The shape of the lesson
By the end of the lesson, learners can
- What is the cloud?: "The cloud" is not in the sky.
- Public or private?: Both are clouds: the difference is who shares the hardware and who controls it.
- Benefits and drawbacks: This is where marks are won or lost: each point must be explained in context, not just listed.
- Cloud: remote servers, reached over the internet, providing storage, software and processing.
- Public: shared provider servers, pay per use, less control.
- Private: one organisation, more control and security, more expensive.
- Evaluate: pair each benefit with a drawback and tie both to the scenario.
One picture every idea returns to
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services (storage, processing power, software and platforms) on demand, over the internet, from remote servers in data centres. A public cloud is run by a provider and its servers are shared by many organisations and members of the public, who pay for what they use. A private cloud is used by a single organisation, either on its own premises or hosted for it, giving more control and security. Benefits include access from anywhere, scalability and no hardware to maintain; drawbacks include dependence on the internet connection, security and privacy concerns and loss of control over the data.
Forty-five minutes, phase by phase
| Time | Phase | What happens in the room | Grouping |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 min | Hook: predict | Open with the question in the title, Someone else's computer.. Your photos, your school email and your games saves may all live in the cloud: on servers you will never see, reached over the internet. Put the figure on the board: it is the one picture every idea in the lesson returns to. | Whole class, then pairs |
| 5 to 13 min | Teach and check: What is the cloud? | "The cloud" is not in the sky. | Whole class, then pairs |
| 13 to 21 min | Teach and check: Public or private? | Both are clouds: the difference is who shares the hardware and who controls it. | Pairs |
| 21 to 30 min | Teach and check: Benefits and drawbacks | This is where marks are won or lost: each point must be explained in context, not just listed. Model the worked example Weigh it up on the board, one line at a time. Your turn: Why might a hospital choose a private cloud rather than a public cloud for patient records? | Frayer Model |
| 30 to 36 min | Check | The four Stage 1 questions from the student lesson, answered on mini whiteboards or by show of fingers. Re-teach the one most get wrong. | Individual, then whole class |
| 36 to 43 min | Plenary | The exam-style questions from Stage 2, one at a time: thirty seconds alone, then a random call. The feedback lines in the key give the examiner's wording. | Individual, random call |
| 43 to 45 min | Exit and homework | Set the worksheet below (6 questions, 18 marks). Learners self-assess against the objectives before they leave. | Individual |
Protect the parts that carry the learning
The sequence carries about fifty minutes of material, so the lab is driven by one student while the class predicts rather than explored freely. Times are a guide.
Protected: the check at 30 minutes. It is the only individual read on whether the key idea landed, and it is not cut.
Cut first if the build overruns: the last check in Benefits and drawbacks, never the check or the plenary.
In a 60 minute block: run worksheet questions 1 to 3 in class as a Rally Coach set and model both the hardest worked example and its check live.
Frayer Model
Pairs fill a four-box grid for the key term: definition, characteristics, examples and non-examples. The non-examples box is where the misconceptions surface, so give it the most time.
The full structure, with its variations and the other twelve, is on the cooperative-learning page.
What to head off, and how
| Trap learners fall into | Teaching move that pre-empts it |
|---|---|
| Cloud storage is not the same as a local file server. | The data is held off-site by a third party and reached over the internet, which is exactly why the benefits and drawbacks differ. |
| "Cloud is cheaper" is only true for start-up costs. | Over many years the subscription can cost more than owning the hardware, so qualify the claim. |
Cloud computing: worksheet
6 questions, 18 marks. Written in the style of the papers; no past paper question is reproduced.
Explain what is meant by cloud computing.
Describe two differences between a public cloud and a private cloud.
A school plans to move its students' coursework into a public cloud. Give two benefits and two drawbacks for the school.
Explain why cloud computing is described as scalable, and why this helps an online shop.
A bank is deciding between a public cloud and a private cloud for its customer account data. Recommend one and justify your recommendation.
A student says: "Using the cloud means a company's data can never be lost." Explain why this is not correct.
Answer key and marking notes
- The use of computing services (storage, software, processing power) provided on remote servers ...
- ... accessed over the internet, usually paid for on demand.
- A public cloud's servers are shared by many organisations/users ...
- ... a private cloud is used by one organisation only.
- A public cloud is run by a third-party provider and paid for per use ...
- ... a private cloud gives the organisation more control over its data and security (and costs more).
- Benefit: students and teachers can access coursework from home or any device with an internet connection.
- Benefit: the school does not need to buy and maintain servers / the provider makes the backups.
- Drawback: if the school's internet connection fails, the coursework cannot be accessed.
- Drawback: students' personal data is held by a third party, so there are security and privacy risks.
- Storage and processing capacity can be increased (or reduced) on demand, paying only for what is used.
- The shop can add server capacity during busy periods such as sales, without buying hardware it does not need the rest of the year.
- Private cloud.
- Customer account data is highly sensitive and must be protected.
- A private cloud is used only by the bank, so it controls access, security measures and where the data is stored.
- The bank can afford the higher cost, which is outweighed by the reduced risk / legal requirements.
- The provider could suffer an outage, a hacking attack or go out of business, so data could become unavailable or be stolen.
- Data could still be deleted by mistake by the user, or access lost if the account or internet connection fails.
6 multiple-choice questions on this lesson
From the topic question bank. Assign them in the app for a marked score in your gradebook, or run the topic as a class game.
Which statement describes a public cloud?
- AA provider's data-centre servers are shared by many organisations and individuals, who pay for what they use
- BServers used by a single organisation, kept on its own premises or hosted only for it
- CAny file that is shared between computers on the same LAN
- DSoftware that is installed and run on each user's own computer
Which activity is an example of cloud computing?
- AEditing a spreadsheet in a browser while the file is stored on a provider's remote servers
- BSaving a spreadsheet on a USB flash drive to take to another computer
- CPrinting a spreadsheet on a printer shared over the office LAN
- DOpening a spreadsheet stored on the laptop's own solid-state drive
Which is a drawback of storing an organisation's files in a public cloud?
- AStaff cannot reach the files if the internet connection fails
- BThe organisation must buy and maintain its own file servers
- CFiles can be opened only from computers inside the office
- DStorage space cannot be increased once the contract is signed
A new online shop expects sales to rise sharply every December and fall back in January. Which benefit of a public cloud is most useful to it?
- AScalability: it can rent extra processing and storage for December and release it afterwards
- BSecurity: the data is kept on the shop's own premises
- CIndependence: the service keeps running without any internet connection
- DOwnership: the shop owns the servers outright after the first year
A bank decides to use a private cloud rather than a public one for its customer records. Which is the best justification?
- AIt has more control over the security of the servers and where the data is stored, which helps it meet data-protection rules
- BA private cloud does not need an internet or network connection to be accessed
- CA private cloud is always cheaper because the costs are shared with other organisations
- DA private cloud means the bank no longer needs any IT staff to manage its systems
A manager says: "Once our files are in a public cloud, data security is entirely the provider's problem." Which response is most accurate?
- AThe provider secures its data centres, but the firm is still responsible for things such as strong passwords and who is given access
- BThe manager is right, because cloud data is automatically encrypted so it can never be read by anyone else
- CThe manager is right, because cloud providers are legally responsible for any data the customer loses
- DThe manager is wrong, because public cloud data is visible to every other customer of the provider
Quiz key
A public cloud is run by a provider whose servers are shared by many customers, who pay on demand. Servers used by one organisation only make a private cloud. A file shared over a LAN is local networking, not cloud computing, and software installed on each user's own machine is the opposite of a cloud service.
Both the storage and the software are provided on demand from a provider's remote servers over the internet, which is cloud computing. A USB drive is removable local storage; a printer shared over the LAN is local resource sharing; and a file on the laptop's own drive involves no remote service at all.
Cloud files are reached over the internet, so a failed connection cuts staff off from them. Not needing to buy or maintain servers, access from anywhere and easy scaling of storage are all benefits of the cloud, so the other three options describe the opposite of what happens.
Cloud resources can be scaled up when demand peaks and scaled down afterwards, paying only for what is used. Data in a public cloud is held in the provider's data centres, not on the shop's premises. Cloud services depend on the internet. The provider, not the customer, owns the servers.
A private cloud serves one organisation, so the bank controls security measures, who has access and the location of its data, which matters for confidential records and regulation. It is still reached over a network. Sharing costs with other customers is a feature of a public cloud, and a private cloud is usually more expensive. The bank still needs staff (or a hosting partner) to manage it.
Security is shared: the provider protects the servers and data centre, but the firm must still control accounts, passwords and access rights, and remains responsible for its own data. Encryption does not make data unreadable to someone who logs in with a stolen password. Responsibility for the data does not pass wholly to the provider. Customers in a public cloud share hardware, but their data is not visible to each other.
Slides for this lesson
A projectable deck for every pack is on the way. Until then, present the student lesson full screen: its sections, figure and lab tabs follow the same order as the plan above.