Title:	DARK CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON? UNRESOLVED ISSUES IN CLOUD COMPUTING IN EDUCATION
Author(s):	Alan S. Weber
ISBN:	978-989-8533-04-3
Editors:	Demetrios G Sampson, J. Michael Spector, Dirk Ifenthaler and Pedro Isaías
Year:	2011
Edition:	Single
Keywords:	Cloud Computing, e-learning, internet privacy / security
Type:	Full Paper
First Page:	203
Last Page:	210
Language:	English
Cover:
Full Contents:	click to dowload
Paper Abstract:	The increased use of public cloud computing for business, government and education now seems inevitable, although serious concerns remain which may necessitate the rejection or modification of cloud solutions by educational institutions. Of particular concern is the merging of social media and virtual learning environments and the personally identifiable data that is stored on offsite computers. Internal abuse (misuse or sale of personal user data by vendors) or insufficient protection against hacking and identity theft are additional concerns since some large cloud vendors like Google do not encrypt all of their stored electronic data and correlate identifiable data across accounts. Also, loss of management control or intellectual property rights of materials uploaded to “free” cloud services is a potential barrier for creators of learning objects. The general conclusion is that cloud services hold great potential for education and are already being employed in that capacity, but users, especially in the United States or users accessing cloud services on servers physically located in United States territory, must carefully examine Terms of Service (ToS) agreements to insure that students are protected against internal abuse and loss of personally identifiable data. Antiquated data and privacy protection laws in the U.S. such as The Stored Communications Act (SCA), and Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986 are not providing adequate 4th Amendment privacy protection against unlawful search and seizure or internal abuse for users. There are additionally some minor technical and service issues related to cloud computing, but which appear to be resolvable. This contribution concerns public clouds (services accessible to anyone who pays the fees and agrees to the terms of service) as opposed to restricted-use, in-house, or private cloud networks.
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