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.

1. Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
Paul Boocock
Lecturer
School of Computing
Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Sciences

2. •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

3. •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

4. •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

5. •Gone are the days of this…
Cloud -Benefits
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom

6. •Now its all inside this building…
•…in Ireland…
•…in storagecontainers…
Cloud -Benefits
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom

7. •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

8. Cloud -Benefits
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom

9. •Lots of different cloud providers
•Amazon AWS
•Microsoft Azure
•RackspaceOpen Cloud
•HP Public Cloud
•Google Cloud Platform
Cloud Platforms –Choices?
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom

10. •Lots of different cloud providers
•Amazon AWS
•Microsoft Azure
•RackspaceOpen Cloud
•HP Public Cloud
•Google Cloud Platform
Cloud Platforms –Choices?
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom

11. •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

12. •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:performanceratio
•Also has an Education scheme
–http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/community/education/
Microsoft Azure
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom

13. •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

14. •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

15. Microsoft Azure in Education
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom
•Plenty of resources for our needs

16. •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

17. •Time for a demonstration…
That requires the internet…
So how easy it is?
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom

18. •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
Cloudificationof existing modules
Bringing the Cloud into the Classroom

19. •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

20. •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

21. •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

22. •3Live 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

23. •Awards have just been revalidated
–Still a strong focus on mobile or the option to study mobile
•New Postgraduate Award
–Mobile Application Development
•New 3rdYear 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

24. 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 Boocock
E-mail: paul.boocock@staffs.ac.uk
Twitter: @paul_boocock
Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/PaulBoocock