Never mind the technology, where’s the learning?

Cloud computing is seen as the next step for ICT, where the computer, or should I say laptop, becomes a terminal on the internet and all functional applications and your files reside on an internet server somewhere. Apart from a natural progression from locally based storage, the big shift of course is towards collaboration that these tools bring the user. So why not a cloud-based operating system? Indeed, a slimmed down OS providing just a browser interface to launch these applications is no far from the minds of many. Good OS, is one such company. It already provides an interesting Linux based OS for netbooks and will shortly make available gOS Cloud. gOS has two distinct features, it boots in just over 5 seconds, and loads a web browser with program dock (rather like an Apple Mac). Just in case if you want to still run Windows for heavier duties, you can switch to XP. gOS Cloud will first become available bundled with netbooks, but could become a downloadable resource soon given they will not have a monopoly on this market in 2009.

So why might this be interesting to education? Netbooks are perhaps an affordable alternative to laptops and attracting a lot of interest in schools and for personal use. The Home Access scheme aimed at affordable home access for all learners in the UK will also provide a ready market. Machines like the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 with built in 3G/HSDPA are already being bundled with a phone contract for as little as £25 a month. Such developments will accelerate adoption, and one has to ask why the Web 2.0 generation will think they need office type applications on their netbooks?

Here’s a brief look at how it works:

Tags: netbook, 3g, learning