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When the Lining of the Cloud ISN’T Silver . . .

November 24th, 2008 jonmott Leave a comment Go to comments

Google’s free SecondLife clone, Lively, is going away at the end of the year. As Google notes on its official blog, “not every bet is going to pay off.” Google’s recommendation for preserving what you’ve built on Lively? “We’d encourage all Lively users to capture your hard work by taking videos and screenshots of your rooms.” Hmm. Too bad there aren’t any 3D-world standards that would allow virtual environment creators to export and redeploy what they’ve created . . .  

The more pertinent note, at least for the subject matter of this blog, is that the lining of the cloud isn’t always silver. As Kyle Matthews noted in a post today, this should remind us all that free cloud-delivered software has an obvious and–depending on how much you rely on it–potentially devastating downside. Say you had built a rich 3D environment for a course you were going to launch in Lively next semester. You’d be out of luck. I’m thinking the “videos and screenshots of your rooms” would be missing some of the interactivity you had in mind when you set it up.

While PLEs are big part of the future of education and a world in which learning is more learner-centric, some caution is in order when we rely heavily on cloud-based apps. I’m not suggesting that Google Docs or Blogger are going to disappear anytime soon, but educational technologists run a decided risk when they rely on free cloud apps for mission critical teaching and learning functionality. One alternative is to deploy open source versions of these apps on servers we control on our own campuses, but that misses some of the promised efficiency and elegance of the Web 2.0 promise.

With economic hard times ahead, we might see several promising cloud apps disappear. Here’s hoping that the natural selection process won’t be too brutal. In the meantime, learning technologists must come to grips with the sometimes harsh economic realities of the Web 2.0 world. If our favorite app doesn’t prove economically viable, it will eventually go away. Then what?

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  • Jon, I think this is a really valid point and I think developers and educators both play a role in making sure that this doesn't happen in the future. First, developers have to create sustainable business models that will grow in difficult economic times. They have to balance the free 'web 2.0' models with the 37signals type business models; or said differently, they need to find a careful balance between free and premium accounts. Second, educators have to be partners and understand the economics behind running a web-based learning application. Developers have to have an open dialog about this on company blogs and in other circles, so that educators can be informed and understand the different dynamics. e.g., why it is helpful for people to purchase premium account, b/c it helps subsidize the free accounts.
  • Glen, Great to have the perspective from someone who lives in the clouds, as it were. I think you raise valid points. Sustainable business models are critical--even for big companies like Google. They can't give *everything* away forever, right? And staying involved from a user-perspective is essential too. I hope things are going well with your venture?
  • More students get shafted by Lively's closing:
    "The Digiteen Dream Team, a group of passionate ninth graders who have been using Google's Lively as part of the Digiteen Project, are planning to protest this Wednesday against Google's decision to close down its virtual world environment, Lively, at the end of this year."

    http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/twenty_9th_graders_from_georgi.php
  • Scott--good point. I'm not trying to steer people away from the cloud, just encouraging the forethought RE exit / integration you suggest. And each cloud app (and its relative importance) should be considered in light of the learning you hope it helps facilitate. And none of the above should be read to endorse heavy-iron, locally hosted, expensive, inflexible, proprietary software. I think I'm on record as being against such stuff. :-)

    Another lesson one could draw from the demise of Lively is to rely on MULTIPLE cloud apps instead of one or two (which could each then be significant single points of failure). Just as "Lots Of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe" (LOCKSS) is the current mantra amongst librarians, perhaps learning technologists could adopts something like "Lots Of Cloud Apps Keeps Learning Alive". Too bad LOCAPLA doesn't mean anything cool . . .
  • How about KABOOM (Keep A Backup or Other Options in Mind)?

    Seriously, people have been painting themselves into corners ever since the invention of... um... paint. Whether you are talking about cloud-based apps or a Blackboard server nestled safely in your institution's server farm, you can still wind up stuck... either locked out or locked in. While parts of the cloud will likely blow away, new ones will likely take their place.

    The real question is "Can you get in or out of where you currently are, and can you take your data with you?" Frankly, I would rather take my chances on being locked out of a few cloud apps than locked into a single, proprietary LMS. Interestingly, I'm working with a group on an IMS CC-Blackboard converter that should get around the import/export problem despite Bb's foot-dragging. Guess where it will live? In the cloud... with all those risky, new-fangled apps. :-)
  • KABOOM. Nice.

    We've said the same thing to our faculty about using any technology, including the university-provided instance of Blackboard--you can build a technology-enhanced or even completely online course, but you should always have contingency plans in place. It's just the smart thing to do.
  • "but educational technologists run a decided risk when they rely on free cloud apps for mission critical teaching and learning functionality" - that is a FUD statement if I ever read one. Not that there doesn't exist such functionality, but what, SPECIFICALLY, does it mean. Defining that (and thus the related exit/integration strategies) is where this conversation needs to go, otherwise it remains in the realm of motherhood statements that will simple entrench and legitimize existing (ineffectual, un-innovative, dull, expensive...I could go on) approaches.
  • I think there's potential for some of this to be distributed via locally hosted services, like a campus-wide WPMU installation--especially if the institution allowed alumni to keep their blogs for life!

    Otherwise, your only assurance is in always having a way to back stuff up...
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