Users (e.g.: Students, Professors) have been forced by Educational Institutions to upload their professional resume or other related professional contact into the Educational Institution website or into an ePortfolio system hosted by the Educational Institution. On the other hand, Educational Institutions offer Computer Labs, where users (e.g.: Students) can go to and use the several software applications offered by the Educational Institution. Some users (e.g.: Students, Professors) have their own computer (e.g.: PC, laptop, tablet, etc.) with some software, but are forced to go and use the computers at the Computer Labs in the Educational Institution when they need to use a specific software application that they don't have in their personal computers.
With the evolution of the internet and software technology, including virtualization, collaboration and cloud computing, this old rigid paradigm described in paragraph 3, can now change into a flexible and more economic solution for everyone, the Educational Institution and the User. And the User is not just limited to Students and Professors, now the Users include Students, Professors, Staff, R&D Projects (Project Teams) and Alumnus.
The New, Flexible and More Economic Solution should allow the Educational Institution to deliver all necessary software to the user in one place, a software device that can be accessed by the user (e.g. Student) at anytime from anywhere and on any hardware device. And the software device should be operated by the user making it personal and independent from the Educational Institution, so the user can customize and store his/her files and have privacy and not have to worry about what would happen when departing from the Educational Institution (e.g.: a student graduating).
In addition, the Educational Institution should apply the same standards for any user, whether is a Student, a Professor, a Staff, a Alumnus or a Team in a R&D Project. So the Educational Institution should be able to connect these software devices into groups and assign security based on these groups. Furthermore, these software devices should be able to communicate, and share content which could include software applications.
The prior art to this invention is what is called a Content and Portal system, which becomes obsolete with the systems and methods described in the present invention. The following is a brief description of the problems of the prior art, and how are solved by the present invention. It is recommended to read the entire description and drawings to fully understand the new art and its capabilities to solve the problems of prior arts.
Problem 1: The prior art associates the user with a user account, thus all users are accounts in the Content and Portal System (one website). There is no physical independence per user. The problem with this art is that it is rigid and the user has no option to split from the group (one website). Solution: The present invention associates the user with a user account and a CMS site (e.g.: Personal CMS site). There is a physical independence per user as there is a physical software independence per CMS site. The user has the option to split from the group by disconnecting his/her CMS site from the group (GCMS site) and continue using his/her CMS site as a Stand-Alone. This disconnection from the GCMS site is at both levels: 1) Logical disconnection of the CMS site from the group GCMS, and 2) Physical software disconnection of the CMS site from the group GCMS, providing the opportunity to export and remove the CMS site from the server hardware environment, and import the CMS site into a different server hardware environment, where the CMS site might never connect to a GCMS.
Problem 2: The prior art provides the user with a limited type of content to create and in a rigid format as all users have to follow the same format (users are accounts in one website). And the content is limited to user content (text content and limitation on files to upload). Solution: The present invention provides the user with unlimited types of content and total flexibility, as each user is free to design their own format in their own CMS site (e.g.: Personal CMS site), without having to follow a structured format. And the content is unlimited and can be categorized as the content and data files created and stored by the user in his/her CMS site, and the content and data files selected, stored and used by the user in his/her CMS site. The content and data files that the user can create, select, use and/or store in his/her CMS site are: (a) Professional Profile under unlimited menus/pages/modules and with a personal and customizable skin/container design, (b) Personal Files (docs, photos, music, videos, etc.) under a personal folder/subfolder directory structure, (c) Personal Web Apps and Personal Content, (d) Personal Virtual Desktop/Apps and Web/Cloud Services, (e) a Personal Security System that he/she can control (user and user roles) and incorporated herein, user accounts (registered users). And the ability to fine-tune all of these (a, b, c, d and e) independently from the rest of the CMS sites in the group (GCMS). In addition the present invention allows the user to split from the group and take with him/her, all the above personal stuff described in points a, b, c, d and e, while the prior art does not allow the user to split from the group (website) as the user is just an account.
Due to the above reasons, the description and drawings of the present invention in this patent application, refers now to Cloud Management System sites (CMS sites) and Group Cloud Management System sites (GCMS sites), as a way to differentiate this new art from the prior art.