Electronic Library, The

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the educational potential of “cloud computing” (CC), and how it could be exploited in enhancing engagement among educational researchers and educators to better understand and improve their practice, in increasing the quality of their students' learning outcomes, and, thus, in advancing the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) in a higher education context.

Design/methodology/approach – Adoption of the ideals of SoTL is considered an important approach for salvaging the higher education landscape around the world that is currently in a state of flux and evolution as a result of rapid advances in information and communications technology, and the subsequent changing needs of the digital natives. The study is based on ideas conceptualised from reading several editorials and articles on server virtualisation technology and cloud computing in several journals, with the eSchool News as the most important one. The paper identifies two cloud computing tools, their salient features and describes how cloud computing can be used to achieve the ideals of SoTL.

Findings – The study reports that the cloud as a ubiquitous computing tool and a powerful platform can enable educators to practise the ideals of SoTL. Two of the most useful free “cloud computing” applications are the Google Apps for Education which is a free online suite of tools that includes Gmail for e-mail and Google Docs for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, and Microsoft's cloud service (Live@edu) including the SkyDrive. Using the cloud approach, everybody can work on the same document at the same time to make corrections as well as improve it dynamically in a collaborative manner.

Practical implications – Cloud computing has a significant place in higher education in that the appropriate use of cloud computing tools can enhance engagement among students, educators, and researchers in a cost effective manner. There are security concerns but they do not overshadow the benefits.

Originality/value – The paper provides insights into the possibility of using cloud computing delivery for originating a new instructional paradigm that makes a shift possible from the traditional practice of teaching as a private affair to a peer-reviewed transparent process, and makes it known how student learning can be improved generally, not only in one's own classroom but also beyond it.