The cloud is designed much like a web site but in a similar manner to the way that a web site serves pages, the cloud serves files. Cloud computing allows users to store documents, files, software, and other items on a computer other than the computer they are working on. These items are stored on servers (in an off-site storage location) and accessed over the internet. For example, through Google Docs, a popular cloud service, I can enter my Google Docs account, type a document, and it saves automatically in the cloud. It is located on a computer somewhere other than the computer in front of me. However, if I want to access it later I can go to any computer with Internet access and go back to my Google Docs account and locate this document. I can even locate this item from my smart phone or my tablet. One of the main advantages of the cloud is that you can access your information from nearly anywhere. Hutchings, Smith, and James (2013) describe the
cloud as "the delivery of computer processing infrastructure, operating
system platforms, and/or software, databases and storage as a service on demand
over either a public or private computer network" (Hutchings et al., 2013, p. 1).
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