1. 1
Where Do We Gofrom Here? – A Use Case for OptimizingMobile Approachesto Teaching
OptimizingAuthenticCloudBased Collaborations
On July 28th
, 2015, inBoston, at Campus Tech2015 Conference Postersession,Ico-presentedonthe topicof
creatingcollaborative content,usingcloud services, withmycollaborative GoogleGlassproject partner. Our
enduserpointof view,demonstrated atrulyunique perspective, bydesign, usingabetawearable device
whichpushedcontentdirectly toasharedspace in the cloud,allowingforauthenticcloud-basedshared
collaborations.The projectwouldbe directlyrelatedtowriting, andself- publishingbooks,usingfamiliar
educational cloudservices.Thismightreadlike an oversimplification of the key description,however, with
usingthe well-knowncloudservicesfromGoogle, specifically, GoogleDrive,GooglePhotos, andGoogle Hang
Outson Air,and alsoone online publisher,these serviceswouldfulfill the requirementstomove the project
fromideationintofull implementation. Thispaperwill focusspecificallyonthe project’sground-to-cloud,
and cloud-to-cloudcollaborative experiences.
Determining Access & CollaborativeStorageSpaces
Creatingsharedspacesinthe cloud is typical in today’smodern use of sharedsocial spaces applicationsfor
photographs,like Instagram,Pinterest,Flickr,iCloud,Google Photos,anditwouldturnoutto be a similarand
familiarstepof sharingfilesforthisproject. Definingthe specificcloudservicesbestsuited forthisproject
wouldbe critical to understandingwhere the maincollaborative experienceswouldoccur. Itwasdetermined
that the central linesof the communication hadtotake place inthe cloud. The priority objectivewasto
create original contentinone collaborativespace,andthisis where the data,(forthisproject the content
data wouldbe digital files) wouldbe transferred directly fromabetawearable/mobile ground- device,tothe
sharedcloudspace in Google Photos.The culminatinggoal wouldbe ultimatelysharingthe raw photograph
contentina published printbook, andononline inane-bookformat(storedin the publisher’scloudspace).
Mobile
Devices on
the Ground
Cloud
Communications
- Over Air- HOA-
Text-to Speech-
Broadband-Cellular
Google Cloud -
Shared Spaces -
Photograph -Video - Text-
Audio-FileStorage
Cloud Publisher
Application
Content
Ground
Collaborative
Computer
PushingContent
to the Publisher
UploadingGroundContenttothe
Cloud:Data= Image,Audio,Video files

2. 2
Timeline, Logistics and Constraints
The projectinitiallyhadatimelineestablished forapproximately twomonths. Iwasthe staticpartner
workingona hybridtabletwhere Iwould access,download,andthen analyze the stored content(digital
photos/video/audiofiles), sharedbymydynamicpartnerwhowasalwaysmobile. Hiscollaborative goal
primarily, wasexploringphysical locationsinatleast tenstates,searchingforobjects tophotograph. Inorder
to capture the photographs, while travelingphysicallythroughaminimumof ten southern, andMidwestern
states,fourconstraintshadto be mitigated withoutdelay. The fourwere subsequently identified,
investigated, anddiscussed duringthistime period.The firstwasassessingoptimalsharedcloudstorage
space in the Google cloud, the second, file sharing,and accessibly ensuringatransparentfile sharedcloud
space collaboration, the thirdwas optimizingcommunicationsthroughoutthe time periodwhile usingtextto
speechrecognition/translations withthe wearabledevice,whichinterfaceddirectlywiththe HOA,aGoogle
communicationtextservice, andthe fourth,wouldbe almostthe mostcritical of optimizingconnectivity
betweenall devices.
Communication Cogitations
To begin with,locatingphotographiccontent wasinitially determinedby aphysical location,wheremy
projectpartnerwould typicallychoose the bestplace contingentuponweather-tooptimize the
photographs,andlocationforoptimal device connectivity. Forthisproject,he wasprimarilyusing the beta
wearable Glassdevice,whichhe typicallywore foraminimumof 16 hoursper day. The device mainlywas
usedto obtain content,whichwasstored nativelyonthe device,andshared tothe optimizedcloudstorage
space in Google. Many candidonline discussions begantoreview the unedited photographquality,
(discussingthe optimalimage qualityforprint,andonline viewing), whichwouldleadtothe nextstepsof
creatingaudio,andvideofile contenttocomplimentthe photographs whichwould eventuallybe essential to
include in the multimediabook. My collaborativepartner, aprofessional driver, whomInevermetinperson,
or talkedtoexceptbytextmessages,reported earlyonaboutthe inconsistencyof speech-textrecognition,
whichhinderedsome onlineconversationsdue tohavingtorepeatthe same informationnumeroustimes
until the textwas readable, andorcomprehendible.Anotherminorissue thatwasnoted,atvarioustimes,
became the intermittentorlack of cellularconnectivity, inthe followingstates:“first,NorthDakota,second,
SouthDakota, third,Iowa,fourth,Wyoming,fifth,Nebraska,andsixthIdaho”. Lastly,one unforeseenissue
alsooccurred whentwodifferentGoogle profileswere usedtoaccessthe content. It wouldlaterbe
determinedtobe the bestwayto access the sharedfileswastoconsistentlyuse the userprofile associated
withthe sharedcloudspace.
Once the photographswere inthe sharedGoogle Photospace,I wasable to thenchoose a cloudpublishing
service tocreate templates forpublication.The actual cloudtocloudcollaborations happenedtransparently,
and wouldbe appearto be seamlessconnectivity betweenthe wearabledevice, cellularphone/tabletand
hybridcomputer.The hybrid /staticcomputeralsoactedas gatewaybetweenthe clouds.
Data Figures
Startinginlate January, and endinginMarch 2015, a total of three collaborative bookswere written, inthe
same manner, andpublished throughanonline self-publishingcompany basedinSanFrancisco. The data
analysis inbrief summary,fromthe cloudstorage space wouldendupbeing between 15 -70 megabytes, per
book,foraudiofiles, andthe multi-mediabookstorage space neededwasan estimated65-100 megabytes
for actual size photographs,andbetween20-45megabytesforvideofiles. A final total file storage space

3. 3
usedwouldbe lessthan300 megabytesperbook. (includingstorage space forthe audiofileswere
downloaded,tobe reviewed,andthenuploadedbacktothe publisherscloud.) The contentwouldbe
reviewedassoonasit waspossible tolookatthe photograph,andvideo metatagdata to ensure that
consistent,andauthentictagswere assignedto the files. The online self- publishingprocedures andprocess
will be discussedinafuture paper.)
Authentic Tips for Optimizing Cloud Collaborations
1. Use cloudstorage servicesthathave adequate storage space,orcan be easily increased,if necessary
for projects;Use cloudfile storage servicesthathave easyaccessfor sharingfiles –Google Drive,
Evernote, andDropbox were researched aspotential choices
2. Discuss the specificationsof file formats especiallythe audioand videofile formats, andsizes.
3. While planningforasuccessful cloud project,remembertime zones differences throughoutthe
projectplanningstages
4. Tetherdevices,launchHotSpotsif necessary, andutilizelocal Wi-Fi spotstokeep open
communicationlines,andmobiledataplans(ifnotunlimited)
5. Configure device AppstoconnecttransparentlywithsharedCloud-basedservicesi.e. the
wearable/mobile GoogleGlass deviceconnectedtransparentlywithGoogle Photos
The firsttwo thingswere easilyaccomplishedusingmany well-knownandutilizedcloudservices from
Google.The technology devicesusedwouldinclude one betaeye glasswearable,internetenabled device,
mobile tablets, smartphones,andahybridtablet. Aninterestingthingtonotice isthat out of all the devices
none everbecame collaborative barriers.. The devices,especiallythe wearabledevice,becamethe major
resource of the initial datacollection,andamore streamlinedwaytosynchronicallyshare the digitalmedia
files.
Summary
In retrospect, there wasonly one physical barrierthatslightlydisruptedthe datacollectioninthe ground-to-
cloudcollaboration. Itwasthe environmental conditions,andsince itwaswinter,andat timesthe poor
weatherconditionshindered acquiringsome of the photos. Anothersmall barrierwasactuallythe time zone
change,butnone-the-lessitisworthmentioningdue to the collaborativeexperiences inthe cloud,the time
zone issue wasnotsignificantenough tomatter.(itmighthave beenif the projectwastime sensitive). The
successof cloud collaborationis clearlyunderstandable text,andfile communication whichwasentirely
throughGoogle Hang Outs(HOA- an embeddedtype of textchatwithinthe Google PlusCommunity),anda
dynamicactionplanfor the project. The speechto textreadability became annoyingattimes,butwouldbe
consideredmostlyinsignificant,butwould matteragain,if time constraintswere partof the project.
As an educator,establishingthe goals,andobjectives,andfinal evaluationof creatingcollaborative online
projectslookpromisingfor creatingteaching,andlearningfrompositive collaborations.These innovative
projectswill hopefullybe viewedasvaluable insupportingandactualizingauthenticlearningexperiences as
successful withoutnecessarily beingface toface. Choosingacollaborative partnerin thisprojectwaspurely
by chance,beginningfromafriendlyonline discussion, whichledtotwoseparate professionals collaborating,

4. 4
“Cloudcollaborationbringstogethernew advancesincloudcomputingandcollaborationthat
are becomingmore andmore necessaryinfirmsoperatinginanincreasinglyglobalizedworld.
Cloudcomputingisa marketingtermfortechnologiesthatprovide software, dataaccess,and
storage servicesthatdonot require end-userknowledge of the physical locationand
configurationof the systemthatdeliversthe services.” Wikipedia
and learningtocreate shared contentfroman innovative betawearable devicemobile device connectingto
a collaborative sharedcloudspace.
A questionto now be discussedis,“Where dowe gofrom here,as the nextgenerationmobile devices
transformthe teaching,andlearningenvironments?” The needtokeep anopenmindisimportant inorder
to attract, and motivate more ideagenerationfor live interactionsleadingtoultimatelyenrichingdigital
teaching, andmightalsoenrichdidacticexperiences. Educatorsmight consideralmost any locationand
now device as a potential teachable,and learningplatform evenmore today as immediate accessibility
might ensure expandedopportunitiesfordiscovery,and add value to typesof open learningexperiences.
My projectpartner,Richard(Rick) Sare, Founderof GlassGeek,featuredinTruckMagazine wearsthe beta
versionof Google Glassover16 hourseach day. In July,2015, the collaborative project, Creating
CollaborativeContent&Experiencesinthe CloudsusingWearable,andMobile Devices,atCampus Tech
2015 Boston,waspresentedasa Postersession.
Findus onthe social spacesof Twitter@roxannriskinand@ricksare andGoogle Plus+RoxannRiskinand
+RickSare Feature storyinRoad KingMagazine http://roadking.com/truckers/driver-sees-world-google-
glass/