Seeding the Cloud: Creating New Opportunities for Learning

Learning is a continuous process. In its continual aspect of rediscovering ways of delivering

knowledge to its clients, education experts have been consistently and constantly looking into the
different angles of creating possibilities and opportunities. With this matter at hand, there have
been a lot of changes embraced in the teaching learning process. It started with the use of
realias or concrete objects. The use of chalk and blackboard method of teaching which was
introduced in the 50s to 60s is still being put into practice by some traditional teachers or lets
just say, teachers have no other options of delivering learning to their students due to the fact that
they lack resources to effectively or interestingly impart knowledge to their students.
With the objectives of providing education for all, education experts specifically those who are
working with the use of technologies in the classrooms have been unswervingly monitoring the
effects of technologies in the improvement or betterment of learning acquisition. Such
technologies currently being used in the classroom are projectors, computers, tab, phones,
laptops, and some other machines.

Even before using technologies in the classroom, teachers have reliably depended on their
abilities of being resourceful. Whatever is at hand, whatever materials are available in the
classroom or around the school, and whatever resources are present, teachers have creatively
used them and integrate them in the learning experiences of the students. Besides, learning
played the important role in rediscovering alternative yet effective learning experiences of
students.
Resources are actually always available. These resources may have been there for quite a long
time. However, they have not been tapped. These resources may have been ignored by teachers
thinking it would not help them facilitate learning. These resources may been intentionally
ignored due to the fact that teachers are incapable of using them or they do not possess the
necessary skills in integrating the resources in the teaching learning process.
What teachers should do now is to tap the resources at hand, customize them, and benefit from
them. Like clouds, clouds are always present in the skies. They come in different forms, in
different colors, in different shapes, and in different sizes. These clouds, if not tapped, are just
there in the skies floating, drifting like lonely ships without crews. But with the help of our
scientists, these clouds are more than beneficial especially to our farmers to who needs water.

The process of seeding the cloud, when introduced, became a practice, a solution to a problem,
and answered prayer. With the right amount of chemicals, with the proper timing, with the proper
manipulation, with the proper person handling, and with the proper types of clouds, producing
rain can now be instantly possible. This phenomenon results to productivity among our farmers,
more agricultural products can be harvested, more food, and all the more reason the whole
community can be benefited.
With that example in mind, there are already a lot of resources which can be tapped and can be
used and accessed by students. These resources can have a great deal of learning experiences for
the students learning experiences which are far from what they have experienced before. These
learning experiences can be achieved through the use of modern technologies. The
interrelatedness of technologies, student learning, academic performance, and effective learning
delivery have created limitless and boundary-less learning opportunities for the students. But the
question is What learning opportunities are you creating for your students?
The emergence of cloud-based applications has become the platforms for creating learning
opportunities. These cloud-based applications are already available in the internet. These
applications include its focus:

Portal for educational content is Scoilnet.ie

CPD Platform is TeacherCPD.ie
Productivity applications are Google Apps for Education, Microsoft 365
Online Storage, File Sharing are Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, Microsoft OneDrive
Virtual Learning Environment /Online Learning Environment are Edmodo, Schoology,
Schoolwise, Google Classroom
Maths Application is Khan Academy
Video Sharing Service is Youtube
Blogging Platforms are Wordpress, Kidsblog, Weebly
Online Presentation is Prezi
Survey is Survey Monkey
Sharing PowerPoint presentation is Slideshare
Microblogging is Twitter
Photo Sharing is Instagram
Schools Administration System is Vsware.ie

Tapping to these cloud-based applications can result to an unforgettable learning experience. Not
only that, these cloud-based applications have a lot of good things to offer especially to those
students who by some constraints are unable to meet their professors or teachers face to face,
who prefer learning through the use of the web, and whose values and competencies are enabled
through the integration of technologies and internet.
Recently in my
classes, I have
introduced the
use of Google
Classroom. At
first, I admit, I
did encounter
some difficulties
in introducing to
the students the
new and
innovative style
of learning
through the use of
Google

Classroom. Some of those difficulties include students lack of experience with the use of
computer, students lack of knowledge with the basic commands in the internet, students
inhibitions while doing some activities, and students inability to commit into memory the
important things in using Google Classroom.
But as time goes by, as they say, practice makes perfect. Indeed, little by little, the students were
able to cope with the demands of the Google Classroom. It was such a great achievement on my
part to be able to expose my students in a different method of teaching. I believe they are
enjoying this one-of-a-kind learning experience. Lately, students reports, projects, and other
outputs were already uploaded in their Google Classroom.

Another application the students were able to use is the video maker called VivaVideo. With the
help of this application, my students were able to create advertisement in one of my English
subjects. In the Creative Writing subject, they were asked to come up with drama. Instead of
presenting their drama in a live audience, they used the VivaVideo application, recorded all
scenes, did a magic trick, and voila! We had an instant cinema in our classroom. Who would
have thought such learning experiences of the students are possible.
Now, I am working with my ExamView. This is an application which enables a teacher like me
to create exams which may come into different forms or types of examination. Examinations are
traditionally administered in the forms of paper-and-pencil test. But now, my students will be
experiencing a new way of taking tests using the ExamView application come final examination
on November 3-4, 2016.

The question now is What learning opportunities are you creating for you students? It is
actually lies on us, teachers on how to make the learning experiences of our students memorable,
unforgettable, exciting, interesting, motivating, yet effective at the same time.
There are countless clouds around us which only needs someone to tap and be used in whichever
way it can to support learning and create success not only on the part of the teachers but most
importantly on the part of the students.