Rural schools: virtual communities for education in the cloud

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.

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

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

Cloud Computing and Education

http://rural.cesga.es