This paper examines the cloud computing for education (CCE) literature, and analyzes if the research is developing scientifically with adequate empirical validation. All aspects of empirical investigations covered in the literature are shown as weak, hence, the necessary scientific development of CCE requires extending its scope of interest, and involving scholars synergistically to create and maintain a "common research agenda."Background: A need to develop research on CCE has been recognized, and considerable efforts made to create an accurate understanding of the development of its scope of interest, in terms of supporting pedagogical developments and processes for better quality of studies.Research Questions: This paper has three main aims: 1) to evaluate the scope of interest in the literature for CCE with specific reference to pedagogy and educational processes; 2) to analyze the characteristics of papers, specifically empirical studies, from the various points of view of the daily improvement activities of teachers and learners at all levels of education; and 3) to identify eventual research gaps to consider and stimulate new topics or further investigations.Methodology: This systematic mapping study review followed a rigorous, replicable process to collect and analyze representative studies of CCE.Findings: Differences are found across geographic areas in applying CCE infrastructure and technologies in educational institutions; few studies address CCE's impact on pedagogic processes. The scope of interest in CCE is only partially covered; with empirical research being very shallow. Suggestions are made for more effective research on concerning the production and use of content.

No abstract

Context. A professor's professionalism and ability to involve students is fundamental for the learning success of their classroom. Nevertheless, it is increasingly clear that utilizing the same teaching practices does not always consider new technologies as commodities. New methodologies are needed that integrate the professor's lectures with new mobile and multimedia technologies available to students. A method that suggests this is flipped learning. Objective. This paper aims to test the flipped learning methodology in the university context, evaluating both the effectiveness in terms of learning and the approval by the students involved. Method. The experiment was conducted between November and December 2018 and involved 140 students enrolled in the first year "Programming" course at the University of Bari in Italy. Results. The experiment shows that flipped learning has positive ratings of satisfaction and effectiveness even at a university level. The results highlighted the effectiveness of the proposed methodology because a high percentage of students achieved a satisfactory result in the proposed learning test. Also, the student satisfaction ratings show their interest and gratitude towards this teaching methodology.

For some years now there has been a growing use of cloud computing technologies in education. This paper reports a systematic mapping study (SMS) about the interest in the innovation of methods, techniques, and tools applied to teaching activities based on the use of cloud computing. The SMS presented here was designed using a consolidated, reliable, rigorous methodology and implemented in a replicable and verifiable manner. The process adopted is based on the selection of papers in accredited online digital libraries. This research made it possible to identify and analyze the empirical evidence in relation to the use of cloud computing in education with the aim of identifying both the main topics currently shared by researchers and the less explored areas to be integrated into a research agenda. The results show that only 17% of the 940 works examined report empirical research about the innovation introduced in educational environments of all levels and degrees by the cloud. The results also show that the type of method most widely used was that of feedback. The areas that have attracted the most interest from the research community are those of the new learning environment, collaboration platforms, and virtual laboratories. However, since the same areas are less supported by empirical research than others, we believe that these should be more closely monitored by the scientific community.

No abstract