Drop It

Dropbox is one of those amazing services that are just so helpful to teachers who, unfortunately, are forced to work in multiple locations and from many different computers. It can become frustrating keeping your files arranged and organized when this is the scenario. So, Dropbox is a great solution. I was reminded this week from an amazing colleague, Linda Brown, that not everyone in the education world is familiar with Dropbox. Here is Linda’s review and thoughts on Dropbox:

“It is a free site that is awesome!  They will give your 2GB of storage free but if you e-mail them after setting up your account and tell them you are a teacher, they will increase your storage capacity. After you install DropBox on your computer, it puts an icon on your desktop.  When you click on the icon, it gives you a list of the folders and files you have stored there.  Make sure to install DropBox on each computer your use (you can even install a SmartPhone app for it)  It will sync all your files between all of your computers and even allow it with MAC and PC crossing.  Each time you log onto one of your computers, you will notice that it says your dropbox is being updated.  That means it is syncing all of the files to that machine that may not have been there from the previous time you were logged on.”

To pigyback ontop of what Dropbox offers you to organize your files, it can also help you with collecting student work electronically! The two services that I love that will work in conjunction with your Dropbox account is Send To Dropbox, which allows you (or your students) to email an attachment directly to your Dropbox account and Drop It To Me, which creates an electronic dropbox where students can upload a document directly to your Dropbox account. If you like to collect student work electronically, this is, in my opinion, the only way to go!

If you are interested in using Dropbox, here is the Ultimate Dropbox Toolkit that may assist you with the more advanced features of Dropbox. There is also a video explaining Dropbox on the homepage of the site if you would like to see more information about it.