A Practical Application of TrimCloud

Abstract

The current educational technologies in developing countries are not always successfully implemented and utilized due to infrastructure limitations, such as limited resources, limited training in educational technologies, and the unrealized potential usefulness of these technologies. Using an effective and relevant educational technology will efficiently maximize the use of the limited resources available to schools in developing countries in order to provide a larger outreach and increase access to up-to-date information and useful electronic resources. Thus, the authors propose TrimCloud as an alternative educational technology to help rebuild the education system and encourage innovation and development in developing countries. TrimCloud is an open-source virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) that is offered as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) and a desktop-as-a-service (DaaS). In this paper, the authors examine possible solutions to issues plaguing the educational environment in developing countries by using TrimCloud at the primary, secondary, university/higher education, and administration levels. They propose the use of refurbished legacy systems as the alternative hardware source for using TrimCloud as an educational technology, which will also aid to alleviate the “e-waste dump” problem. Lastly, the authors explore further network enhancements to TrimCloud that will provide a reliable and robust option for developing countries.