This is a Clilstore unit. You can link all words to dictionaries.

Introduction to Cloud Computing

Objectives

The aim of this unit is to introduce the basic concepts of cloud computing. A short video will be shown and, after that, some activities will be suggested to make you think about its implications.

This Clilstore unit is intended to be used in the context of a 60 minute face-to-face class. It contains several activities that require oral interaction with other students and immediate instructor's feedback. Your teacher will guide you through the different included activities and we'll take care of timing.

Some tips:

1. Video. Cloud computing: How it all works.

Try not to read the provided transcript, at least at first.

Transcript: So, imagine you have a dog, and your dog's name is Frank. It is a strange dog name, but just go with it. You and Frank are best pals, you're going to walk together, Frank always walks faster, but, still, you really love Frank, a lot. You only have one photo of Frank, though, this scruffy shot of Frank at his birthday party, drooling on the cake. And because you really love this weirdly-named dog so much, you're worried you may lose this photo. So, you upload the photo, your favorite photo, to one of your favorite photo websites like Flickr, Facebook or Picasa. And without realizing it, you've just started cloud computing. But what does that mean? When you put Frank's photo online you can picture a giant cloud coming down to vacuum up this photo off your laptop. Then the photo of Frank, birthday hat and all, lifts up into the cloud and until you need to look at it again. You log on your Flickr or Facebook and there's Frank! You can see it from wherever you want: from home, from work, even on your phone in case you start missing Frank during the lunch break. At first the cloud seems like magic, but it's not. The photo of Frank isn't flying around in the sky. Frank's photo actually lives in a secret warehouse, full of computers. These warehouses are called data centers, or server farms, and they're popping up all over the world, just like crops. Inside of the computer warehouses, there are rows and rows of refrigerator-sized computer towers, they are way more powerful than your home computer. It's hard to know exactly where your photo of Frank may be once it's in the cloud. That's because it may be in a dozen of these warehouses all at once. Frank may be chilling in Paris or hanging out in India. There's really no way to know for sure. You just have to trust the web company, like Google or Microsoft, to keep Frank safe. There are a bunch of reasons to do this. The first is that, well, you only have one photo of Frank, it's on your laptop and if that laptop breaks, if an alien comes to steal the data or if your apartment melts when a volcano erupts, you're out of luck: no more Frank, no more memories. But when Frank's in the cloud, he's stored not just in one place but all over the place, so you're less likely to lose it. You also can access Frank's photo from anywhere, you can send the link to some of your friends, so they can see Frank too. That's just one of the many powers of cloud computing, and it's not just you and Frank, entire businesses are running in the cloud. There are plenty of reasons to be scared of the cloud too, but for now you've decided to trust the cloud as a backup. If Frank's happy then you're happy.

2. Analyse cloud computing concerns

You can work in pairs to complete these tasks.

Complete the following activities.

Read these instructions carefully to learn how to use the answer sheet: 

1. You will be using the provided Google Docs answer sheet as a template to answer the questions. Click the button Answer sheet (top / bottom of page) to open it. A view-only document will open in your browser

2.1. If you are going to use a desktop word processor (LibreOffice, Microsoft Word), click on Archivo / File menu and then on Descargar como / Download as OpenDocument (.odt) or Wicrosoft Word (.docx), respectively to get an off-line editable version of the answer sheet.

2.2. If you will use Google Docs, sign in to your account (or create a new one) and then proceed to make a copy (Archivo / File menu> Crear una copia / Make a copy). Name your copy of the worksheet. This copy will now be editable.

3. Proceed to fill in the answer sheet, following the indications of each activity. Write inside the provided square boxes.

 
4.1. To turn in your answer sheet, if you use a desktop word processor, simply send it to your teacher by email.  

4.2. If you use Google Docs, share the the document with your teacher: Click on Compartir / Share button, type your teacher's email address, assign Can edit permissions.

ACTIVITIES:

In the following activities you'll have to express your opinion. Unsure of the right way of doing it?

Please, click on the buttons (top / bottom of page):

2a) The video mentions that “There are plenty of reasons to be scared of the cloud”. Can you come up with some of them? Think about individuals and companies. Write down your findings in the answer sheet (50 - 100 words).

Time to speak!

2b) Now, you’ll share you concerns about the potential risks of Cloud Computing with the rest of the class. Write down the conclusions you gather from the debate in the answer sheet (50  - 100 words).

 

2c) This table and graph depict the readiness of several countries to deploy cloud computing technologies:

(Source: The Software Alliance - BSA)

Do you know how to pronounce all the names of all these countries accurately?

If in doubt, check this video. Scroll up / down and click in the Names of nations button (top / bottom of page).

Time to speak

Why do you think that some countries seem to be in a better position to use cloud computing than others? Why others don’t even appear in the list? Can you think of any social or economic reasons to support this? Discuss this topic with the whole class and write down the conclusions you gather from the debate in the answer sheet (50 - 100 words)

3. What about your listening strategies?

3a) Try to reflect about the strategies you use when listening to audio or video clips in English. Please, fill-in this listening strategies anonymous survey. After sending your responses, a summary of those of other students will be shown:

http://goo.gl/forms/hX9eiyXNgr

Time to speak

3b) After filling in the survey, Discuss with the rest of the students about this topic. On your opinion, which are the best listening strategies? Why? Have you found this lesson easy or difficult? Was the English level appropriate for you? (just speaking, no need to write anything in the answer sheet now).

You may find interesting this webpage that explains How to compare things. Don't miss the included activities!

Short url:   https://multidict.net/cs/3765