I am the cloud for my friends and family…wait, what?
If you understand the cloud you will get this post.
I often find myself having to perform cloud-like services for my friends and family. They will make statements, ask questions, expect answers and much more but without providing the necessary computing power to really solve the problem.
In these situations I serve as database providing knowledge and recall of vast amounts of information. I function similarly to Wolfram Alpha in that I often have to translate what others are asking into an intelligible question. Note I don't mean 'intelligent' but simply understandable.
Seriously though, as a person who thinks a lot about using technology in education I welcome the cloud evolution. Although in reality this is really how computing got started, with powerful main frames and dumb terminals reaching out to the main frame for information.
Access is key.
My primary goal in designing systems for the classroom is access. The question I begin with is, How can I provide the most students with application and web access for the least amount of money?
The answer lies in the cloud.
Cheap laptop like terminals that can access full blown server based applications should in theory solve the problem except that video still remains a challenge with this type of setup. Additionally flash based activities and games seem to be so popular that their functionality cannot be ignored either.