CLOUD COMPUTING TRANSFORMING THE DYNAMICS OF TEACHING LEARNING PROCESS IN HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA

Cloud computing is the next stage in the Internet's evolution, providing the means through which everything-----from computing power to computing infrastructure, applications, business processes to personal collaboration ----can be delivered. Cloud computing refers to manipulating, configuring, and accessing the applications online. It offers online data storage, infrastructure and application. The term "cloud computing" originated from the cloud metaphor and graphic that often represents the Internet on network diagrams, because cloud computing relies on applications and file storage that reside on a network: a local-are network, a district intranet, or the Internet itself. . The "cloud" in cloud computing can be defined as the set of hardware, networks, storage, services, and interfaces that combine to delivery aspects of computing as a service. Cloud services include the delivery of software, infrastructure, and storage over the Internet (either as separate components or a complete platform) based on user demand. Cloud computing offers many possibilities to developmental educators for its use, whether for communicating with students through social networking services like Face book, sending out updates via Twitter, providing online tutoring or having students collaborate on their writing using a wiki. Cloud computing has the potential to offer staff and students better services at a lower cost that the technology deployment models they are using now. The present research paper discusses about the models of cloud computing, application of cloud computing, benefits and disadvantages of cloud computing. The investigator also focuses upon the various challenges in implementation of cloud computing in higher education.