How Parents Can Use Cloud Computing to Help With Homework

Photo: bernadg

It’s a sad-but-true fact that parents these days are busier than ever. The work day is rarely 9 to 5, the commute eats up time, and it’s very common for both parents to be employed full-time to make ends meet. But our nation’s children still have the same needs they’ve always had, and that includes school studies and homework. Additional tutoring outside of school hours by parents is invaluable for children. And that’s where cloud computing can really come to the rescue for parents everywhere.

Cloud computing is simply a fancy term for Internet-based computing, where applications, files, and resources are stored in distant servers away from your computer. You can access these resources on demand from any computer. Any time you’re using Flickr, Yahoo Mail, Google Docs, Office Live, or MobileMe, you are “on the cloud.”

Enter the Cloud and a New Level of Parental Involvement

Here’s a typical scenario that many of you may have faced on more than one occasion. Your business requires you to fly to another part of the country for a few days, be it to attend a meeting or conference, close a deal, or get additional training. As a parent, that leaves you out of reach. Sure, modern cell phones and laptops help you to stay in touch, but when it comes to helping with homework, most parents rely on email and a phone call as they’re stuck in their hotel rooms. And that’s, well, old-fashioned and clunky.

With cloud computing you can share the information on the laptop in front of you with the desktop computer at home, several thousand miles away, and vice-versa. And it’s instant, which means that when the all-important book report is due, you can enter the cloud with your young scholar and work on the project together in real time. You can access the report that has just been saved, make corrections, add notes in the margins, drag pictures into the file, and resave it. It basically allows you to collaborate with your child on a level that makes it seem like you’re in the same room. Add videoconferencing to the mix, and you have a virtual homework study session conducted across the country.

Be the Help They Need, Anytime, Anywhere

Cloud computing is not just confined to hotel rooms and home offices. The cloud is accessible anywhere you have access to the Internet. If you take the train or carpool to work every day, you can use that valuable time to collaborate with your children and assist with their homework assignments, research papers, and more. And they could be sitting in the local library, a school bus, or even at the school itself.

In fact, if your child’s school is also using cloud computing, you can tap into that resource, too. So when you have to deal with a panic-stricken teen who knows they have an essay to write but cannot recall the deadline, you can access the syllabus from the school and see the due dates of your child’s homework assignment.

And Remember, It’s For All Ages

For the most part, using cloud computing to help with your child’s homework is definitely aimed at older children and teens. However, we live in a computer-savvy society and cloud computing is just as accessible for younger children. Helping your 1^st grader to write a story, draw a picture, or do math can also be done using cloud-based learning tools disguised as games. Sometimes they may need another parent to help them get online, but after that it can be smooth sailing and a lot of fun.

The Cloud Is Here To Help — Jump In

There’s no better time for a parent to experience cloud computing. The technology is at a place that makes it easy to do, and more people than ever are using cloud computing to help with many aspects of family life. Homework is just a small, but important, part of it. Try it today and see what kind of a difference it can make to your busy life.

Thanks to Windows 7 and Windows Live for sponsoring this post about how technology makes parenting so much easier. Visit Windows to learn more about the power of the Cloud and what it can do for you.