On a more optimistic side, Johnson's idea of integrating netbooks would allow teachers to easily satisfy all five Nets standards. Also as time goes on, the cost of capable netbooks will only decline and the number of cloud-based software programs will only increase. Therefore, I think Johnson's conclusion that a combination of cloud computing and inexpensive student computers will transform education is not too far off, but it will take time.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Journal Article #2
Doug Johnson wrote the article "By Computing in the Clouds" to educate K-12 teachers and administrators about the benefits of cloud computing. The biggest benefit of the cloud, cost reduction of computing for the classroom, could revolutionize school life for students and teachers alike. In addition to reducing the cost of bringing technology to the classroom, Johnson suggests cloud use could increase the effiency of schools. In making the argument for his case, Johnson informs his readers that he completed all of the work for his article on the cloud. By using the article and other examples of cloud use to cover nearly every situation a student would need a computer for, Johnson makes a case that schools could raise the standard of modern learning while, decreasing their budget over time. Because cloud computing puts the burden of running an endless number of software programs for nearly any situation on outside servers rather than the specific computer accessing that software, computers do not need to be as powerful. That is, cheaper computers with slower processors and less memory, could be as effective as their more expensive counterparts. This would enable students to use either inexpensive netbooks, as Johnson advocates, or extremely inexpensive home computers. Johnson seems to favor the portability of netbooks that he explains sell for as little as 250 dollars but I do not think he should ignore the possibility of cheap, bare bones desktop computers, which I have personally assembled spending under 100 dollars. Whatever the case though I think Johnson forgets to mention one major cost, the cost of Internet. Blanketing a school with Wi-Fi is not cheap. Furthermore, is Johnson suggesting students will be able to access all their content at home? If so add in a monthly charge for parents to maintain a connection for their little learners. Sure Johnson explains some work could be saved to run when offline but I doubt the inexpensive netbook would not be able to save many memory intensive projects. That puts a damper on Johnson's theory that asking a parent to buy a netbook would be too much more to ask for than buying a graphing calculator. Plus, I doubt any current "cloudware" can accomplish the tasks of a graphing calculator so it is not like the netbook cost will negate the cost of a graphing calculator, it will exist in addition to that cost.
On a more optimistic side, Johnson's idea of integrating netbooks would allow teachers to easily satisfy all five Nets standards. Also as time goes on, the cost of capable netbooks will only decline and the number of cloud-based software programs will only increase. Therefore, I think Johnson's conclusion that a combination of cloud computing and inexpensive student computers will transform education is not too far off, but it will take time.
On a more optimistic side, Johnson's idea of integrating netbooks would allow teachers to easily satisfy all five Nets standards. Also as time goes on, the cost of capable netbooks will only decline and the number of cloud-based software programs will only increase. Therefore, I think Johnson's conclusion that a combination of cloud computing and inexpensive student computers will transform education is not too far off, but it will take time.
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I agree that use of the cloud as opposed to expensive software would cut memory space as well as cost both to schools and parents. I think most schools now have wi-fi networks and account for that in their budgets because use of and access to the internet is increasingly important in our curriculum. If memory space is an issue on these inexpensive netbooks, teachers would just have to account for that and assign work that requires internet use in class, or have parents invest in small flash drives. Keeping up with technology and becoming familiar with it is very important to our children's education and finding ways to make it more plausible through use of the cloud is a great idea. One issue I see with use of the cloud is the fact that this information is no longer personal and inaccessible by others so I think a lesson about internet safety and responsibility would need to go along with its use.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the reduction of costs and easy accessibility that cloud computing offers increases efficiency within the classroom. I think you bring up a great point of parents having to purchase access to computers for their learners as being a concern because it becomes an additional expense that not all parents may be able to afford. In response to that, teachers can still utilize the free tools within the classroom to make the content they present more engaging, and for classwork only where students would have access to the computers and more specifically the Internet. I also like that you mentioned that to prove his argument the author used cloud computing to complete all of the work for his article. This shows that he truly believes in the benefits of cloud computing and is genuine about the information he provides.
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