The ‘cloud’ has become the technological buzzword of the moment, but behind the hype it offers a computing model that has the potential to provide IT services that can be accessed through the internet, based on predictable costs, freeing educational establishments from the need to plan for, maintain, support and replace significant portions of the infrastructure. Most of the issues that remain to be resolved (such as security, reliability, control and continuity) are not unique to cloud- based services – only the location and relative importance have altered. Cloud computing does pose different levels of risk (especially for mission critical services) so, if considering adoption, the issues around passing control of data to third parties, continuity of service and reliance on connectivity will need to be carefully considered on a case by case basis. Some of the technologies are immature and capacity is still being built, so most institutions are likely to be selective in their choice of available services, depending on strategic priorities, inherent risks and readiness to adopt innovative models. –
Becta’s TechNews. The November 2008 edition(Broken link)
Bectas Technews denne måneden ser på cloud computing, 3D-skjermer og Web2.0 i læring på ungdomstrinnet. Vel verdt å bruke litt tid på.