The cloud and education, a few basics
The cloud and education, a few basics.
The term cloud refers to all those places you go to on the internet, simply things that are not on your PC. For example Facebook, Google, Amazon, and any website you may go to is part of the cloud. Schools today are using cloud based network systems that create a place for students, parents, teachers, and administration to come together and collaborate. Cloud networks will become a standard in education.
The best of these systems are free and open source. What this signifies is that this network tool will be available to everyone. There will be a level playing field on this cloud for those that know how to use it. For this reason if you as a school choose to use one of these networking systems you should not only teach your students to use the system but also how to administer it. These systems will be the workplace of the future and the knowledge you can give students will give them a significant head start.
For Junior and High school I suggest you have your students run the software. Have them be part of the administration, so they may learn the technology as well as use it.
Why will this be the workplace of the future ?
The network you will be using is a (CMS), content management system. It will run your network , but it also can do many other things. It can create a private network, where the data you use is controlled and owned by you and provides your connection with all the other cloud services that are becoming part of our lives. Because one system will eventually dominate, and because they are free, you should use the best or most advanced system available and Drupal is exactly that.
What we call the cloud is a self generating technology, built out of extraordinary economics commonly called open source and its free. Not to get too technical, but Apache servers,MySQL database, Linux computers, PHP, Drupal and many of the other components of the cloud structure are open source. This is what makes Google work and this is the new standard for all future computing.
Since almost everything can be made more productive with computers, this technology will affect almost all activity.
For education it will transform the very nature of how we think of it.
Education is about content, and the very name of the system that schools have begun to adopt is (CMS), a content management system. Any system you choose will have as its foundation the computer system mentioned above, and the interface or what you and your people will be working with is a CMS. Moodle, Open Scholar and others are all at the core a (CMS), built on a MySQL database running on an Apache server. The best and most advanced of these systems is Drupal. So, why are schools you not using it or why don't schools know about it ?
The reason is... technology is moving faster than our ability to understand it.
My goal is to show educational professionals this new technology so that you may make the correct choice. I understand that this is a very complicated subject. Educational professionals, as all of us, resist change and learning, especially when it conflicts with our personal paradigm. If you are not now using some form of CMS for networking, and content management, you will soon. Before you choose and waist your time learning, take some time to evaluate what the technology is and what is it's highest and best use.
It is not productive to spend years learning a technology that will become obsolete.
Your first consideration should be, that it is "open source"... be certain that its truly open source. The second is that it is at the forefront all other systems that provide the application you will need. As you investigate the options available, you will notice that Drupal is the true choice. It is the most advanced, it is truly open source, it is free, and your students can administer and program it. Maybe the next Bill Gates will come of it.
Think of school records in a different way.
Here you have the ultimate reason to be certain you have the right tool. With Drupal all content is neetly stored in one database. At all times you have a record of all interactions, parent, teacher, student, homework, pictures, and videos. What parent would not be interested in downloading these records. I would like to see all my school activity... but I can't. A schools ability to preserve and provide these records will be (is now) important to how education works.
Please give me an opportunity to show you how this technology works. Give me a few minutes, a telephone and your computer on the web... I will show you why the future will change the way you see computers, operate a school, as well as your personal life and data.
Please visit the links below for more information.
General information Terms of Service Some videos to get started A basic e-commerce store How to use Drupal as a desktop
Sincerely,
Claudio Avendano
Land 404 567 5869
Cell 404 520 3333