Cloud computing

Your data everywhere

   Cloud computing, according to this website, is the storing and accessing of applications and computer data often through a Web browser rather than running installed software on your personal computer or office server.

  The real meaning of cloud computing came to me when I had to work on the same data from different computers. I had to export the data via a USB flesh and then I had to keep deleting the old files in both computers and paste the updated files. This doesn't happen when everything is "in the cloud", stored somewhere in the web. As long as you have internet access, your files can be accessed from everywhere, any time. 
    Not only files can be stored online but also software. More and more companies and individual users are now saving valuable space in their PC and are using online software instead. 
  However, since the entire data is "in the cloud" (which, in reality, isn't a cloud at all but a set of mega-powerful servers), questions like "Who is protecting the data?", "Is it safe?", "What if there is a leakage of data?" arise.  Google assures the safety and confidentiality of the data it stores. However, very few would risk giving sensitive data in hands of a third party, irrespective of the company's reputation. 

Google Apps

"Let the robots do the mechanical work and let the human mind shine in the rays of creativity."

 This video, though not groundbreaking by itself, made me think about just how much of my work is done by google. 

 Gmail  diligently sends and receives my messages as well as filters them according to my preferences, Google calendar helps me to save a lot of free space in my memory by scrupulously reminding me abut my tasks and duties, Google Drive makes my documents reachable from every computer on this Earth (provided it has an access to the internet) and helps me to give  feedback to my Ss' writings in no time, Google maps knows my city much better than I do, Google hangout is just the perfect tool for group works, Google search engine is universally acknowledged as the real Superman (if there ever existed one)... Do I need to continue? 

  And the best part of it is that all this is free. And we take it for granted. What we forget sometimes though is that there are many people in the world (teachers in our case) who stay blissfully ignorant of all this. Not that a good teacher can't do her job without google apps. You would never hear me say that. The point is that these G friends (you can call them personal house elves if you wish:)) take away the mundane, the mechanical, the dull part of the job and  create a comfortable a space for  more sophisticated, more creative work for teacher.If you don't use Google products, certainly give them a try. They are real treasures right under your nose!

Academic Analytics

"gut instinct" vs data-driven decisions

AND

Learning that leaves trails

 Suppose you are an EFL teacher and the next agenda in your lesson plan is teaching types of clothes. You have a look at the textbook and you see a list like "vest", "shirt" and "bodywarmer". You prepare a great lesson plan, , go into the classroom, introduce the words and BOOM!: the students find the words confusing. They seem to be ok with the other new words but these devilish three for some reason just don't work! After the lesson you talk with your colleges and  hear smth like this: "Yeah, those three are always a problem". Each of them knows this that but they still follow the book's plan over and over again. The procedure repeats itself, the experience gets reduplicated and the problem persists.

  This story could have been completely different if you have just  looked into another source for guidance. Namely, if you read some research on the topic, you would have found the following:

"It's easier for the human cognitive system to differentiate between two new different items than two similar ones. Therefore, words that are similar  in some aspect (meaning/pronunciation/spelling) shouldn't be introduced together as they present a challenge for memory."

  See how sometimes research beats the "gut instinct" or the "experience"?  This is why we should steer towards a more data-driven decision-making and make a very judicious use of subjective personal experience and instincts. 

  Research is based on data. The more date we have, the more reliable and valid our research is. Now the amount of data we can get in the modern world is simply breathtaking. It has reached to the point of the so-called "Big data". Let's consider the field of education for example. Virtual Learning Environments like Moodle  track every single click that the learners make, thus yielding a complete virtual footprint. We get information about which pages in VLE are never visited by the learners , which of them are most popular, which learners are active and which, on the other hand, are "at-risk" and maybe need guidance. This data is analyzed via Learning Analytics ( the measurement, collection , analyzes of data for the purposes of optimizing learning) and is used to inform changes in the learning and the curriculum. Effective use of readily available data, that's what this is. 

  Now, do you feel a little in a daze? Do you feel like the Earth under your legs is shaking? That's right! The world is changing and moving ahead! Are you coming?