In terms of education, I am most excited about Google tools and applications. This platform allows for collaboration and storage of information outside of a single computers hard drive. I think it is really cool that as long as you have an internet connection, you can have access to the "cloud". I think that collaboration and creation are the two features that are innovated with the cloud.
As Tom Bittman mentions in his post about Cloud Computing and Education, students can create the knowledge and can express themselves, influence opinions, and be leaders. The use of this technology and it's constant evolution, is a 21st century learning skill which will be ever important in our students lives. I really like the fact that the use of cloud technology can be widespread and can extend the limits of learning beyond the walls of the classroom. As with many of the other technology based tools that I have discussed in this blog, we as teachers have to monitor what our students are doing and make sure that they are maintaining good digital citizenship.
One of the points that I really enjoyed about the SITE blog post on Cloud Computing for Education was that textbooks are starting to become obsolete. They are expensive and go out of date and are not environmentally friendly. The writer mentions that ebooks have helped to alleviate some of these problems. The problem with textbooks is that they develop passive and dependent learners. The textbooks lay out everything for the students. By having ebooks we have "automated a bad practice". I agree completely with this statement. I really like the opportunities that the internet provides for students to individualize their learning as long as we as teachers are implementing technology effectively. I think that Google apps, or software similar to this, provides students with some ownership over their education.
I also like the idea of BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices). I think that it gives students to participate in their learning more actively. I have also read that using devices in the classroom helps to improve engagement. I do understand that some students are not able to afford a device and I think that schools can minimize this problem by having iPad carts or something similar to that. It is a good idea to have students use their own devices because they likely know how to use their devices effectively and therefore implementation would be smoother.
It will be interesting to see the evolution of this technology and the cloud in education.
That's all for now.