Zhu Junming: A preliminary study on the construction of distance education system based on cloud computing application

"Silicon Valley network September 22," the original text contained in the "Silicon Valley" magazine in the 15th 2012, the article said, cloud computing is grid computing, distributed computing, parallel computing, network storage, load balancing and other computer technology and network technologies of the organic combination, Making it possible to extend application and data information instantly on thousands of clients will bring about an epoch-making revolution in the entire information industry's mode of operation. This paper explains the concept of cloud computing, analyzes the present situation and existing problems of the distance education, expounds the positive influence of cloud computing technology and method to the distance education system, and probes into the preliminary conception of constructing steps and methods of the cloud platform of distance education.

With the
of technology, distance education has undergone three stages, such as correspondence education, radio and television, and modern distance education with computer network as its main mode of communication. As cloud computing is rapidly becoming a commercial reality, it is of great significance to study its impact on distance education. By discussing the concept of cloud computing, the present situation and problems of distance education, and the change of cloud computing to distance education, this paper makes a preliminary research and prospect on the construction of distance education system based on cloud computing application.


1 Cloud computing Concept


"cloud computing" refers to a network of hundreds of thousands of or even millions of inexpensive servers that provide users with the necessary computer services. "Cloud computing" connects large-scale computer arrays into a social organization that provides a full range of computer services to users around the world, with a single device that allows them to access all kinds of hardware and software services they need.


　　


2 Cloud Computing features


Cloud Computing Technology features a powerful, easy to use, safe, and can save a lot of manpower and resources. Mainly reflected in the following aspects:


2.1 Cloud Capability Super


Cloud computing has a considerable scale, Goole cloud computing already has more than 1 million servers, Microsoft, Yahoo and other cloud computing has hundreds of thousands of servers. Even though corporate private clouds typically have hundreds of thousands of servers, these clouds give users unprecedented computing, storage, and application capabilities.


2.2 client needs are low.


in cloud computing, the user's personal computer (including computers, smartphones, tablets, etc.) is only as a display and operation terminal, so even remote, backward areas of the 486, 586 computers can also enjoy the various convenience and rich application of cloud computing, eliminating the cost of upgrading client hardware devices.


2.3 Non-upgrade, maintenance-free

The various application services in
cloud technology are actually provided by the cloud server, this provision includes both traditional data storage services and computing capabilities and application offerings, so that users do not need to acquire a variety of software and hardware devices to upgrade the level of information services, nor do they need to maintain these software and hardware resources. This eliminates the need for technical personnel to upgrade and maintain, and saves money on the other.


2.4 Cloud Computing provides a reliable data storage center.


data can be automatically synchronized between the server and each terminal and by the server unified virus killing, and users can use the network and the corresponding account in a variety of intelligent devices. To avoid the data leaks, damage, poisoning and loss of information stored on personal computers.


2.5 cloud services are extremely inexpensive


because cloud computing uses special fault Tolerant measures, it can absorb extremely inexpensive nodes to build clouds, and the automated centralized management of cloud computing can significantly reduce the cost of the original High data center management, and the high coverage of cloud computers means a large audience, which greatly reduces the cost of using a single user of cloud computing, Make cloud services A cheap service that the general public can enjoy.


3 The present situation and insufficiency of distance education


the development of distance education in our country, we find that despite decades of development, distance education has formed a large scale and coverage, but in many respects there are deficiencies. The concrete manifestation is:


3.1 Lack of capital


distance education, whether it is hardware environment construction, software resources development, professional training and so on, all need a large amount of capital investment, although the government every year, the development of remote areas and backward areas is far from satisfactory.


3.2 Insufficient network resources


on the one hand, the Internet resources are vast, on the other hand can be used for distance education teaching and learning resources are few. While the schools, education and training institutions have resources, but not open to each other, forming an information island, can not achieve resource sharing.


3.3 Repetitive construction of multiple


all over the world to meet the development of distance education in the region, competing for the construction of funds, however, from the perspective of the overall situation, many places in the construction of a lack of overall planning, repeated construction of many problems, further exacerbated the lack of construction problems.


3.4 Insufficient technical support

The technical environment construction of
distance education is mainly the hardware facilities of the information channel and the corresponding software system, including the World and Earth network in one distance education platform, the satellite teaching collection point and the teaching CD player, the network teaching support software platform and so on, is not perfect at present, cannot satisfy the demand.


3.5 Professionals Not enough


According to statistics, the average school gateway staff and information technology teachers have only 2~3 name, the number is not enough to carry out software resources development, even can not fully meet the needs of hardware maintenance.


4 Application Advantages of cloud computing in distance education


"The national medium and long term education reform and Development plan outline (2010-2020)" Clearly pointed out: "The information technology has the revolutionary influence to the education development, must give the high attention". It is the only way for modern distance education to apply the cloud service of education technology effectively in the field of education and teaching, which will bring far-reaching influence to the development of education. The application of cloud computing brings the advantages of educational development embodied in:


4.1 integrates educational resources through cloud computing to form a unified resource center


Cloud Platform can integrate the original dispersed and isolated educational resources, reduce the duplication of hardware and software in the process of resource construction, and provide one-stop solution.


4.2 Cloud Computing applications can ensure information security, reduce maintenance workload and cost


in the daily work, data loss, damage, poisoning and leaks are unavoidable, the data synchronization between different devices also brings a lot of trouble to our work. And in the cloud computing environment, data security and synchronization are provided by professional service providers, we no longer need to consider these issues, greatly reducing the data maintenance workload and costs.


4.3 cloud Computing can centralize limited funding and provide more professional platform services


through resource integration, to avoid the duplication of hardware and software, we can put more money into the development of educational resources, and can enable more teachers and students to enjoy these development results at a low cost, and resource developers can easily recoup their investment and make profits through many audiences.


5 on the construction of cloud platform for distance education


With the deepening of education reform and the wide application and rapid development of information technology, cloud computing, as a new network technology and information construction mode, has been recognized by people and has begun to play its role in the field of distance education technology. I, as a computer professional educators through extensive research, in the distance education cloud platform construction methods and steps also made a preliminary exploration:


5.1 Set up cloud education hardware platform


The main task of this step is to reduce the workload and initial capital investment of the education Department by handing over the hardware platform construction of cloud education to these service providers through discussions with the hardware device providers and network operators. can also be more high-quality and professional service support.


5.2 Integrate existing distance education resources into cloud platforms


existing various distance education platforms have been developed for several decades, the establishment of a huge pool of resources, we should make full use of these existing educational resources, through screening, integration, the effective resources to move into the cloud platform, so that the duplication of resources can avoid the construction, but also shorten the cloud education platform construction cycle.


5.3 Guide All levels of educational authorities to join the cloud platform


provides cloud platform entry account to all levels of education authorities, on the one hand, they are provided with a variety of educational resources such as computing, software, data and so on. On the other hand, the education and teaching materials uploaded by the municipalities, schools and training institutions are also accepted, and the platform is assessed according to the category, quality and click-through rate of the uploaded data.


5.4 Organization software Development Enterprise and education teaching expert develop cloud education application


It is a desirable scheme to teach individual teachers as educational resources, but the drawbacks are obvious: quality, efficiency and system are difficult to guarantee. The education authorities can work with educational software development companies with technical strength, the development of teaching system and educational software under the guidance of the technical specification of cloud Platform and education and teaching experts can not only enrich the educational resources of the cloud platform in a short time, but also improve the teaching level of distance education, and guarantee the quality and systematicness of the works.


5.5 provides cloud Education Application API Interface


In order to make the cloud education resources more colorful, we can also refer to the Apple Store and the Android Market operation Strategy, the development of education application engine, providing API interface to make it an open platform, so that developers all over the world can develop cloud-based applications for users to choose to try. These applications can be freely set by developers or free of charge, providing various educational-related applications. At this time the cloud education platform is like an application store, all kinds of educational resources, fully meet the needs of education and teaching.


Wind "cloud" surging today, the continuous maturation and application of cloud computing technology has brought new opportunities for distance education, but also brought new challenges. Educators, especially the decision-makers at all levels of education, must first understand the characteristics and advantages of cloud computing, and secondly, to think deeply about the qualities of education, teaching and management, to solve the needs and plans of education development in the region, to assess the situation, to make scientific plans, to co-ordinate arrangements, to deploy carefully, The application of cloud computing in the region really produces educational benefits, management benefits and social benefits. We believe that cloud computing will make a better tomorrow for distance education.


Author:


Zhu Junming (1976-), female, a secondary school teacher in Danyang, Jiangsu province.