Tools for Collaboration

North Carolina District Pilots Cloud Computing Platform

• By Scott Aronowitz
• 03/22/10

Wilson County Schools (WCS) of Wilson, NC, has announced its participation in a pilot program with Glide Education Corp. (GEC) that will provide the district an extensive set of Web 2.0 productivity and communications tools, as well as secure file storage, in a cloud computing environment.

The Glide system allows WCS to maintain all of its Web 2.0 applications, as well as an unlimited number of its files, including very large multimedia files and administrative files requiring high security, offsite at a secure server location. In addition, the system provides granular access through which the district can assign access rights to students, teachers, and administrators.

Said Craig Hill, assistant superintendent of WCS: "The ability to infuse video content and other media and move seamlessly through a variety of communication venues makes Glide a platform that has limitless applications. We see it as having the possibility to expand our virtual education opportunities and as an integral part of our continuous technology plans."

Cloud computing, which entails the storage of both data and applications on an easily accessible offsite server, generally offers users access to applications and storage hosted off site, usually with a variety of security features built in.

GEC, an affiliate of cloud service provider Transmedia Corp., recently launched with the goal of providing safe, secure file storage and Web 2.0 management tools specifically for educational environments. A spokesperson for the company said it will be launching pilot programs in additional school districts in the coming weeks.