Teaching Networks in the Cloud

The Web is populated by a growing number of services that provide access to remote IT resources: they are collectively addressed as the Cloud. Such incoherent and expanding number of services is investigated to find those that can help the task of teaching, focusing on a challenging case study for which I have a direct experience: a couobrse in computer networks with the purpose of giving the students a hands-on experience using production-grade techniques. The outcome of the case study is that on-line services can complement traditional frontal lectures, to enrich the communication between the teacher and the student, and to improve the learning experience. This is a hint for teachers, and characterizes a potential market for developers and providers.