Social Cloud for Information Technology Skills: An Experience With Universities in Ecuador

Resumen

Instruction in technical disciplines requires hands-on laboratories. Such laboratories are difficult to find and maintain for administrative and cost reasons. The use of a new ecosystem of practical education is necessary. Here, we present a model and an architecture of e-learning for hands-on information technology learning. We use virtual technology and cloud computing access from any computer or student-owned device. The model has been experimentally tested. The results demonstrate the validity of the model that permits the transmission of practical skills in a fashion similar to face-to-face training, but with the advantage that only virtual resources are needed.