In the online education and LMS community, the benefits of cloud computing may seem to outweigh the possible dangers.

But even Wikipedia’s definition of cloud computing is provocative: “It’s a style of computing in which IT-related capabilities are provided ‘as a service’, allowing users to access technology-enabled services from the internet (‘in the cloud’) without the knowledge of, expertise with, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them.”

According to Richard Stallman, LMS users shouldn’t get too comfortable with the idea of security in the cloud. “One reason you should not use web applications to do your computing is that you lose control,” he says. There is a growing concern in the LMS community and beyond that mainstream adoption of cloud computing could create a cocktail of privacy and ownership issues, with users potentially being locked out of their own files.

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