Building Schools in the Cloud: Virtual Classrooms as Real Places
As a former Geography teacher, I’ve always been fascinated by how spaces become places—how physical locations, defined by coordinates on a map, transform into meaningful environments where people live, learn, and connect. And how those places are constantly made and remade, experienced differently depending on the matrix of perceptions, cultures, genders, and histories we bring to them.
Recently, someone I "know" from my Substack commented on one of my LinkedIn posts. Our conversations on Substack are deeply reflective and poetic, while my LinkedIn content is more formal and focused on AI, education, and governance. Seeing their name pop up in this different context, I said,
"Nice to see you in the real world."
Their response?
"Where is the real world?"
That question struck me. Where are the safe spaces where we can learn about ourselves, explore our beliefs, and build communities with people who share our values? If you were to plot our digital interactions across LinkedIn, Substack, Twitter, Facebook, or even Strava or Waze, you’d see that we don’t exist in isolated bubbles—we are living and learning within a ‘glocal’ (local-global) hyflex ecosystem that's deeply alive.
What is ‘Place’ in a Digital World?
In geography, place is more than just a location—it is the interaction of links and flows of people, ideas, and experiences. Cultural Geographers say:
Location + Meaning = Place
A grid reference alone (or indeed a Zoom or Google Meet link) doesn’t make a place meaningful—what matters is how we experience it. The same space can hold different meanings for different people, shaped by culture, age, gender, and personal history.
One person’s ‘space’ can be another person’s ‘place.’
For example, the Atlantic Ocean is just open water to many, but for a deep-sea fisherman, it is a workplace.
For AWS, Google, or IBM, the Cloud is an infrastructure and data storage solution—a vast digital space for computing power and processing.
But for an increasing number of young people, it is "school" and university—a place where they learn, collaborate, and build their futures.
Just as we form emotional attachments to homes, schools, and community spaces, we do the same in virtual environments. A well-designed digital space isn’t “less real” than a physical one—it’s simply different.
This is why I believe in "Building Schools in the Cloud"—not as a backup plan, but as a deliberate, designed, and structured ecosystem for learning.
How to Build a School in the Cloud: The Foundations of a Meaningful Virtual Classroom
Too often, schools approach online learning as a temporary fix rather than a true learning environment. But a virtual classroom isn’t just a video call—it’s a hyflex learning ecosystem, a portal where ideas flow, connections form, communities are built, and knowledge is revisited over time.
If we are going to build schools in the cloud, we must construct them with:
✅ Pedagogical Intent – How does the space encourage deep learning?
✅ Security & Safety – How do we protect students and teachers?
✅ Data & Privacy – What GDPR and AI considerations are at play?
✅ Longevity & Consistency – How do we create learning continuity?
1. The Board Should Never Be Wiped Clean
In a physical classroom, teachers don’t erase command words, key concepts, and diagrams the moment they’re written. These visual anchors remain on the classroom walls, helping students orient themselves in the learning process.
Virtual classrooms should work the same way. Persistent whiteboards and shared documents allow students to return to past lessons, reinforcing learning continuity.
🔹 Practical Tip: Choose platforms that allow session-to-session continuity—where notes stay visible, just like on a real classroom wall.
🔹 Watch Out For: Platforms that auto-delete or reset after each session can disrupt student memory recall and engagement.
2. Breakout Rooms: When and Why to Use Them
In traditional classrooms, group work can be noisy, messy, and unpredictable. In virtual spaces, breakout rooms offer a controlled, structured alternative.
Use breakout rooms when:
✅ You want students to explore a concept before sharing back
✅ You need differentiated support (e.g., scaffolding for some groups or a "time out" for emotional regulation)
✅ You’re encouraging independent problem-solving
Avoid breakout rooms when:
❌ The task requires teacher-led instruction
❌ Students feel unprepared for discussion
❌ A whole-class discussion is more effective
🔹 Practical Tip: Move between breakout rooms as a guide, not a micromanager—just as you would in a physical classroom.
🔹 Watch Out For: Breakout rooms without oversight and accountability can lead to safeguarding risks. Make sure there’s a way to monitor student interactions.
3. Security and Safety: Protecting Students and Teachers
Unlike physical schools—where doors are left open, and anyone might wander in—virtual classrooms have built-in security features:
🔒 Room locks prevent uninvited guests 📹 Recording options support safeguarding & review 👀 Teacher oversight ensures safe and productive interactions
GDPR & AI Considerations:
Ensure data is stored securely—where does your platform host student information?
AI-generated analytics (like student engagement tracking) must align with ethical AI policies.
Avoid unnecessary data collection—students should not be tracked beyond learning metrics that serve them.
🔹 Practical Tip: Use platforms that offer customisable security settings—not all virtual classrooms are created equal.
🔹 Watch Out For: Schools often overlook data privacy risks in free or poorly secured platforms. Always check where your student data is being stored.
Virtual Learning as a Hyflex Ecosystem: The Future of Schools in the Cloud
If we shift our mindset from seeing virtual classrooms as “just online” to recognising them as real places for learning, we unlock powerful opportunities.
🟢 Like a school corridor, a well-structured virtual space enables spontaneous interactions and community-building.
🟢 Like a classroom wall, persistent whiteboards and documents provide scaffolding for learning and memory.
🟢 Like a school library, the internet itself offers limitless knowledge at our fingertips.
So instead of asking:
"Is online learning as good as in-person?"
We should be asking:
How do we build virtual learning spaces that feel just as real, just as rich, and just as human?
The answer? By treating them as real schools, with all the care, security, and pedagogy that physical spaces receive.
Join Me for a Live Demo: Schools in the Cloud in Action
📅 Tomorrow on LinkedIn Live – I’ll be speaking with Matthew Henshall from Lessonspace to demonstrate what a real virtual classroom looks like—and how we can design online learning environments that are meaningful, secure, and future-ready.
See you there!
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#HyflexLearning #SchoolsInTheCloud #DigitalPedagogy #EdTechLeadership #VirtualLearningEcosystem #AIinEducation #FRGS #GeographyTeacher
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First published in Building Schools in the Cloud on LinkedIn, 4 February 2025.