Web 2.0

What IS Cloud Computing?
I'd never heard this term before our class, but now realize I already have been using it!

Cloud Computing, or Web 2.0 refers to the Internet stratosphere and all that resides in it.  This can include file sharing (pictures, videos, audio, games, documents, spreadsheets, drawings) social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) or anything that you upload into or can download from the mass amount of data floating above our heads in cyberspace.

A few ways I already had been computing in the "Cloud":

• Flickr
• Shutterfly
• Facebook
• YouTube

Now I can add to that list Google Docs, Blogger, 4shared and Ustream.

I tried out 4shared, a site that allows you to upload pictures, video and audio up to 200 MB at a time (for the free version) and share them with friends, or embed into blogs or other websites.

Here's a picture I uploaded of my little Gwenny onto 4share.  I like how fast it is, and that you're allowed 10 GB of storage!  Great for when I finally start recording videos!

This would be wonderful for a teacher to use as a platform to upload student projects, speeches, and pictures of artwork done in class.  The best part - since it's in the Cloud it can be accessed anywhere, anytime, from any computer - regardless of platform. 

I also looked into Ustream.  It's a pretty neat site, where you can join (for FREE!) and record live video or audio for the world to see.  There's a lot of radio stations from around the world, which would be neat to play for a class when studying different cultures, and you can subscribe to them and recieve updates when new material is posted.  There's a chat feature, plus easy linking buttons for Facebook and Twitter. 

The only thing I didn't really like is how slowly my computer reacted to the site.  There's a lot of video ads, plus the video stream itself, so if your internet speed isn't great it can get frustrating.  Neat site though!