Technology is born from a problem.

Think about a community of schools and colleges before the World Wide Web. Those schools spent a fortune on boring, heavy textbooks that eventually became outdated as a result of today's education standards. Diverse students that were attending pre-World Wide Web schools found conventional learning difficult and felt left out. These factors lowered student growth and creativity, summative test scores, and school reputation. But there was hope.

Got ideas? No problem.

Knowing the problem developers from technology organizations got down to work, using the concepts of something known as "cloud" computing to create software solutions for schools. One of those "cloud" computing concepts they used is one of the first, one that dates back to the 1960s: an "intergalactic computer network" which was envisioned for everyone on the globe to be interconnected to (through a computer), allowing users to access and store programs and data on the network from anywhere (this intergalactic network was later known as the Internet). This concept later defined the "cloud" computing buzzword.

Cloud solutions for next-gen education.

Developers finally deployed their software solutions to schools desperate for higher student success. The result: these solutions are successfully transforming today's schools around the world.

Here are some of those cloud solutions:

Pros

Accessibility

Ever thought of being able to plug in a USB drive into your phone to increase productivity time? Use cloud computing instead. Because the cloud is Internet-based, your digital files (documents, photos, videos, webpages, etc.) stored in the cloud can be accessed on an Internet-connected device anywhere with an Internet connection. This means you can access projects and records on any phone, laptop, tablet, or wearable from any Internet-enabled vehicle, Web-accessible place, or cellular network. With the accessibility of the cloud, you can get your productivity time back.

Collaboration

As a student, it’s hard to physically collaborate with others scattered around a large urban region. Cloud computing aims to solve this problem. Because the cloud can be interacted with through multiple-way Internet communication, some web apps such as Web-based word processors allow multiple users to collaborate on a document or in a virtual conference together in real time over the Internet without moving away from their current location. This saves collaborators time and money. Add that (cloud collaboration) to accessibility.

Expenses and Engagement

Using expensive print textbooks to learn about the fascinating, powerful concepts and facts of mathematics, science, languages, and social studies sometimes doesn’t make STEM or the Humanities fascinating. The power of the educational cloud can. With the educational cloud, students can use the familiar laptops and tablets they love to deeply engage in learning. Educational companies are designing fun, interactive web apps which can receive low-priced content updates. Not only can the educational cloud save schools’ money, but it can also change students’ views on education.

Cons

Security

Cloud computing has come a long way when it comes to security, but the Internet can never be completely secure. Because the cloud is Internet-based, its services such as web apps may be rendered unusable if those services’ data servers are hacked or infected with malware. Other data stored in the cloud may also be exposed to viruses.

Internet Connection, Speed, and User Capacity

Although cloud computing helps to make productivity easier, it relies heavily on the Internet; this means that users have little control over their cloud services. Users will need an Internet connection to access and store data on the cloud whether there is a connection or not. Users may also need good Internet speed to be able to accomplish heavy tasks efficiently. Other users on the Internet may also access the same cloud service; if a cloud service has too many users, the service will be rendered unusable until the number of users decreases below the user cap.