What is Cloud Computing?
Why Cloud-based?
Cloud mobility for mobile devices and desktop devices provides the user with the advantage of easily accessing and managing resources anytime and anywhere, regardless of the users location.
With a Cloud based Learning Management System, this mobility and usability provides the user with the flexibility of being able to access and collaborate with others in a centralized environment. With information being housed in a virtual storage environment, it allows work to be completed outside the boundaries of the formal learning or work institutions.
What are the Advantages of Cloud-based Learning Management System?
Cloud based Learning Management Systems has the potential to offer extreme flexibility for its user. When working in a Learning Management System, you as the user want to be able to have the freedom and flexibility to work and access your files.
Here are some other advantages:
· Round the clock accessibility from any remote location
· No buying or installing of any software or hardware for your system
· Huge space to capture and store numerical data and text-based information
· Cost-effective, with no set up, activation or subscription charges
· Rapid deployment
· Flexible expense management
· Device diversity
· One console to rule them all
· Near zero-day updates
(5 Key Benefits of Cloud Mobility, Lopez 2012)
With a Cloud based Learning Management System, this mobility and usability provides the user with the flexibility of being able to access and collaborate with others in a centralized environment. With information being housed in a virtual storage environment, it allows work to be completed outside the boundaries of the formal learning or work institutions.
What are the Advantages of Cloud-based Learning Management System?
Cloud based Learning Management Systems has the potential to offer extreme flexibility for its user. When working in a Learning Management System, you as the user want to be able to have the freedom and flexibility to work and access your files.
Here are some other advantages:
· Round the clock accessibility from any remote location
· No buying or installing of any software or hardware for your system
· Huge space to capture and store numerical data and text-based information
· Cost-effective, with no set up, activation or subscription charges
· Rapid deployment
· Flexible expense management
· Device diversity
· One console to rule them all
· Near zero-day updates
(5 Key Benefits of Cloud Mobility, Lopez 2012)
Creating economies of scale through use of cloud-based LMS-s
Hosting Learning Management Systems in the cloud has become not just an emerging trend but also an imperative for educational institutions and corporate training organizations. This imperative is associated with the core benefits that cloud-based LMS provides such as cost savings related to initial infrastructure, performance enhancement of Information Technology operations due to streamlining of services and the agility and flexibility it provides for organizations to respond to the needs of today’s learners and ever changing labour market.
A key characteristic of cloud-based LMS as described by UNESCO (2010), is “infinite scalability”, in other words, the ability of cloud-based LMS to provide agile responses to changes based on demand and allowing for rapid modifications without the need to "purchase additional hardware which could take weeks and may later be under-utilized" (Cloud computing in education, p.4).
In addition to providing the flexibility and “peace of mind” to help address the growing demand for services during “peak times such as the start of academic year or exam periods.” (UNESCO, 2010, p.5), or during the launch of a corporate learning initiative, (Miles, 2011), cloud-based LMS has the added benefit of providing uninterrupted business service while updates, testing and implementation continue.
How are economies of scale created through cloud-based LMS?
An integrated single platform
An effectively scalable cloud-based learning management system is one that integrates seamlessly with existing technologies of an organization/institution in order to establish a unified, scalable interface that makes it possible for teachers and trainers to teach and facilitate learning, assess and analyze every aspect of student progress and provide instantaneous feedback.
The abundance of tools and repositories of learning objects that exist in various cloud-based LMS-s makes it possible to not just enhance interactivity and social learning but also manage learning, teaching and administrative aspects from one single platform.
Enhanced connectivity, access and accuracy of administrative processes
Cloud mobility for mobile and desktop devices provides the user with the advantage of easily accessing and managing resources anytime and anywhere, regardless of the users’ location.
The emergence of e-campus makes it possible to post results and not only shorten wait time for students to receive final marks but also access those results from anywhere, any time just by using their
student identification and password.
Cloud-based LMS-s, offer interactive tools and training for teaching and administrative staff that help ensure consistency and a systematic approach to issues related to instructional design, administrative process therefore, enhancing performance and accuracy of administrative data and quality standards.
Collective content creation
Given the mobile, flexible nature of cloud-based Learning Management System and the myriad of authoring tools, content developers, instructional designers and other users can collaborate with each other through a virtual, centralized environment without the hassle of having to coordinate schedules or exchange different versions of documents. Once the content has been finalized, it can easily be published and made available to learners anywhere.
References
Kolakowski, N. (2012) Scalability, Agility Cited as Top Cloud-Adoption Reasons: Survey
Retrieved from:
http://slashdot.org/topic/cloud/scalability-agility-cited-as-top-cloud-adoption
Lopez (2012) 5 Key Benefits of Cloud Mobility. Retrieved from
http://networkingexchangeblog.att.com/enterprise-business/5-key-benefits-of-cloud-mobility/
Miles, A. (2011). Up in the clouds. Training Journal, 30-32. Retrieved from:
http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/862155136?accountid=13631
UNESCO (2010) Cloud computing in education Retrieved from http://iite.unesco.org/pics/publications/en/files/3214674.pdf
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cloud_computing_economics.svg
Video:
CSSWORKS. (2012, Mar 6). CloudComputingCommonSense.mov. Retrieved June 4, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M931adJvXPk.
A key characteristic of cloud-based LMS as described by UNESCO (2010), is “infinite scalability”, in other words, the ability of cloud-based LMS to provide agile responses to changes based on demand and allowing for rapid modifications without the need to "purchase additional hardware which could take weeks and may later be under-utilized" (Cloud computing in education, p.4).
In addition to providing the flexibility and “peace of mind” to help address the growing demand for services during “peak times such as the start of academic year or exam periods.” (UNESCO, 2010, p.5), or during the launch of a corporate learning initiative, (Miles, 2011), cloud-based LMS has the added benefit of providing uninterrupted business service while updates, testing and implementation continue.
How are economies of scale created through cloud-based LMS?
An integrated single platform
An effectively scalable cloud-based learning management system is one that integrates seamlessly with existing technologies of an organization/institution in order to establish a unified, scalable interface that makes it possible for teachers and trainers to teach and facilitate learning, assess and analyze every aspect of student progress and provide instantaneous feedback.
The abundance of tools and repositories of learning objects that exist in various cloud-based LMS-s makes it possible to not just enhance interactivity and social learning but also manage learning, teaching and administrative aspects from one single platform.
Enhanced connectivity, access and accuracy of administrative processes
Cloud mobility for mobile and desktop devices provides the user with the advantage of easily accessing and managing resources anytime and anywhere, regardless of the users’ location.
The emergence of e-campus makes it possible to post results and not only shorten wait time for students to receive final marks but also access those results from anywhere, any time just by using their
student identification and password.
Cloud-based LMS-s, offer interactive tools and training for teaching and administrative staff that help ensure consistency and a systematic approach to issues related to instructional design, administrative process therefore, enhancing performance and accuracy of administrative data and quality standards.
Collective content creation
Given the mobile, flexible nature of cloud-based Learning Management System and the myriad of authoring tools, content developers, instructional designers and other users can collaborate with each other through a virtual, centralized environment without the hassle of having to coordinate schedules or exchange different versions of documents. Once the content has been finalized, it can easily be published and made available to learners anywhere.
References
Kolakowski, N. (2012) Scalability, Agility Cited as Top Cloud-Adoption Reasons: Survey
Retrieved from:
http://slashdot.org/topic/cloud/scalability-agility-cited-as-top-cloud-adoption
Lopez (2012) 5 Key Benefits of Cloud Mobility. Retrieved from
http://networkingexchangeblog.att.com/enterprise-business/5-key-benefits-of-cloud-mobility/
Miles, A. (2011). Up in the clouds. Training Journal, 30-32. Retrieved from:
http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/862155136?accountid=13631
UNESCO (2010) Cloud computing in education Retrieved from http://iite.unesco.org/pics/publications/en/files/3214674.pdf
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cloud_computing_economics.svg
Video:
CSSWORKS. (2012, Mar 6). CloudComputingCommonSense.mov. Retrieved June 4, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M931adJvXPk.
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