bringing the cloud into the classroom
DESCRIPTION
Bringing the cloud into the classroom A brief introduction to Cloud Technologies followed by discussion about Staffordshire University's School of Computing use of cloud technologies across a range of mobile programming modules.TRANSCRIPT
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
Paul Boocock
Lecturer
School of Computing
Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Sciences
• Teach across a range of platforms
– iOS
– Android
– Windows Phone
• Lots of mobile oriented modules across computing degrees
– Often optional on many awards
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
• Second Year Undergraduate
– Programming for Mobile and Handheld Devices
– Software Development for Mobile Computing Applications
• Postgraduate
– Android Application Development
– Advanced Android Application Development
– Location Aware Mobile Application Development
– Application Development for iOS Devices
Example Modules
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
• Always looking to improve and ensure modules are relevant
– Android modules all ran Android 4.2 – 4.4.2
– iOS modules were all iOS 7 (Challenging with Sept. release!)
– Windows Phone modules running WP8 with Visual Studio 2012
• Already moved machines to VS2013 and WP8.1
• Module content must also stay relevant
– Bringing the cloud into modules was a big change this year
– Brought challenges and difficulties
Continual Development
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
• Gone are the days of this…
Cloud - Benefits
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
• Now its all inside this building…
• …in Ireland…
• …in storage
containers…
Cloud - Benefits
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
• What used to take 30 days to get set up and running can
now be achieved in 30 minutes*
• Little to no upfront costs
• Easy to scale and many services have little maintenance
• Many Cloud Providers offer access to a Global Footprint
*untested estimate
Cloud - Benefits
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
Cloud - Benefits
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
• Lots of different cloud providers
• Amazon AWS
• Microsoft Azure
• Rackspace Open Cloud
• HP Public Cloud
• Google Cloud Platform
Cloud Platforms – Choices?
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
• Lots of different cloud providers
• Amazon AWS
• Microsoft Azure
• Rackspace Open Cloud
• HP Public Cloud
• Google Cloud Platform
Cloud Platforms – Choices?
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
• The largest Cloud Service provider
– Global Footprint in 9 different regions
• Good value for money
– A popular service for many businesses and one of the first ‘Cloud’
providers
– Many development teams look for AWS knowledge and skills
• Most importantly for us – Educational Grants
– http://aws.amazon.com/grants/
Amazon Web Services
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
• Probably the second biggest Cloud Provider
– Growing rapidly with very rapid development of new features and services
– Available in most regions – US, S. America, Europe, Asia, Japan, Australia
• Offers good performance
– Often tops Cloud benchmark tests and has a very good cost:performance
ratio
• Also has an Education scheme
– http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/community/education/
Microsoft Azure
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
• A reasonably new platform for developers
– Many similar products as AWS and Azure
• Extremely cheap
– Forcing Amazon and Microsoft to drop their prices considerably
• However from the FAQ…
Google Cloud Platform
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
https://developers.google.com/appengine/kb/billing?_ga=1.140828082.1858205834.1406122403#discount
• We could of gone with AWS or Azure
• We chose Azure for a couple of reasons
– Good relationship with Microsoft
– Exceptional Documentation
– More confident of receiving Education passes
Making the right choice – Azure!
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
Microsoft Azure in Education
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
• Plenty of resources for our needs
• Compute
– Virtual Machines
– Cloud Services
– Web Sites
– Mobile Services
• Data Services
– Storage
– SQL Database
Microsoft Azure Features
Many other services are available:
http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/services/
• App Services
– Media Services
– Active Directory
– Multi-Factor Auth.
– Notification Hubs
• Network
– Virtual Network
– Traffic Manager
• Time for a demonstration…
That requires the internet…
So how easy it is?
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
• Software Development for Mobile Computing
Applications was a prime candidate for Cloudification
• An iOS development module
– Focuses heavily on Software Engineering principles and
dealing with data in mobile applications
• Each student was given their own 5 month Azure Pass
Cloudification of existing modules
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
• A new lecture was created to discuss Cloud computing
and the changes it is making to the mobile landscape
• Additional Tutorial materials were also offered to guide
students through setting up their first Mobile Service
• Assignment was altered to offer marks for making use of
Azure Mobile Services
SDMCA Cloudification
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
• Advanced Android Application Development
– Focuses on Device communications
– Earlier Android prerequisites modules focus on core elements
– Students were tasks with building a chat app (e.g. WhatsApp)
• Location Aware Mobile Application Development
– Using Cloud services was a core feature in this module but
many students used their Azure passes and utilised cloud
features for additional marks
New modules utilising the Cloud
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
• Changing the modules to add new technologies without
increasing the difficulty
• Ensuring each student had the opportunity to get access
to an Azure Pass
– Including distributing them (used a mail merge)
• Assessing materials hosted in the Cloud
– Nothing to submit formally
Cloud – Challenges and Difficulties
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
• 3 Live Examples
– Use a Microsoft Azure Mobile Services backend
– Two include custom API scripts
• Across iOS, Android and Windows Phone
• Developed by Undergraduates and Postgraduates
– 15 Credit Modules
Student Work Examples
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
• Awards have just been revalidated
– Still a strong focus on mobile or the option to study mobile
• New Postgraduate Award
– Mobile Application Development
• New 3rd Year Mobile Games module
– 3D Graphics on iOS or WP – Still undecided!
– One of four 30 credit options
– Specialisations on Computer Games Programming BSc
What’s next?
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
Questions?
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
Useful Links:Microsoft Azure Documentation:
http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/Microsoft Azure in Education:
http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/community/education/Amazon Web Services:
http://aws.amazon.com/AWS Education Grants:
http://aws.amazon.com/grants/
Me: Paul BoocockE-mail: [email protected]: @paul_boocockSlideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/PaulBoocock