Thing 45: Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing is something I haven't really checked out before or used. The one site that I have used something similar is on LibraryThing.com. The site offers clouds for the authors that are in your library.

I didn't realize that I was already in "the Cloud" because of the sites that I am currently using. I am not sure that that makes me more or less comfortable.

I love the idea of saving information outside of my own computer and being able to access that information from other places, thus not having to carry around my laptop all the time. I have an account with LibraryThing and it has saved me untold amounts of money. With my list of books saved on their site, I can access it whenever I am shopping for books. I no longer end up buying additional copies of books because the cover has been changed when reprinted. I also am able to check for which books in series I have so that I can stay up to date on series as new books are published.

GoogleDocs is a resource that was introduced to me in 23 Things on a Stick and I have found that it could be useful to teachers in so many ways. I love that the information is stored off-site and therefore the students are able to work with it from various locations. I believe that this tool is helpful to improving productivity. Peer editing and group work are made much easier with this application.

The only disadvantages I see to the cloud would be that some people, yes even now, do not have access to the internet once they leave their homes or school. Although this seems like a disadvantage, these same folks are no more disadvantaged by the cloud than they are advantaged by it, as they are limited in their ability to use it.

I have seen a cloud computing site that you can use to find authors. I have to spend more time looking, as I can't remember the site name, but once there you type in the name of an author and the cloud you get shows you others that write in similar form or similar subjects.