Google - Cloud Computing in the Classroom

Today I am at the Central Ontario Computing Organization, (COCA) Conference in Hamilton Ontario and it has been very informative.

We started the day with keynote speaker from Google, Julia Stiglit.  The subject of her keynote was Cloud Computing in the classroom.
Julia started her session with some warm-up questions on stats involving the youth of today and their Internet use.  Following that, she mentioned how 5 years ago technology in the classroom and at home was more about access.  Now, the conversation is shifting towards usage and how technology can be used in different ways.
If we think of a time-line of technology use from the late 90's:

Consumption--Consumption & Learning--Creating with Technology--Creating the Technology 
Expectations are higher to use technology in meaningful ways to promote learning.  Programs such as Scratch and App inventor from Google are great examples.

So why has this growth happened so quickly? 
Teaching and Learning has really promoted collaboration for both teachers and students and has  made it easy to publish to the Web with Google Docs. There are also other rich tools such as Google Earth, Apps for Education, Gmail, etc...  To get started with Google K-12, check out the following Guide to Going Google.

To explore more innovative programs - take some time to explore the Google Apps Marketplace.