BALIDEA and CESGA presented the Red Cloud School in Bilbao, Berlin and Culturgal

BALIDEA and CESGA presented the Red Cloud School in Bilbao, Berlin and Culturgal

The project Networked Schools in the cloud, based on cloud computing solutions, virtualization and open source software for clusters of  rural schools, and in which Balidea participates in collaboration with the Supercomputing Center of Galicia (CESGA) and the Department of Culture, Education and Universities, will be presented this week at the technical sessions of the RedIRIS in Bilbao, at the 18th International Conference on Technology Support for training and learning Educa Berlin, and in the Fair of Cultural Industries of Galicia (Culturgal) in Pontevedra. On 23 November,it was also one of the initiatives analyzed in the III Iberian Congress on the digital divide held in Braga (Portugal).

Promoting international initiatives

María José R. Malmierca of CESGA, will be responsible for submitting this project on the 28, in the track entitled "Outsourcing and integration of public and private clouds", which is held in Bilbao during the IRIS Network Technical Conference 2012, with other innovative experiences in the field of education, such as Telket (recording lectures and classes with free software) or Infoblox (automation of network services in virtualized environments and IPv6).

On the next day, in Germany, and under the framework of the 18th edition of Online Educa Berlin 2012, Ms. Malmierca will also present the experience of the network of schools in the cloud in which is considered the most relevant worldwide conference, related to companies and government involved in the education sector. The Conference organizers hope for the presence of more than 2,000 delegates representing 100 different countries in discussions and interactive sessions that are being scheduled.

ICT educational experiences to be discussed in the Culturgal

Successful experiences in the use of ICT and multimedia tools in classrooms have a reserved space in the programming of the fifth edition of the Cultural Industries Fair of Galicia (Culturgal), to be held from November 30 to December 2 at Pazo de la Cultura de Pontevedra. Among the initiatives to be presented in the thematic workshop, to be held on Saturday 1st, at 13:00, Balidea will participate with this innovative educational and technological experience which is being implemented in four rural clusters, which group 22 small schools in the provinces of A Coruña, Ourense and Pontevedra.

A round table will address the implementation of ICT tools in Galicia, and their potential uses. In addition to discussing the project, CESGA and Balidea will also talk about other successful experiences in the classroom such as the Xabarín18 project, in the Monte da Guia School, and the cooperation with the TADEGA association dedicated to promoting the use of ICT in the attention to diversity in the classroom. In the same round table, moderated by Roman Landin of the Team for the Coordination of Galician Linguistic Standardization and Revitalization, representatives of the Secondary School As Barxas of Moaña will also be involved, this school has received multiple awards for the promotion of artistic creativity in students through experimentation and use of film language resources, and the Secondary School Concepcion Arenal of Ferrol, with extensive experience in the application of audiovisual technology in the classroom.

Encouraging the culture of collaboration and participation in the "cloud"

Networked Schools in the Cloud was born from experience gained in "Rural Schools & Cloud Computing", an innovative pilot project which designed a "cloud" based on open software and cloud infrastructure for a rural school.

The current initiative, involving Balidea and CESGA, analyzes and designs an environment and services based on cloud computing to serve as a medium for communication and work methodology supported by ICT, which aims to achieve educational and collaborative improvements in rural schools in Galicia. This environment will enable a space that incorporates the philosophy of learning and social collaboration in the "cloud", allowing access and information exchange between schools from each of their individual "clouds".

Among the many objectives of this project: to integrate geographically isolated areas, encourage family involvement in the education of their children and providing visibility into their activities, fostering a culture of collaboration and participation.

As the project advances to a more advanced level, the partners hope to evaluate the extension of the model other educational levels (such as vocational training, universities, etc.), and perform outreach and collaboration with other educational communities worldwide, with an aim towards the transfer of  knowledge and to develop improvements for the system.

 

For more information relative to Networked Schools in the Cloud:

  • Facebook: Escolas na Rede of Cloud on Facebook
  • Twitter: @RedeEscolasNube
  • or email: info@escolasnanube.net
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