Emerging Roles of Teachers and Learners in the Cloud-Based Learning

A great power comes a great responsibility Spiderman.

That dictum illuminates mostly the superheroes which possess superpowers. They believed to
have superpowers for a reason. Most superheroes are pictured as good-natured, responsible,
dependable, decisive, and etc. What makes them great is not their good looks, not even their
wealth, or their fame, neither their personality. What makes them truly great is the great power
bestowed upon them. But that great power entails not only superiority, authority, or even
greatness. It is great responsibility that comes with it. That responsibility sometimes is pictured
as saving humanity, saving the ones you love, saving the future, or saving the world.
Our world is not the same as yesterday. I grew up in countryside. I used to skip siestas in the
afternoon just to have several strokes in the crystal clear river. I used to chase friends around the
compound. I used to play hide and seek under a full moon or during power interruptions. I used
to spend my morning times scouring rice fields just to search and look for spiders. When I came
to my schooling age, I learned reading by abakada booklets. I learned counting by counters like
stones, leaves, flowers, ice cream sticks, marbles, and etc.
Those days are gone. Children, nowadays, no longer skip siestas in the afternoon. No more hide
and seek under a full moon. Not even swimming in the river. No more chasing friends during nee
time. No more bragging of spiders. No more abakada booklets around. No more counters in the
classrooms. The question is: Is this the scenario that we have to bring back? Is this the scenario
that we want to have our children to have? Is this the scenario that we want to have as learning
experience of our students?
Today, our world is mostly run by modern technology. People term our world now as new era,
computer age, or digital age. Kids nowadays are no longer traditional. They are now what
psychologists describe as digital natives. These children are born with technologies which we
did not have during our childhood days. These modern technologies include cellular phones,
LCDs, flat screen televisions, Ipads, Ipods, tablets, Mp3s. These modern technologies become
their playing buddies. These gadgets substituted siestas into afternoon fun and enjoyment. These
gadgets become substituted abakada booklets to reading applications or online reading tutorials.
Even these gadgets offer digital counters which subsequently resulted to concrete counters
placed in boxes or cabinets for safekeeping. Thus, these gadgets become inevitable in the growth
and development.
The grasp of these modern technologies is not limited to the childhood experiences of our
children. Its application and effects are extremely observed as well in their schooling. Most
schools have already embraced these technologies as vital part of the teaching and learning
process. Only some schools still use board-chalk classrooms. In a country abroad where I worked
for 6 years, I taught in a classroom where Smartboard was used. A Smartboard is a technology
which replaces traditional blackboard. In that Smartboard, the teacher just clicks icons and voila!
You can write on the Smartboard without using markers or chalks. Another feature of
Smartboard is that the teacher can perfectly draw shapes because the Smartboard automatically
corrects the drawn shapes into perfect shapes. Another technologies being used in the classroom
in Bangkok, Thailand are projectors, laptops, one-to-one student and tablet ratio, flat screen
TVs, microphones, speakers, and yes, air conditioned rooms.
The good thing about having these modern technologies at hand is its adaptability to be used as
tools for another kind of learning experiences. The usefulness of such technologies lies on the
people who have been bestowed with such power the power to create innovate learning
environment, unforgettable learning experiences, and effective teaching and learning process.
Schools around the world have now been given the power and opportunity to use these readily
available technological resources which can be integrated in imparting knowledge to the

students. But the great responsibility that comes with it becomes the challenge for every teacher
in the classroom.
Recently, in the implementation of K-12 curriculum in the Philippines, part of the curriculum is
the ICT integration across all subjects. This means that modern technologies should now be
partners of delivering instructions to the students, and by extension, the use of internet.
Yes, the use of internet is now a viable partner in delivering instruction to the students. There is
Edmodo, Google Classroom which can be used as e-classrooms for students who prefer elearning or distance learning or transnational education.
Joe McKendrick pointed out that the list of top cloud apps within the Google realm was
recently compiled by CloudLock, a cloud security vendor. He added that most of the apps are
now easily accessed via Gmail, Google Drive files, Google Docs, or Google Contacts. There
are cloud-based applications such as the following as listed by Joe McKendrick:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

LinkedIn
Boomerang
Rapportive
TripIt
Asana
Cloudon
DocuSign
LucidChart
Office HD
UEFA.com

11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

Dropbox
Attachments.me
Gantter undefined
ShareThis[/entity]
SlideRocket
Zomato
CloudSponge
Checker Plus for Gmail
Draw.io
WarLight

Such powers are readily available. What needs to be done is to tap these cloud-based applications
to unleash their powers to create innovative, modernized learning systems. So, the big question
is: What roles do both the teachers and the students play in creating learning opportunities
through cloud-based applications?
Yes, the teacher is the superhero. The teachers role is to ensure that his powers are perfectly
exercised, practiced, and developed. The teachers great responsibilities are presented in the
image below.

Firstly, the teacher must know the resources which are available, which can be integrated, and
which can bring out the best of every student. These resources may include technologies,
facilities, assistants, and time. These resources play an important in the teaching-learning
process. Nowadays, rarely you can see and observe teachers in the classroom while teaching has
no resources being used. Some resources often used by teachers are laptops, projects with white
screens, TVs, MPs (Manila papers hehehe), printed materials, etc. That is not it. Knowing
what resources are available is not enough. Being able to realize the proper usage of resources is
also a must. The dos and donts of using any resources must be kept in mind. It is also an
important step to be able understand the extent of effectiveness of using any resources.
Assessment of using resources must also be done in order to ensure that such use of resources
contributes significantly to the improvement of the teaching-learning process.
Second, the role of teachers in the cloud-based applications is to be learner support. Not all
students can completely grasp the system of using cloud-based applications. They need guidance,
support, and directions because some students, we admit it or not, still have little to no

knowledge at all regarding the use of internet-based applications or even the basics of using
computer at that.
Third role of a teacher is to have the necessary skills in integrating cloud-based applications in
the learning experiences of the students. Teachers who wish to use cloud-based applications
should have prior knowledge in delivering instructions. Also, teachers who wish to use cloudbased applications should hold relevant experiences which would enable them to gain advantage
in having full knowledge of creating learning experiences different from what they are used to.
Next role of a teacher using cloud-based applications is to know the content of what is intended
to be taught. In that way, the teachers could use appropriate cloud-based applications to better
deliver content to the students. That is why the content is significantly related to the skills of the
teacher as well as the resources which will be used to appropriately deliver content in ways
effective learning is fully maximized.

Another role of a teacher integrating cloud-based applications is to understand the learner

characteristics. This is so important that teacher should have background knowledge of his
students. Part of that information is to know how learners learn, how the students effectively gain
knowledge, and how they can effectively use or put into action the knowledge they have
acquired.
Last role which I can see is that the teacher must conduct assessment. This assessment must
include: a) assessment on learning integrating cloud-based applications, b) assessment on cloudbased applications on their effectiveness in the delivery of instruction, and c) assessment of
teachers overall performance while using cloud-based applications.
Indeed, the roles of a teacher are staggering but a teacher must continue to embrace the everchanging world of classroom. The only thing constant in this world is change. And change has
many things that go with it. Instruction is one. The delivery of instruction is another one. The
mode of instruction is another thing. We are no longer confined with the four walls of our
classrooms. We are no longer bound by traditional method of teaching. And yes, we are no
longer teachers of yesterdays but we are now the new era of modern teachers in a modern world
where everything is modern and everything is prone to change. The question is not about
whether we accept or not the demands of these changes. Instead, we have no choice but to go
with the flow. Adapt ourselves with what changes bring.