Jennifer De Goursat's List: e-Learning readings & Research

• Rosalyn Metz
• National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST).

• NIST defines cloud computing as:

  ...a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model promotes availability and is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models.⁵
• When an institution develops or deploys a new application, they first must jump through a number of hoops. For example, if an institution decides they would like to install the learning management system Moodle, they might have to order a server, wait for the vendor to ship it, install the server in the data center, provision an IP address for the server, set up the DNS for the new IP address, install the operating system, etc.
• With current systems and data centers, IT departments often get stuck in a silo of their own creation. Institutions rarely share computing resources, and if they do, it is cumbersome to create and manage workflows that utilize these shared resources.
• With the cloud, multi-tenancy rules. Users of the cloud can provision computing resources based on their needs, and then destroy those resources, giving them back to the shared pool once their needs are met. Additionally, users can share resources amongst themselves. For example, if an institution has developed a new piece of software and would like to share it with other institutions, they can create a template for that system in the cloud and allow other institutions to use that template as they see fit.
• Scaling or upgrading a system currently in production can be cumbersome and resource intensive for an IT department.
• The cloud provides ways of rapidly scaling to meet user demand.
• Traditionally, software like Microsoft Word or PowerPoint has been offered as client-based software. Users have to install software to their computers and upgrade systems to handle the programs. If you're away from your computer, you may not have access to the software, which can cause frustration.
• liminating the need for access to a particular computer to edit documents.
• The cloud, however, allows both cloud providers and IT departments to monitor usage. Cloud providers charge IT departments based on their use of computing resources. On the other hand, IT departments can use these metering (or measured) services to scale resources up and down based on information gathered from these particular tools.

• Service Model: Cloud Software as a Service

  SaaS is common in the IT community. Usually software companies that provide such SaaS host their software themselves, and then upgrade and maintain it for their customers

• ervice Model: Cloud Platform as a Service
• Service Model: Cloud Infrastructure as a Servic
• But when infrastructure is purchased through the cloud, none of these components are necessary; instead, users of cloud-based infrastructure only need to concern themselves with developing platforms and software.
• Four Deployment Models for the Cloud
• Users of a public cloud sign up with the cloud provider and make payments based on the provider's pricing schema.
• Community Cloud
• made available to a certain group or association. For example, a consortium of schools might decide to create a community cloud.
• Private Cloud
• Hybrid Clou
• Cloud computing is complex (see Further Resources). While many people have concerns about its current uses, there is no doubt that it is changing the way we provide systems and services. The more informed IT departments are about the cloud, the better the position they will be in when making decisions about deploying, developing, and maintaining systems in the cloud.

20 more annotations...

• he longstanding core value of open environments makes it nearly impossible to imagine policing and locking down our network services.
• his conversation can serve as a catalyst for strategic dialogue on the future of IT and the role of IT professional staff in higher education.