I Love Cloud Based Apps!
It was an easy for me to move to cloud-based software services (apps) and put an end to mailing myself documents or carrying disks (I’m old! LOL) or thumb drives of large presentations. To have the convenience of having EVERYthing accessible from any Internet connected device was a dream come true!
The free services continue to grow in Higher Education and where colleges previously spent millions, Google and Microsoft are fulfilling the need. The two also have versions they promote as safer alternatives for younger students in K-12.
EdTechMagazine wrote about this growth recently on college campuses and shared a wonderful infographic:
Available at no cost to students and faculty, Google Apps includes cloud email, storage, hosting, word processing and collaboration tools. Previously, colleges were forced to invest millions in these services and struggled to modernize outdated technology, not to mention maintain email servers and data centers. Microsoft has followed suit with their Office 365 solution, and the cloud revolution is in full swing on campuses.