Cloud Computing 1

Here is the viewable link for my LucidChart document:

https://www.lucidchart.com/invitations/accept/9653b5a8-fd80-4597-9d6c-7aec4cba5367

I created a vocabulary chart for middle school sculpture students, that scaffolds what I am expecting by
starting with much information, then slowly expecting students to add in more. I did run into an issue
with paid vs. free accounts, so this is not a final usable document, as I was limited on shapes and lines
that I did not know about before I started!

LucidChart is an cloud based diagram tool. I have heard about this site before from students who have
used it in other classes, but had not tried it myself yet. I decided that this would be a great opportunity
to see what all the hype is about, since I am very familiar with both Google Suite and Microsoft cloud
based tools. When first logging in, the site asks what you will be using it for the most, so it can tailor
your experience. Once logged in, it brings you to a dashboard page where you can see all the charts
you have create. If you need to create a new chart, this is where you can do that as well.

Once I started a new document, a tutorial pop-up appeared. It went over the basic steps of how a
LucidChart can be created. You can start from a template or create your own, depending on your
needs. I can see this being very useful for both students and educators. I could create a template for
students to alter and share it out, or they can create their own. I could also use the site to create
charts to organize my classes, units, and lessons.
Cloud Computing 2

This tool is not anything that can’t be done with technology either, so while adding in ease of use and
the use of technology aspect, it is not the only tool available. This could easily be done on paper or
through other online tools with a little bit more difficulty. I like this as it won’t disrupt a lesson plan if
there are technology problems, or the site goes down in the future. While the cloud based aspect is
unique, students could still use templates of my creation or share their own creations through other
means.

One thing I noticed was the privacy policy that LucidChart has, that goes through exactly what they are
responsible for. This ties in to the Cloud Privacy video we watched this week (TeachPrivacy, 2013).
This is one challenge area, as they do not tailor their service to education, which opens the student
data to being used inappropriately. The site was very easy for me to use, but I could see some
students struggling with it. I would introduce it with templates first for students to play with, before
opening it up for students to create their own charts. LucidChart has many educational based
templates, which can be edited to fit your needs. I was looking through the options and was inspired
by the vocab review option found in the education template section for my own chart. I can use mine
as a template and share it out to students to edit on their own, even printing paper copies for students
who need less technology or do not have their technology that day.

When I really started to dig into creating my document, I did notice some other challenges. As
mentioned above, if you sign up for the free account, there are limits on the number of shapes and
lines you can use. They do have an education discount, but you need to contact the company once you
sign up to get access (I did not do that for the purposes of this assignment!).

Once I was finished creating my document, I did explore the share options. Students would be able to
use this to work together on a single project, similar to Google products. The site even enables
collaborator cursors so you can see where and what other people are working on.
Cloud Computing 3

Overall, I think this is a cool technology tool, and I spent more time than I should have playing with all
the options! It is very adaptive to the needs of both students and educators, and can be used in many
different ways. I really enjoyed that I could have students create their own, I could create something
to share with them to edit, or even create something to help my own organization. Overall, a very
versatile tool.

Works Cited
TeachPrivacy. (2013, January 27). YouTube. Retrieved from Cloud Computing in Education:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9Mu1INm6KA&feature=youtu.be