Cloud Computing

The definition of cloud computing is as follows:
"A loosely defined term for any system providing access via the Internet to processing power, storage, software or other computingservices, often via a web browser. Typically these services will berented from an external company that hosts and manages them."  (This is according to www.Dictionary.com, 2011.)  
It took me a lot of reading to truly understand how this works.  Much like my first introduction to Web 2.0, it seems that cloud computing is already all around me and used in my daily life, and I didn't even know it. Basically, I think I would adapt this definition to explain that cloud computing refers to storage of information, applications, and services on the Internet in a centralized (external) computer, somewhere, that the individual using the service may not even know about.  


I think it is inevitable for cloud computing to be used in education, and I'm sure that this is, in fact, already the case.  When students are online using a search engine, they do not question where the pages suggested come from; they are merely the end of a chain that we likely cannot even begin to imagine.  When students are checking their emails, are using various applications (such as those available for Gmail users, like Blogger), or are using a search engine, the data is coming from somewhere, and is likely being stored there, too.  All of this, provided simply by an Internet Service Provider (ISP), basically with any Internet connection.  


It seems to me that cloud computing is an efficient way of working with large numbers of files, folders, and applications.  Personally, I have no interest where the webpages that I'm looking at are stored when not being searched out, so it is certainly easier for me that I do not have to worry about this.  I think it takes a lot of the technicality out of Internet use.  In a binder, for instance, if you are looking for a specific piece of paper, you would need to know how the binder is organized, what the different dividers mean, what paper it is you are looking for, what it looks like, what color it is, perhaps even what's on it... which, depending on the size of the binder, could take a while.  ESPECIALLY if this is not your binder to begin with.  I see this as being the Internet.  There are millions of resources available online, and if we as computer users were to try to sift through them ourselves, it would take ages.  Often, it may be difficult enough to choose a page as a result of a search, even though they are ordered in "relevance" to your search topic.  These are also easy to open, scan through, and close if not exactly what you are looking for.  For students, this makes Internet research much easier that journal or textbook research - the Internet seeks out the resource for the student, and it is then only the students' job to use the correct parts.  


The concern does come up that students may become "lazy" or will lose the value of searching in a textbook for the answer to a question when Google is at their fingertips.  However, as teachers, one of our goals is to ensure our students are prepared for the world they are entering.  The fact is that emphasis is no longer placed on how well a student can search out a specific paragraph.  The Internet is a widespread and incredible resource, and it would be a waste for us as educators to not instruct our students in its uses.  Cloud computing makes it easy for students to access what they need, which adds to their safety and privacy, along with time management and efficiency.  Over all, I think this is a crucial aspect of the Internet, especially when it comes to the classroom.