International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET)
Volume 10, Issue 04, April 2019, pp. 1992–2005, Article ID: IJCIET_10_04_208
Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/ijmet/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=10&IType=4
ISSN Print: 0976-6308 and ISSN Online: 0976-6316
© IAEME Publication
Scopus Indexed
CLOUD COMPUTING IN EDUCATION SECTOR:
AN EXTENSIVE REVIEW
F. J. Olaloye, A. D. Adeyemo, E. Edikan, C. O. Lawal
Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Covenant University,
Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria.
J. O. Ejemeyovwi
Department of Economics, Covenant University,
Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria.
ABSTRACT
Education is no doubt a very crucial factor in the economic growth and
development of a nation, especially in growing economies. It has also become
integrated with Information Technology for various purposes. The need for IT
infrastructure as well as their constant maintenance for diverse educational uses is
highly burdensome on institutions especially in times of economic crisis. Cloud
computing therefore becomes a preferred option for optimum quality of service
despite the minimum resources available in the institutions. Cloud computing is a fast
evolving concept that has led to new changes and advancement in Information
Technology and especially education. The virtualization of resources as well as its
elasticity and scalability justify the continuous adoption of this technology in many
educational institutions. This paper deals with cloud computing technology, its
application in education and more importantly, a detailed review on previous related
work.
Key words: Cloud computing, education, infrastructure and virtualization
Cite this Article: F.J. Olaloye, A.D. Adeyemo, E. Edikan, C.O. Lawal and J.O.
Ejemeyovwi, Cloud Computing in Education Sector: An Extensive Review,
International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology 10(4), 2019, pp. 1992–
2005.
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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Definition
Many definitions are ascribed to the concept of cloud computing. The most acceptable and
standard definition is given by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of
the US Department of Commerce. They define this concept as “a model for enabling
ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable
computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be
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rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider
interaction” [1-5]. Cloud Computing is the manipulation, configuration and accessing of
applications (e-mail, web conferencing, customer relationship management, etc.) online. It
offers online data storage, infrastructure and application. It can also be defined as delivering
computing power (processing, Random Access Memory, Network Speeds, Storage) and
services over a network (usually on the internet). This eliminates the need for the computing
resources to be localized in the customers’ premises.
1.2. Brief Historical Background
Cloud computing, as a concept, came to reality in 1950 with the advent of mainframe
computers. The major setback of these systems was restricted access. This preceded the
evolution from systems with static access to those with unrestricted access for mobility i.e.
from the start of automation phase, through the rise in demand for personal Information
Technology (IT) services, decentralized computing, the advent of virtual private network, IT
infrastructure management and then the emergence of As-a-Service and collaborative
computing. Since the mid-1990s, various forms of internet-based services have been exploited
by many users through the use of various search engines (Yahoo, Google), e-mail services
(Yahoo-Mail, Gmail), advertising media (Facebook, YouTube), and other types of social
media (Twitter, LinkedIn) for diverse purposes including business, research, marketing
among others.
1.3. Why Cloud Computing?
Storage of data is a major concern today in most organizations following the augmentation of
mobile users. There is no business that does not operate effectively based on information.
Such data needs to be properly maintained and stored for smooth running of the business.
This involves huge funding for the purchase of high cost IT infrastructure and storage
systems. This places heavy financial burden on most organizations. Cloud computing
becomes a viable solution in such case, especially because of its high storage efficiency and
computational power. Organizations also incur reduced cost of maintenance because the cloud
handles most of the computer systems operations.
The users of cloud services are at the front end while the infrastructure and backbone
networks in the cloud constitute the back end. Services in the cloud are based on Hypertext
Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Extended Markup Language (XML), Personal Home Page (PHP)
and/or other technologies, and they are also user-interactive. Every user is guaranteed
ubiquitous access to the cloud via any device. With cloud computing, small businesses with
limited resources can have access to technologies beyond their financial capability. In
addition, these businesses, through cloud computing, can turn their cost of maintenance into
gain.
2. RELEVANT TECHNOLOGY IN CLOUD COMPUTING FOR
EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT
Servers are the backbone of cloud computing. Certain technologies are operating behind the
cloud computing platforms to provide its flexibility, reliability and usability. The main
enabling technology for cloud computing especially in the education sector is virtualization.
For example, virtualization, on-demand provisioning and scalability combined with the payper-use operation of cloud computing are crucial factors for optimizing hardware-cost savings
in educational institutions [4]. The institution does not have to bear the burden of purchase
and maintenance of expensive hardware or software. The resources are controlled by the
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cloud computing provider while the university gains access to them via reliable internet
connectivity. The institution is also charged per online use.
2.1. Virtualization
This is a technology in which the physical resources of a single server are logically shared
into multiple virtual environments, into each of which operating systems are installed. This
process by which a virtual machine is created in hardware over an existing master operating
system is called hardware virtualization. A logical separation exists between the virtual
environment and the main hardware. The hardware on which the virtual machine (also known
as guest machine) is created is the host machine.
2.2. Hypervisor
This is the underlying software that interfaces the hardware and operating systems. The main
function of this software is allocating system resources, i.e. to make all the system resources
available for use by the operating systems. It is a firmware that manages the activities of the
Virtual Machine. The hypervisor is of two types:
1) Type 1 hypervisor: The type one (1) hypervisor is installed and runs on bare system.
Hence, it does not have any host operating system. Examples of Type 1 hypervisor are
LynxSecure, Oracle VM, RTS Hypervisor and VirtualLogic VLX.
2) Type 2 hypervisor: As a software interface it imitates the devices with which a system
normally interacts. Microsoft Hyper V, Windows Virtual PC VM-Ware workstation 6.0 and
VM-Ware Fusion are examples of Type 2 hypervisor.
2.3. Types of Hardware Virtualization
1) Full Virtualization: Here, the underlying hardware is completely simulated. It does not
need any alteration for the guest software to run.
2) Emulation Virtualization: In this case, the hardware is simulated by the virtual machine and
hence they both function independently. Here, the guest operating system does not need
modification.
3) Para-Virtualization: In Para-virtualization, the hardware is not simulated. The guest
software run their isolated domains.
2.4. Categories of Virtualization
Virtualization is mainly used for three main purposes namely Network Virtualization, Server
Virtualization and Storage Virtualization.
1) Network Virtualization: This involves dividing the available network bandwidth into
independent channels, each of which is allocated real-time to a particular server (or device).
2) Storage Virtualization: This combines many storage devices on a network into one storage
device which is centrally managed from a console. This category is usually applicable in
Storage Area Network.
3) Server Virtualization: This virtualization involves concealing server resources e.g.
processors, Operating Systems etc from users of the server. It is aimed at making the
resources accessible as well as lessening the computational load on users.
2.5. Cloud Computing Architecture
Basically, a generic three-layer architecture is deployed in regulating the activities of many
cloud storage providers. The figure below outlines the generic architecture as well as some of
its associated features.
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Figure 1: Generic architecture of cloud storage
1) The front end: It controls the client-server communication. It also ensures scalability of the
cloud via different means.
2) The storage logic layer: It controls cloud storage and administrative processes like
generating high degree of reliability, availability and security.
3) The back-end: It controls the actual implementation of data storage using protocols such a
Google File System. It seeks to increase efficiency of storage at minimal cost.
2.6. Cloud Computing Infrastructure
Cloud infrastructure consists of servers, storage, network, management software, and
deployment software and platform virtualization.
Figure 2: Components of Cloud Infrastructure
1) Hypervisor: Hypervisor is a firmware or low-level program that acts as a Virtual Machine
Manager. It allows several customers to share a physical instance of cloud resources.
2) Management Software: It helps in maintaining and configuring the infrastructure.
3) Deployment Software: It helps in deploying and integrating the cloud application.
4) Network: It allows internet connection of services in the cloud. It is also possible to deliver
network as a utility over the Internet, i.e., the consumer can customize the network route and
protocol.
5) Server: It helps in the computation of resource sharing and delivers other services like
allocation and monitoring of resources, security, etc.
6) Storage: The cloud deploys distributed file system for storage purpose. If one of the storage
resources fails, then it can be extracted from another one which makes cloud computing more
reliable.
3. TECHNICAL REVIEW ON PREVIOUS RELATED WORK
This section reveals the outcomes of review of previous work on cloud computing with
regards to the education sector in various contexts.
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According to [1], cost implication has reduced the rate of adaptation of new technology in
higher institutions. Transformation of the educational system from conventional to
Information Technology (IT) form requires huge funding that could be saved by
implementation of cloud computing. A cloud-based architecture for higher education was
suggested, which comprises three main service models (Infrastructure, Platform and Software
as a Service) and four deployment models (Hybrid, Community, Public and Private clouds).
This architecture is aimed at exposing and mitigating cloud-related issues such as security
risks, non-performance issues, etc.
Also, a well-laid five-phase strategy was also proposed for realizing cloud-based
environment in higher education. This included the Preparation phase, Analysis phase,
Mitigation to cloud platform, conclusion of cloud mitigation, and Maintenance and Vendor
Management [1].
According to [2], Cloud computing is already being selected in various institutions in
Europe, America and Africa because of its potential for efficiency improvement as well as
affordable costs. In cloud computing environment, processing takes place at the server level,
not at the client level (locally). The client machine serves as a dumb terminal, benefitting
from the software and processing power of the cloud. The incredible computing and
processing power of cloud computing has also enhanced research activities to a great extent in
some universities. For example, the processing capabilities of Google cloud-based servers
have contributed immensely to various expensive researches at affordable costs in institutions
like the Biotechnology and Bioengineering center of the Medical College of Wisconsin,
Milwaukee.
It was argued in [3] that the disparity between the universities in developing countries and
those in the developed countries in terms of technological and Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) advancements is due to significant impeding factors such
as infrastructure, inadequate knowledge, cost, security concerns and government policies.
Among these, cost impediment has been a major setback to the purchase, implementation and
maintenance of Information Technology (IT) infrastructure, especially in institutions in
developing nations. This can be mitigated via the selection and usage of cloud computing
technologies in such universities. This will improve their competitiveness in the global
education sector. At the same time, during economic downturn, universities in the western
world have been compelled to cut down costs by adopting cloud computing [3].
In this paper, a relevant conceptual model was proposed, showing the independent
variables affecting cloud computing technological spread and adoption, the dependent
variables related to real cloud computing usage, and the relationship between the variables.
The dependent variables were directly assessed only for universities implementing cloud
computing.
According to [4], the adoption of cloud computing in education offers a wide range of
affordances and benefits with regards to teacher-student interactional activities. However,
certain risks have been identified with cloud computing implementation. The major risks are
associated with security and privacy. Cloud computing provides diverse applications that
facilitate educational purposes such as researches, laboratory works, online lectures and so on.
Many of these affordances of the implementation of cloud computing in universities are
outlined below:
1. Flexibility of learning environments
2. Supports mobile learning
3. Expansion of learning systems and applications
4. Computing-based support for teaching, learning and evaluation
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5. Cost savings in hardware and software
From the studies of paper [5], there are various operating models for analyzing the
adoption behaviors of users of new technologies. Some of them are:
1) Technology Organization Environment (TOE) Model: This analyzes firms’ adoption to IT,
taking into account the organizational characteristics and environment of deployment.
2) Human Organization Technology Fit (HOT-Fit) Model: Analyzes adoption to IT for health
information system.
3) Technology Acceptance Model (TAM): A popularly applied model used to analyze user
acceptance and usage of a technology. According to the model, user acceptance is a critical
factor for successful selection and implementation of novel technologies such as cloud-based
applications currently in use in higher education [5].
It was opined in [6] that the educational sector is in a stagnant state in most developing
countries. One of the major bottlenecks to the growth of universal education is insufficient
funding from the government. There is a dire need of college and university educated teaching
personnel, adequate classrooms and other resources but insufficient funds to meet these needs.
The education industry of Sudan was taken as a case-study. It was proposed that integration of
cloud computing technology into the Sudanese educational sector will provide significant
solutions such as elastic cloud storage, online course delivery, greater class participation,
virtualization of computing environment among others [6]. Cloud computing constitutes a
very viable solution to these educational challenges, especially for institutions with
insufficient funding.
Cloud computing infrastructure ensures high speed and efficiency in educational activities
[7]. Some suitable trends available in the e-learning system include:
1) Content Management: Cloud technology helps in the systematic arrangement of learning
resources to provide enhanced access to students and teachers.
2) Educational Resources Management: Educational materials properly managed are
ubiquitously accessible through integration of cloud computing with distributed computing.
3) Correspondence Management: Cloud computing ensures E-mail services, workshops and
conferences on remote servers.
4) Learning Activity Management: This enables the improvement of students’ study pattern
and research activities.
In the paper [8], an infrastructure model was proposed for the design of a university
network. This framework is meant to meet the administrative, educational and research needs
of institutions. Resources in the cloud (memory, bandwidth, storage, processors) are provided
on-demand in a pay-as-you-use model. The most critical feature of cloud applications is the
availability of the resources and scalability of cloud infrastructure.
Figure 3: Model of Infrastructure [9]
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The paper [9] examined higher educational and research institutes in underdeveloped
countries. They are defined with the following features:
1. Inaccessible to adequate teaching and research resources,
2. Low budget for these resources and
3. High teaching workloads
Cloud computing offers so many benefits to these institutions including improved access
to computing resources with minimal cost and improving collaboration efforts. Most times
however, minimizing costs can be challenging.
Furthermore, cloud computing plays a major role in enhancing the traditional e-learning
system in educational institutions. This is achieved via relevant hardware and software
resources. Cloud computing technologies are deployed in the virtualization of educational
materials for e-learning [10].
Figure 4: Cloud Architecture with respect to E-learning [10]
In the paper [11] the students, faculty, administrative personnel among others constitute
the main users of a higher institution cloud network. Separate login details are assigned to
each user for their individual activity. Through reliable network connectivity, teachers can
upload relevant materials like tutorials, tests, etc. on the cloud which will be accessible to the
students using electronic devices. In this way, cloud computing enables flexibility in the
teaching and learning methods of users.
In [12] it was stated that by hosting most of the educational services in the cloud,
institutions will not need to accommodate their data centers. This saves a great deal of
processing power at the client side and also tends to maximize the green potentials of cloud
computing, i.e. minimize energy consumption and carbon footprint.
It was also stated in [13] that development of educational cloud architecture is uniquely
based on the purpose and infrastructure of the institution and is also challenging. This process
is usually subject to the national rules and regulations for educational cloud development. The
institution then signs a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the cloud provider to preserve
the privacy, integrity and consistency of the university resources.
According to [14], cloud computing ensures that educational institutions give more focus
on learning and research activities, rather than implementation of complicated and expensive
IT infrastructure. Cloud computing is also used hosting Learning Management Systems
within the cloud. Unlike the false assumption that some users including teachers may be
replaced by e-learning systems, implementation of cloud computing does not eradicate the
role of teachers in the education sector.
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The paper [15] with regards to education stated that the major setbacks encountered by the
government include, the insufficient supply and maintenance of relevant IT resources. This
requires huge investment and skilled personnel for effective and efficient operation of these
resources. Cloud computing provides solutions to the aforementioned problems by enabling
users manage, share and access data via the internet.
The paper [16] proposed a conceptual framework integrating e-learning with digital
content modules. This framework enables computing resources to be used in setting up a
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. This infrastructure involves hosting a desktop Operating
System (OS) within a virtual machine running on a centralized server.
Also, the adoption of cloud computing will greatly enhance the green solutions of
Information Technology (IT). As computing resources are virtualized, only a fraction of
electricity is consumed compared to that consumed by conventional systems.
According to [17], a significant number of American schools are exploiting relevant
features of cloud computing such as efficiency improvement and cost savings. Also, lower
level cloud services are being put into use for data storage and other relevant purposes. This
may be particularly applicable where less priority is given to data security such as where
video and audio are provided as open resources for education. Another emerging application
of cloud computing is the hosting of institutional learning management systems (LMSs) in the
cloud. Sub-contraction of the provision of these systems like Moodle to an external source is a
viable choice for institutions that do not have the capacity to purchase, maintain and support
the relevant hardware and software [17]. Cloud computing is often associated with e-learning
and mobile learning (m-learning). This refers to e-learning environment that is mainly clouddistributed, and also supports the research and sharing of open educational resources
worldwide.
Accordıng to [18], it seems more educational institutions will rely on information
technology for their operation. In the near future, most of their operations will rely on cloudbased services (IBM, 2012). Users will be able to access and control their educational needs
via internet [11].
In addition, deploying e-Education cloud in developing economies like Nigeria will
contribute immensely to their relevance in the world of ICT in the education sector. Also the
elastic nature of cloud computing minimizes the probability of under-supply and underutilization of IT resources (which is inevitable for static datacenters) [19].
Furthermore, cloud computing provides efficient storage of data to minimize data loss,
and omnipresent access to educational resources especially to faculty, students and
researchers.
4. SPECIAL APPLICATION OF CLOUD COMPUTING TECHNOLOGY
IN EDUCATION
4.1. Service Models in Cloud Computing
They are referred to as Cloud Providers. The type of model chosen by the institution
determines the services from the cloud that can be obtained and explored, and how such
service is made available within the laid down Service Level Agreement (SLA). There are
three main types of these models:
1) Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):
It provides infrastructural services that are relevant to research, student and faculty needs,
such as virtual file storage and retrieval [1]. In addition, IaaS also offers virtual local area
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network (VLANs), Load balancers and Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. Examples of IaaS are
Google, Amazon, International Business Machines (IBM) and so on.
2) Platform as a Service (PaaS):
Platform as a Service (PaaS) offers the runtime environment and tools for application
development. It also offers a friendly environment for non–developers. Google's App Engine
and Force.com are examples of agents that offer PaaS.
3) Software as a Service (SaaS):
It refers to the software deployed on a hosted service and is accessible via Internet.
Implementing this model in institutions reduces or eliminates the burden of operation and
maintenance of applications, software and other on-premise IT-related tasks. Management
and maintenance of these tasks are concentrated efficiently and at low cost on the cloud [1].
Figure 5: Schematic Diagram of users of IT Services in a university [1]
Figure 6: Schematic Diagram of users of IT Services integrated with cloud computing [1].
4.2. Deployment Models in Cloud Computing
Deployment models are essentially related to how the cloud is accessed. There are mainly
four deployment models for cloud services which are characterized by varying size, access
and ownership.
Private cloud: This infrastructure is provisioned and deployed exclusively in an institution and
it comprises multiple consumers. It may be owned and controlled by the organization, a
trusted third party or both, and it may exist on or off premises.
Community cloud: This infrastructure is deployed exclusively for use in a particular
community of organizations that have shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements,
policy, and compliance considerations). It may be owned and controlled by one or more of the
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organizations that make up the community, a third party or both, and it may exist on or off
premises.
Public cloud: This infrastructure is deployed for general use by the public. It may be
controlled by an institution, business, government organization or a concert of them.
Hybrid cloud: This infrastructure is a combination of two or more of private, public or
community clouds that remain distinct entities, but are connected by standardized technology
that ensures portability of application and data. Non-critical activities are executed via public
cloud and the critical activities, via the private cloud [1].
4.3. Cloud Computing Providers
Educational cloud computing offers a growing variety of services over the internet. These
different services have changed the concept of education. The cloud computing in different
university or educational institute provide direct access to wide range of educational tools,
research application, academic resources etc. Cloud computing in education is offered by well
known providers such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, International Business Machines
(IBM), HP, etc [20].
1) Microsoft Education Cloud
Microsoft Education Cloud offer services like Microsoft Live@edu, Microsoft Windows
Azure etc. Microsoft Live@edu is designed for educational purposes. It provisions hosted
collaboration services such as communication tools and web-based applications, for faculty
and staff. It also offers efficient data storage. The Live@edu suite consists of various parts
like Windows Live SkyDrive, Microsoft Outlook Live, Windows Live Messenger among
others. Following due registration processes, educational institutes can enroll and gain access
to a service suite which includes e-mail services, web applications and data storage [20].
Microsoft Live@edu is a cloud developed for education which is used by over twenty-two
million people across the globe. The following outlines some characteristics of Microsoft
Live education:
•Creation of websites
•Sharing of resources such as file and desktop
•File storage
•Word Processing and presentation
2) Google Education Cloud
For education there are numerous non-commercial sets of communication and collaboration
tools that include email, calendar, and documents available in Google. Google Applications
are widely used by students, teachers, and administrators in different types of institution
around the world. They enable users gain access to their files and also manipulate these files
using Google Apps tools such as Google Talk and Gmail. Google Apps provide different
institution-friendly platforms for different services like e-mail, file storage and retrieval [20].
Google Educational applications are being widely used, because of the following
characteristics:
i) Collaborative: Collaboration of Google Applications is very fast and easy. These
applications provide a great platform for teamwork, real-time editing, powerful sharing
controls and compatibility.
ii) Customizable: Setting up different security settings, features options and account
permissions to meet our Institution’s needs in Google applications is relatively easy. E.g.
turning email off for fifth graders, allowing second graders to email classmates.
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iii) Free: Google Educational Applications are freely available for Educational Institutes
which includes 24x7 online, telephone and email support, an online teacher training center
and also migration and syncing tools.
iv) Secure: Data security of users is the peak issue of Google, for that Google engages more
than 400 full time engineers to protect our information.
v) Without ads: Ads are the one of the uninteresting staff faced by users in the internet, that’s
why there are no ads in Google Educational applications and for advertising purpose Google
does not use student data.
vi) Usable on any device: Google Applications are developed keeping in mind that
applications should run in any device like Laptops, Desktops, iPads or Android tablets etc
[20].
3) Amazon Education Cloud
Amazon Web Services offer cloud services in various categories as Compute, Software,
Content Delivery, Database, Storage, Deployment and Management, Application Services and
Workforce. The main compute service includes Amazon Elastic Computer Cloud (EC2) and
Amazon Elastic MapReduce. Amazon Elastic MapReduce as a web service enables
researchers, businesses and data analysts to process vast amounts of data efficiently and at
low cost. Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud provides expandable, computational capacity in the
cloud on a pay-as-you-go basis. It is a web service that is designed to facilitate web-scale
computing for system administrators and developers. It also provides APIs to manage the data
resources and a full management console. Some features of Amazon EC2 are:
i) Flexible: - The flexibility of Amazon EC2 implies that we can choose our own instance
types, operating systems, and software packages. The best flexibility is that it allows the
selection of memory configuration, size of boot partition and instance storage for the selection
of application and operating system, which totally meets the idea of virtualization in cloud
computing area.
ii) Elastic: Amazon EC2 helps us manage the capacity rate. We can work on thousands of
server instances simultaneously. Amazon EC2 environment is also user-friendly and reliable.
iii) Completely Controlled: Amazon EC2 service is providing full Amazon EC2 instances
controls to its users, where users can have root access and they can interact with each
instance.
iv) Inexpensive: Amazon EC2 is very inexpensive. We can access any instances at very
minimum cost. Amazon EC2 provides several instances purchasing option those are On
Demand Instance, Reserved Instance, and Spot Instance.
v) Secure: Amazon provides very secure environment for data storage [20].
4.4. Benefits of Cloud Computing in Education
Cloud computing is definitely beneficial to educational institutions in diverse ways. Some of
these benefits are illustrated below.
1) Diversified learning: The learning environment becomes more dynamic and effective as
students get more exposed to a variety of software tools and relevant resources in the cloud.
2) Economies: Integrating cloud computing with education immensely improves its quality by
providing institutions with all necessary IT resources while being charged per use. This
eliminates any need for regular hardware and software updates thus easing the burden on the
budgets of the institutions.
3) Elasticity and Scalability: In a traditional approach, demand of computing resources
usually exceed the available resources (supply), and this causes poor quality of service
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especially in peak periods of educational activity. Cloud computing ensures that the resources
available can accommodate changing demands without the need for supply of more IT
infrastructure.
4) Accessibility: Students and teachers can gain ubiquitous access to cloud resources with
optimal availability throughout the year.
5) Maximization of green potentials: With cloud computing, institutions are empowered to
reduce to the barest minimum their power consumption because it saves processing power of
datacenters at the client side. It therefore reduces the carbon emissions [7].
4.5. Concerns of Cloud Computing in Education
Despite many benefits of cloud computing to the educational field including the
aforementioned ones, there are still issues which cannot be overlooked. Some of these
challenges are:
1) Data Security: The most critical aspect of any institution or organization is security of
information. Information in the cloud is susceptible to hacking for cloud computing involves
centralized storage of data, especially sensitive information [11]. According to an extensive
survey done by International Data Corporation (IDC), data security is proved to be the most
critical issue in IT organizations. To many organizations, information is less susceptible if it is
internal to the organization rather than external and beyond their supervision and control [7].
2) Compliance Issue: In a distributed service environment where data centers are
decentralized all over the world, institutes are oblivious about the location of their stored
information and who has access to it. In order to gain control of their data, cloud service
providers have adopted the policy of setting up data centers inside the nation where the
concerned institution is domiciled. This is because information stored in far-away nations
might be unsafe and susceptible to hacking [30].
3) Vendor Lock-In: Educational institutions find it economically or technically uneasy to
transfer virtual machines, data, or services from one cloud provider to the other especially
because of interoperability issues among the providers. If another vendor provides better
services, it would be very difficult for the institution to move from its current presently`
utilized cloud provider to an absolutely new one [7]. Cloud Interoperability is therefore an
essential feature for educational institutions for avoidance of vendor lock-in and for
interaction with other educational platforms [4].
4) Reliability: The occurrence of system failure is can be very detrimental to the services
provided to the clients in an institution. For instance, in February 2008, Amazon's S3 and EC2
experienced a major blackout for three hours. Later in July 2008, S3 faced another major
downtime for eight hours. In mid-2009, Google's Gmail suffered a downtime for 3 hours,
denying 113 million of its clients from accessing their mails and online documents stored as
"Google Docs" [2].
5. CONCLUSIONS
Cloud computing services represent the most viable and rapidly growing portion of different
fields of endeavor including education. Implementing Cloud computing will continuously
increase the exposure of the student to the new technology. It is certainly a point of
significance in Information Technology that helps educational institutions develop an
improved and dynamic student-interactive environment for the students at a very reasonable
cost. This is a very viable solution especially for institutions with insufficient funds to cope
with the cost of adopting and maintaining expensive IT infrastructure. However, cloud
computing possesses some inherent issues, especially as they relate to security, reliability and
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F.J. Olaloye, A.D. Adeyemo, E. Edikan, C.O. Lawal and J.O. Ejemeyovwi
interoperability. These issues among others should be managed for effective and efficient
cloud computing implementation in education.
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