Cloud Computing and Education

Rural schools: virtual communities

for education in the cloud
http://rural.cesga.es
Galicia Supercomputing Center, E-learning Dept.
Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain
Maria R. Malmierca, Bruno Rubio, Carlos Fernández,
Ignacio López, Yolanda Neira
Pilot Center: CRA Boqueixón-Vedra (7 schools, k-8)

PROJECT ABSTRACT: We are designing, implementing and evaluating an exciting

experience in a rural school network: using cloud computing as a means of
sharing, learning and getting the most out of tight IT resources in small disperse
rural school networks.
Key elements of the project
-  ICT training, rural community development, Open Source
cloud based educational solution
-  EyeOS - Virtual Desktop Open Source Software
- Cloud computing infrastructure (OpenNebula)
- Educational community creation, communication, sharing
tools and resources: teachers, students, parents
- Support from State Educational Administration and local
town councils
-  Linked to University of Santiago de Compostela Educational
Faculty teacher student program
-  Possible future integration to School 2.0 initiative in our state
-  Contribution to global educational community through Open
Source solutions

What this project answers…

We use cloud computing to answer real
needs at disperse rural school networks:
- Easy ICT resources management
-  Communication (within each group of
users and among them)
-  Sharing educational materials and
teaching approaches
-  Group activities (across different schools,
real time, engaging…)
-  Creation of educational resources
-  Optimization for poor Internet
connections

TAGS: Cloud Operative System approach, Rural Schools, Communication, cloud computing educational tools,
multiconferencing, resource sharing, kindergarden, primary schools, transversal approach.