An interesting conversation has been on-going in the last week among the IT coordinators in Vermont schools. For a generation, we have been installing increasingly sophisticated networks in our schools. Users are authenticated by server software that costs hundreds of dollars to obtain and a dedicated network administrator to maintain, we store and back-up gigabytes (now terabytes) of data, we manage software through the centralized servers, and otherwise manage access through these systems.
As cloud computing becomes more common and less expensive, many are finding that educational functions can be accomplished without the demands of incredibly expensive local infrastructure.
Several years ago, Nicholas Carr wrote
The Big Switch in which he argued that computing would undergo a switch similar to that observed in electricity production. Originally, electricity was generated at local sites--if you owned a factory, you employed a technician to operate and manage your generator. Over time, electricity production was centralized in power plants and homes, businesses, and schools "plugged in" to the grid, pulling only that electricity that was necessary.
Conversations among my colleagues suggest this model of plugging in to centralized computing is coming closer to reality for many schools. Once it is accepted in schools, and cloud computing becomes a common experience, we an expect it to become the accepted way of computing for everyone.
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