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To read all of my articles on Cloud Computing please visit Cloud Computing | Future2: Mission Knowledge Economy

Cloud Computing : Top 5 checks 1) Does your cloud provider offer security appropriate to the service? For example, ISO/IEC 27001 Information Security and CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) checks where access to data about children is concerned. Where does the service operate from and is it covered by Data Protection Act (DPA)? This is crucial where personal data is sent outside of the European Economic Area (EEA)! Safe Harbor is an alternative safeguard Export.gov - Safe Harbor. Remember the 8 key DPA principles are: - Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully and, in particular, shall not be processed unless – (a) at least one of the conditions in Schedule 2 is met, and (b) in the case of sensitive personal data, at least one of the conditions in Schedule 3 is also met. - Personal data shall be obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purposes, and shall not be further processed in any manner incompatible with that purpose or those purposes. - Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose or purposes for which they are processed. - Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. - Personal data processed for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes. - Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects under this Act. - Appropriate technical and organisational measures shall be taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data. Personal data shall not be transferred to a country or territory outside the European Economic Area unless that country or territory ensures an adequate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of data subjects in relation to the processing of personal data. 2) What are the stated availability targets for the service and against what timeframes are these measured? How quickly will the service be recovered in the event of a major incident, or even disaster? What penalties, or credits, are in place if Service Level Agreement (SLA) targets are not met? 3) Do you have enough bandwidth capacity? Remember, you, your colleagues and your customers may be accessing multiple services from differing bandwidths with varying contention ratios. Whilst most web traffic is efficient over HTTP and HTTPS (ports 80 and 443), other methods for accessing services such as Citrix, or Terminal Services, can be less efficient – even when encapsulated within HTTP/S. 4) What options are available for offline productivity? Gears is Google’s way of offering access to some online files offline by adding additional features to your web browser. However, Google’s strategy is shifting from Gears to online storage and development ceased in February 2010. Features available in HTML5 offer equivalent alternatives to Gears and can clearly be taken advantage of by all web service providers. Unfortunately, HTML5 as a ratified World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standard is some way off! However, parts of HTML5 are already implemented in browsers including Web Storage and DOM Storage (Document Object Model) – web application software methods and protocols used for storing data in a web browser. 5) And finally portability! How easy will it be to move, or share, your data? Look for open standards for data migration and interoperability. In the education marketplace the Systems Interoperability Framework (SIF) is your best bet! You may also consider options to improve your customer experience through standards for Single Sign-on such as OpenID or Shibboleth (SAML 2.0). This will allow you to provide many cloud services from many different providers, whilst maintaining a single set of access credentials with one-time login and increased security.

Hi all - some interesting thoughts... My two-penneth for what it's worth RE DPA and hosted MIS - or indeed any service that holds or processes personal data - where it physically 'sits' is irrelevant if within the European Economic Union. As a data owner, processor, or whatever, the individual can be held legally responsible for contravening the Act. You might be interested in http://www.f2mke.co.uk/education/category/education/cloud/ where hosting in the cloud is discussed along with key checks... RE Keeping it local as opposed to in the cloud... Powercuts Vs the Internet going down?? Surely it's a no-brainer? For me, the most important thing is that all the systems can easily talk to one another. The MIS is pretty central to all the dataflows around a school and beyond.

EduGeek is a place I go for [iNSERT CLICHÉ at the coal face] raw advice, debate, thinking and representation from the schools ICT support teams and people. So, when I see a significant (and most of us know just how expensive) stand at BETT 2011 teamed up with... Read more...

Miles Berry has some excellent points. Like it or loathe it, we're moving into the cloud. Public, Private, Open Source, or an Open Mix. It's the only viable and sustainable model that I can so far see in these times of 'ConDem' austerity. But before you "put your Heads in the cloud", I've compiled a Top of the Pops (err Clouds) top 5 checks. The following list isn't as dull as it looks and is worth a read before you formulate strategies or arguments. Full reasoning is at http://www.f2mke.co.uk/education/2011/02/04/every-cloud-has-a-silicon-lining-part-3/ 1) Security 2) Availability 3) Capacity 4) Offline 5) Portability Full reasoning is at http://www.f2mke.co.uk/education/2011/02/04/every-cloud-has-a-silicon-lining-part-3/ If you have a general interest in all things cloud then you might find this useful?

Some interesting comments! I could write on this subject for - well my age plus VAT ;-) Whilst I am not an educationalist, I fear that many of the views expressed here don't look beyond the technical and / or ease of management PoV. In summary: - Identifying gender and location is a real safeguarding risk. Grooming is potentially made so much easier and especially behind the 'closed' door of an Inbox. - Treat your password like you would your toothbrush - okay it's a cliché by now... But it is probably ridiculous to suggest that learning and safely maintaining a set of login credentials is not important for today's children (digital natives don't forget). It's an excuse to suggest that even the early key stagers can't remember. I have too many examples of out of school scenarios where they are very capable! - Still concerned about the above? Reduce the amount of personal data / information about an individual that a web or cloud based service needs to complete authentication. Opt for an open standard like Shibboleth to increase security and reduce memory loss. Err... Single Sign-on Overall..? There is a strong balance still to be sought between the implementation of safeguarding tools and processes and the old fashioned e-Safety equivalent of the Green Cross Code, or Stranger Danger campaigns from my day!

All stakeholders were involved in the comprehensive evaluation process including representatives (teachers and students) from schools.

Hi - the Norfolk (RBC) ID is designed to be used as an alternative to your LDAP / AD login should you wish. Some high schools have already successfully implemented this. Google supports SAML and thus Shibboleth going forward. Account provisioning is via SIF - we have a Google SIF AGent

Hi Kim - Norfolk went through a comprehensive evaluation of both Live@Edu and Google Apps for Education, against a detailed statement of requirements and several supplier workshops. Google came the closest to meeting all requirements. I'm sure that you can get a more detailed insight by contacting ICT Solutions / Advisory Service.

Hi Russ - thanks for reply. Yes this is my site... I'm trying to bring together lots of stuff that I am and have been working on in the day job. As and when I get the time I will be exploring how schools ICT could look with no constraints, be they financial, policy, etc. My broad view is that there is little need for much more than physical cable, wireless access points, switches and a router in a school LAN. In short, it is technically possible to deliver everything from the 'cloud' including infrastructure, platform and software. And in these times economically bound times, great savings are possible. Put this into a managed service wrap with key open standards at the centre - SIF, Shibboleth, etc., - and the clouds in the sky are the limit. I'm keen to start running some of these ideas in more detail past the Edugeek community. At the same time I'm keen for the website - Future2: Mission Knowledge Economy - to become a resource for ideas and a place where I can gather real feedback through surveys and comments, etc. Look forward to any feedback Mike

Have a look re Google Apps and an integrated learning platform... http://www.edugeek.net/forums/virtual-learning-platforms/62362-google-apps-integrated-learning-platform-released-google-marketplace.html#post561122 PS Yes - Rolling out Google Apps for Education (same as professional version with no ads, etc...) to over 450 schools / 130,000 users. Going very well so far!

Well I guess that it was only a matter of time… But fresh into the Google Marketplace is Grockit… In brief Grockit is a social platform for learning that provides students with collaborative real-time study rooms. There is content but this is aligned to US K-12 curriculum and college entrance exams. Students with Google Apps can sign on to Grockit through their Google account to instantly join live online study groups with Grockit’s global community of students and expert instructors. Students’ Google Calendars will be synced with their Grockit study session schedule. Additionally, important documents will be automatically downloaded into their Google Docs. Check a video explaining Grockit and read more at Google Apps integrated learning platform! | Future2: Mission Knowledge Economy

Well I guess that it was only a matter of time… But fresh into the Google Marketplace is Grockit… In brief Grockit is a social platform for learning that provides students with collaborative real-time study rooms. There is content but this is aligned to US K-12 curriculum and college entrance exams. Students with Google Apps can sign on to Grockit through their Google account to instantly join live online study groups with Grockit’s global community of students and expert instructors. Students’ Google Calendars will be synced with their Grockit study session schedule. Additionally, important documents will be automatically downloaded into their Google Docs. Check a video explaining Grockit and read more at http://www.f2mke.co.uk/education/2010/09/14/google-apps-integrated-learning-platform/

Check out the quick polls on the right too!

A website that focusses upon the developments in ICT that may be of significance to education. Future2: Mission Knowledge Economy Some interesting web apps that could be used in the classroom and iPhone apps too. Hope you like