We had three major goals to learn about during this interview process:
1. People's perceived functions of the Cloud
2. How have people learned about the Cloud
3. Safety of the Cloud
Learning this information (from a wide age-group of participants) would lead to their misconceptions and notice how they formed these misconceptions.
1. People's perceived functions of the Cloud
2. How have people learned about the Cloud
3. Safety of the Cloud
Learning this information (from a wide age-group of participants) would lead to their misconceptions and notice how they formed these misconceptions.
The Functions of the Cloud
The majority of people that we talked to had heard of the Cloud, but had some difficulty explaining it. (Out of the 17 people we interviewed, 10 people had some idea of the cloud, 3 had a very vague idea, and 5 had no idea.) As its name suggests, some people believed the Cloud worked wirelessly and their information was not stored in a physical place. Others could come up with an educated guess when prompted, but admitted to never giving the Cloud much thought before this.
Why is this important to us?
Just like we wouldn't start driving a car without knowing how it works, we should be careful about using the Cloud so frequently without knowing how it functions.
The Truth
Your computer or device accesses a server (aka the Cloud) to upload or download from the Internet. Services like Google, email, social media, Dropbox, Evernote, etc. own servers in warehouses around the U.S. and the world. When you save something to one of these sites, you are sending your information to one of their servers. The same thing happens when you download or stream videos from YouTube or Netflix. You access their server that holds that video file. Watch the video below for more details.
The majority of people that we talked to had heard of the Cloud, but had some difficulty explaining it. (Out of the 17 people we interviewed, 10 people had some idea of the cloud, 3 had a very vague idea, and 5 had no idea.) As its name suggests, some people believed the Cloud worked wirelessly and their information was not stored in a physical place. Others could come up with an educated guess when prompted, but admitted to never giving the Cloud much thought before this.
Why is this important to us?
Just like we wouldn't start driving a car without knowing how it works, we should be careful about using the Cloud so frequently without knowing how it functions.
The Truth
Your computer or device accesses a server (aka the Cloud) to upload or download from the Internet. Services like Google, email, social media, Dropbox, Evernote, etc. own servers in warehouses around the U.S. and the world. When you save something to one of these sites, you are sending your information to one of their servers. The same thing happens when you download or stream videos from YouTube or Netflix. You access their server that holds that video file. Watch the video below for more details.
Education about the Cloud
Not one person cited formal education as their means to learning about the Cloud. Most people pulled from their own experiences, peers, the Internet, and their personal devices when constructing their view of the Cloud. Since everyone has a different experience with the Cloud, their knowledge of the Cloud is different.
Why is this important to us?
Prior knowledge is a key component in becoming an expert on a subject. The more (correct!) prior knowledge a person has in addition to ample practice, the better he/she will become at using that knowledge. A solid knowledge base is incredibly important for making people intentional and proper Internet users.
The Truth
The Cloud and cloud computing should be taught in schools to foster appropriate Internet usage.
Not one person cited formal education as their means to learning about the Cloud. Most people pulled from their own experiences, peers, the Internet, and their personal devices when constructing their view of the Cloud. Since everyone has a different experience with the Cloud, their knowledge of the Cloud is different.
Why is this important to us?
Prior knowledge is a key component in becoming an expert on a subject. The more (correct!) prior knowledge a person has in addition to ample practice, the better he/she will become at using that knowledge. A solid knowledge base is incredibly important for making people intentional and proper Internet users.
The Truth
The Cloud and cloud computing should be taught in schools to foster appropriate Internet usage.
The Safety of the Cloud
As Cloud Computing becomes more and more popular, Internet users should understand how safe (or unsafe) their information is on the Cloud. Our interviewees were split on this topic. Some thought the Cloud was unsafe because of Internet hackers. Others pointed out that the Cloud is as safe as anything, since a robber could break into your house and steal your belongings. During the interview, we discussed the positives and negatives of using the Cloud. Many people could easily indicate the positives: convenience, ability to backup important information, and cheap for the consumer. The interviewees could not list as many negatives, however. Many people mentioned the possibility of hackers. We found it interesting that even the people that could not define the Cloud confidently had an idea that hackers could access their information in the Cloud.
Why is this important to us?
Just like every aspect of our lives, the Cloud is as safe as we make it. When people understand how the Cloud works, they can make sure they are using it safely.
The Truth
Security measures can vary by company. Google, for example, has security at warehouse grounds, safeguards your data, throughly destroys any server not working correctly, and backups your information onto other Google servers multiple times to insure that your information is secure.
As Cloud Computing becomes more and more popular, Internet users should understand how safe (or unsafe) their information is on the Cloud. Our interviewees were split on this topic. Some thought the Cloud was unsafe because of Internet hackers. Others pointed out that the Cloud is as safe as anything, since a robber could break into your house and steal your belongings. During the interview, we discussed the positives and negatives of using the Cloud. Many people could easily indicate the positives: convenience, ability to backup important information, and cheap for the consumer. The interviewees could not list as many negatives, however. Many people mentioned the possibility of hackers. We found it interesting that even the people that could not define the Cloud confidently had an idea that hackers could access their information in the Cloud.
Why is this important to us?
Just like every aspect of our lives, the Cloud is as safe as we make it. When people understand how the Cloud works, they can make sure they are using it safely.
The Truth
Security measures can vary by company. Google, for example, has security at warehouse grounds, safeguards your data, throughly destroys any server not working correctly, and backups your information onto other Google servers multiple times to insure that your information is secure.
How Does This Change Your Internet Habits?
In conclusion, we hoped that by exploring this misconception we would force people to confront their understanding of the Cloud and reflect on how they use it. Will you change your Internet habits after learning how the Cloud truly works?
In conclusion, we hoped that by exploring this misconception we would force people to confront their understanding of the Cloud and reflect on how they use it. Will you change your Internet habits after learning how the Cloud truly works?