud computing makes one-to- computer for long periods of time. online applications that work well one laptop programs much more fea- The speed is acceptable, the battery for this amateur’s editing and storage sible. With a low-cost netbook and the life is good, and the wireless connec- needs. Picasa gives iPhoto a run for cloud, student computers are virtually tivity is fast. its money as a photo organizer, and

December/January 2009–10 | Learning & Leading with Technology 17 Picnik allows me even more photo- Cloud Computing Glossary editing abilities. Like all technologies, cloud computing comes with a bevy of new vocabulary words to learn. Here are a few to get you started: Webpage editing and webmastering. My personal blog, wiki, and website Application service provider (ASP): Company that offers individuals or enterprises access over the Internet to applications and related services are already completely managed via that would otherwise have to be located on their own personal or enterprise application service providers who computers. use online tools for management and editing, as does our school web- Fat client: Networked computer with most resources installed locally rather than distributed over a network. Most personal computers are fat clients because site and the professional association they have their own hard drives, CD/DVD drives, software applications, and so websites I help manage. on. This is also called a thick client. (See thin client below.) School-specific tasks. All of my Hybrid cloud: Environment in which an organization provides and manages district’s gradebooks, reporting some resources in-house and has others provided externally. For example, a systems, communications, account- school might use a public cloud service for general computing but store student data on its own private server. ing, and other management systems are already Web based. As cloud Infrastructure as a service (IaaS): A provision model in which an organization computing has gained maturity and outsources the equipment used to support operations, including storage, hardware, servers, and networking components. The service provider owns the acceptance, our district has started equipment and is responsible for housing, running, and maintaining it, and the looking for an appropriate “enter- client typically pays on a per-use basis. prise” solution that will provide a On-demand (OD) computing: Enterprise model in which computing resources common set of tools and storage to are made available to the user as needed. The resources may be maintained all staff and students. Although it is within the user’s organization or made available by a service provider. certainly possible now for each in- Platform as a service (PaaS): A paradigm for delivering operating systems and dividual to access the tools I’ve been associated services over the Internet without downloads or installation. This is using, as an organization we need to sometimes called cloudware. have some standardization. Google Apps Education Edition and Micro- Private cloud: Proprietary computing architecture that provides hosted services to a limited number of people behind a firewall. This is also called an internal soft’s live@edu are enterprise systems cloud or a corporate cloud. that are free for K–12 schools. Public cloud: System in which a service provider makes resources, such as applications and storage, available to the general public over the Internet. Public Chance of Showers cloud services may be free or offered on a pay-per-use basis. An example of a So why shouldn’t everyone fly to the free public cloud is the Google AppEngine. cloud right now? Here are a few ques- Software as a service (SaaS): A software distribution model in which tions that need serious consideration: applications are hosted by a vendor or service provider and made available to What happens when there is no In- customers over a network, typically the Internet. Google Apps is one provider of free SaaS. ternet access? You can now use Gmail and Google Docs offline in conjunc- Thin client: A low-cost, centrally managed workstation without CD-ROM players, tion with Google Gears, a browser disk drives, or expansion slots. The term derives from the fact that small computers in networks tend to be clients and not servers. This is also sometimes called applet. Work offline and your docu- a lean client. (See thick client above.) ments will be synced when you recon- nect. Bandwidth limitations may be Utility computing: Model in which computer processing power is seen as a utility that clients can pay for as needed. a challenge for some districts with a small pipe to the Internet, however. Virtualization: The creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of a technology, such as an operating system, a server, a storage device, or network Might there someday be a charge for resources. The usual goal of virtualization is to centralize administrative tasks the services that are currently free? while improving scalability and workloads. The sustainability of the revenue All definitions are from Techtarget.com. model is anybody’s guess. Profits now come from advertisements and selling more fully featured versions of applications or larger storage spaces.

18 Learning & Leading with Technology | December/January 2009–10 Schools can reallocate money from student workstations in labs, big file servers, and expensive software to pay for increased bandwidth, greater wireless coverage, or—maybe, just maybe—smaller class sizes. Are my files secure? This is probably you want to edit a video, for instance, Relevant. the deal-breaker for many skeptics you’ll need a full computer. I also can’t of this trend. As a devout belt-and- play or make CDs or DVDs with my Convenient. suspender kind of guy, I’d encourage netbook. you to keep local backup copies of Am I abetting Google’s/Microsoft’s all important online documents. But Engaging. world domination? Definitely. Just Jeffrey Kaplan, managing director of accept it and get over it. If you feel the consulting firm ThinkStrategies ISTE All-Access Pass uncomfortable using Google or Mi- (“Five Myths About SaaS,” CIO, March The All-Access Pass is only $795 crosoft, there are alternatives, such as and grants the pass holder access 23, 2009), assures, “Although service Zoho. to all webinars and archives for disruptions experienced by Google ... the 2009–10 season. At $795 for members and $1,975 for non- get plenty of attention, those types of Cloudy Forecast members, the All-Access Pass incidents don’t happen very often, and provides savings of more than It’s a good time to consider the impact they don’t last as long as many enter- 50%. Remember, ISTE membership of cloud computing and netbooks on is only $92, so joining will help you prise outages. And there hasn’t been a our classrooms, libraries, and school save even more on webinars and major compromise of a SaaS [software other ISTE products. systems. With such a low (and drop- as a service] operation reported yet, ping) cost, I’d bet dollars to doughnuts even as we continue to read regular For a full list of upcoming that even in these tough economic accounts of security breaches in tradi- Professional Development Webinars times, quite a number of students will or to register, go to www.iste.org/webinars tional IT environments.” be able to get their hands on netbooks. ▪ Member price $50 ▪ Non-member price $125 Are my files private? Can we trust Before making the jump into the Google and others not to peek at our cloud, however, schools need to stuff? This is another major concern. consider: A slide in an online seminar offered • Does the school have a policy about through Google Apps Education Edi- student-owned devices? (Parents tion claims that: are unlikely to allow a simple ban • Purchase Google does not own your data. on them, just as they protested out- an All-Access Pass and • Google does not share your data. right bans on cell phones.) receive this 2GB flash drive • You can keep your data as long as • Does it have the reliable, adequate, and lanyard as our gift to you (quantities limited). you want. and secure wireless infrastructure to • Google will remove your data when support dozens, if not hundreds, of you ask. student-owned netbooks? ISTE encourages • You can take your data elsewhere. • Will its teachers have the training, All-Access Pass resources, and strategies to use net- holders to bring a I study the privacy settings of any books to improve student learning? team together in one online program I use, as who gets ac- location and watch • Is the district exploring cloud-based the live webinar or cess to what is getting more granular enterprise solutions like Google the archive. all the time. Of course, my own insur- Apps Education Edition or Micro- Share the resources, ance against problems associated with save money, and soft’s live@edu? unwarranted data access is living a learn together as • What happens when students don’t a team! completely sin-free life, but I know need schools to provide them with that won’t work for everyone. computers or Internet access? As they Are some things just too cumbersome gain access to broadband wireless to do online? Cloud computing is not Internet access that’s carried on cell for every computing need. Any big phone signals, they may see schools TECHNOLOGYTECHNOLOGY Ernest Perry IN PRACTICEPRACTICE webinars data crunching/data processing tasks as irrelevant to their quest for access Member since 2007 will still need big computing power. If to computing functionality.

December/January 2009–10 | Learning & Leading with Technology 19 Netbooks: Back to the Basics As a technology director, my longstanding complaint has been that no one makes a computer that’s just right for kids and schools—one that’s inexpensive, reliable, lightweight, and easily maintained, with a long battery life and a high degree of functionality. But that device may finally be Periodicals here: the netbook. Help You Netbooks, according to Wikipedia, are Transform Teaching “a category of small-sized, low-cost, lightweight, lean-function subnotebooks ◼ Journal of Research on optimized for Internet access and Technology in Education core computing functions (e.g., word www.iste.org/JRTE processing)—either directly from applications installed on the netbook itself or indirectly, via cloud computing.” And it seems that this new category is becoming ◼ Journal of Computing in Teacher Education mainstream. In late 2008, eight of the ten best-selling computers on Amazon were www.iste.org/JCTE netbooks. Popular models are available from Dell, HP, Asus, Intel, Workhorse, and Acer, and more manufacturers have netbook lines on the horizon. (See “Buyer’s Subscribe Today! Guide,” L&L, December/January 2008–09, pp. 40–41.) Most netbooks share these characteristics: • They’re lightweight at 2–4 pounds. • They have small screens measuring 7–10 inches. • They have static memory or smaller hard drives. • Their keyboards are somewhat smaller than a full-sized keyboard. • They have wireless Internet connectivity. • They come equipped with webcams, microphones, and speakers. • They have USB ports and memory card slots. • You can buy them for less than $400 (and the going rate is likely to decline in the future). Netbooks run WindowsXP or some flavor of the open-source operating system Linux. They often come bundled with an open-source productivity suite, such as isTockphoTo.com/DimUsE OpenOffice, and an open-source Web browser, such as Mozilla Firefox. Although these devices do allow students to work offline to write papers, use spreadsheets, and design slideshow presentations, they are designed to be used in a cloud computing environment, where the bulk of the work happens online. As both student work and applications are stored online, a basic operating system configuration would make machines interchangeable. —Doug Johnson

Change is coming, people. I believe Google Docs: http://docs.google.com a good term to describe the rise of Google Gears: http://gears.google.com cloud computing is disruptive technol- Linux: www.linux.org Microsoft’s live@edu: http://get.liveatedu.com ogy (Google it). For schools in dire Mozilla Firefox: www.mozilla.com need of cost savings, though, this Open Office: www.openoffice.org cloud is likely to have a silver lining. Zoho: www.zoho.com

Resources Doug Johnson is the director of “Five Myths About SaaS” by Jeffrey Kaplan. media and technology for the CIO (March 23, 2009): www.cio.com/ Mankato (Minnesota) Public article/486091/Five_Myths_About_SaaS? Schools. He blogs about ed Google App Engine: http://code.google.com/ tech issues on his Blue Skunk appengine Blog, and his latest book, Google Apps Education Edition: www.google. School Libraries Head for the com/a/help/intl/en/edu/index.html Edge, was published by ABC-CLIO in October.

20 Learning & Leading with Technology | December/January 2009–10