If remote learning during lockdowns proved anything, it’s that technology can be a game-changer for education. It can connect educators and students worldwide – and provide unparalleled access to knowledge.
That said, lockdowns also demonstrated that technology isn’t a magic wand that can do only good by default.
When we talk about technology, we can mean a variety of things. But there’s no technology as ubiquitous as cloud computing. It allows for exchanging files like learning materials and completed assignments, powers online classrooms, enables online lessons, and does so much more.
But is it a net positive for education? According to EssayPro review experts, it’s impossible to answer this question without breaking down the tangible benefits – and possible downsides – of using cloud services in an educational setting.
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Cloud Computing Evolution: How Did We Get Here?
First, what is cloud computing? Cloud computing, in a nutshell, means you use remote servers owned by a third party – a cloud vendor – to store and share data or run software.
Simply put, if you’ve ever used Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or iCloud, you’ve used cloud computing. What’s more, if you’ve ever typed your paper in Google Docs or used Google Classroom, you’ve used cloud computing services – in the form of software-as-a-service.
As mundane as it may seem today, cloud computing has come a long way since the 2000s. Before then, any organization that wanted to store data centrally had to buy servers and install them on-premises or in shared data centers. This was a tremendous expense item, so only the largest organizations could afford it.
The modern cloud services were born with Amazon’s S3 and EC2 release in 2006. The two services were targeted at businesses and developers rather than individual consumers.
Two years later, Microsoft and Google joined the race with their own products—Microsoft Azure and Google App Engine, respectively.
Today’s consumer-ready cloud storage services emerged in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Microsoft OneDrive was released in 2007, iCloud was made available in 2011, and Google Drive was launched in 2012.
6 Benefits of Cloud Computing in Education
It’s impossible to underestimate the importance of cloud computing in education. It allows students to:
- Submit their homework online;
- Watch pre-recorded lectures;
- Attend live classes online;
- Collaborate with their peers;
- Access a variety of files stored in the cloud.
But why do educational organizations turn to cloud computing tools? Of course, there’s no one single reason – it’s rather a combination of these six benefits:
- Cost-efficiency. Instead of setting up servers and maintaining them, you pay a subscription fee. The vendor ensures 99.99% uptime and high performance.
- Easy file sharing. Instead of printing handouts or copying files from one USB drive to another, you can share the files in the cloud with a few clicks. All files can be organized and searched to make finding information easy.
- Availability anytime, anywhere. Be it an app or a file in the cloud, those can be accessed on the go from any device. This means learning materials are always available, and students can attend lessons anywhere.
- Facilitated collaboration. With the cloud, you can give feedback right in the submitted assignment, while students can collaborate with their peers on presentations online.
- Unlimited scalability. Adding cloud computing capacity is as easy as upgrading to another plan or paying extra under a pay-as-you-go fee structure.
- Cutting-edge solutions. Certain technologies, like AI/ML and AR/VR, require the cloud because of the sheer computing power they need to run algorithms. Using them in education is impossible without the cloud.
5 Challenges of Using Cloud Services in Education
Of course, if the cloud was a perfect all-benefits-no-drawbacks technology, there wouldn’t be a point in writing this blog post. Alas, there are some potential disadvantages of cloud computing in education, such as:
- Overreliance on the internet connection. By its nature, cloud services require an internet connection to work. So, if you suddenly go offline, this means no online lessons, live exams, or even access to shared files.
- Security black box. On the one hand, cloud vendors have times more resources to ensure the servers are secure than individual educational institutions. But the reality is you don’t know what exactly they do to prevent attacks. Breaches can still happen due to exploits in the cloud vendor’s infrastructure.
- Privacy risks. When selecting a cloud vendor, pay special attention to their approach to encrypting your files. To ensure all transmitted data remains private, opt for zero-knowledge encryption. It ensures the vendor has no access to your files as-is.
- Lack of control. Relying on a third-party vendor means you have no control over functionality, infrastructure, user experience – or costs.
- Potential vendor lock-in. Certain vendors require an educational institution to sign a contract for a specific period. If you want to quit the vendor before the contract runs out, prepare to pay hefty penalty fees.
3 Examples of Cloud Computing in Education
These three educational institutions already leverage cloud computing tools to improve learning experiences.
San José State University + Google Cloud
The university moved away from its servers to Google Cloud to run virtual machines. These virtual machines allow computer science students to practice their programming skills, and the move helped the school avoid performance issues during peak load times.
The cloud also powers an autograder tool for CS students, which has led to better learning outcomes.
Newington College + Microsoft Cloud
This Australian college turned to Microsoft’s cloud computing services after a cybersecurity incident. As a part of its digital transformation, Newington College adopted Microsoft 365 A5 to power collaboration between and among students and teachers – and enhance its cybersecurity toolkit to counter emerging security risks.
Penn State University + Amazon Web Services (AWS)
The US-based university initially leveraged AWS’s cloud computing capabilities to launch and host its own LMS, Canvas, in 2016. During the pandemic, the university realized it had mountains of student data – but no way to use it to identify students needing help.
With AWS S3 and EC2, the university developed a learning analytics tool that monitors student engagement in real-time using Canvas data.
In Conclusion
Today, using cloud computing services goes beyond consuming an LMS as a service and sorting files in the cloud. The technology makes cutting-edge tools like real-time student analytics possible.
That said, the impact of cloud computing in education isn’t guaranteed to be 100% positive. Relying—or, rather, overrelying—on the cloud carries several inherent risks, most notably in matters of security and privacy. Internet availability and reliability can easily make or break the most advanced cloud transformation projects. To improve your study performance, try to search for the best cheap case study writing services.
So, before introducing the cloud in your educational processes, take stock of all the potential challenges and risks – and identify the right use cases for the technology.
