Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The World of Dropbox

I know that I emailed the cohort about Dropbox, but I had to add it to the blog so that you would have some more information about it. IT IS AMAZING!

I found that I was constantly emailing documents back and forth to myself, adding or deleting from my very small flash drive, or looking for my external hard drive! I don't have to do that anymore. Once I created my FREE account with Dropbox, I was able to download a folder to the desktop of each computer that I have. Every time I open Dropbox my files are there; it does not matter on which computer I created or edited the file!
Check out this article to see some of the numerous other features of Dropbox. Dropbox also has its own blog to help feature new options and provide some support.

What happens if your computer crashes? We all wonder about backing up our information so that we don't lose it! The most wonderful feature is that if your computer crashes or if you simply want to transfer documents once you have a new computer (think the new laptop switch!), all of your documents are backed up on your online account!
  
Another nice feature is the sharing of documents and folders. For instance, I can share all of my Spanish 2 files with all of the other Spanish 2 teachers at my school or even in the county. Collaboration is now SO easy! The recipients do not even have to have Dropbox in order to share the files because you receive a URL for each file. Think of the possibilities with your students...more to come on that in a later post! 

Dropbox also just came out of the beta version into version 1.0! Check out this review that compares Dropbox, FolderShare, SugarSync, and Snycplicity. The chart should be updated though because Dropbox now has mobile access, backs up everything online, and has a higher storage capacity (up to 8GB). You can try Dropbox to access your files on Blackberry, Android, iPhone, and iPad. I have not yet tried it on my Blackberry because I do not really feel the need to access files on my phone, but I can imagine this would be a great asset in the business world.

I really cannot say enough good things about Dropbox! If you want more space, you can pay for it, but I have found that the starting 2GB is sufficient for my school files. I would definitely consider paying for space in order to have room for my music and photo files.

If still aren't convinced, check out the video below!
 
Sign up for Dropbox today! More to come on uses in the classroom! 

7 comments:

  1. Leslie, this is a really great tool. I used to have the same problem with using 2 computers and never remembering which computer I saved my files on. This helps with that problem and the issue of backing up files. Nice find!

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  2. I also was in the habit of emailing myself important stuff, for instance papers due for classes in this cohort. It was one way to ensure I would have access to things when juggling two computers. I still have documents I emailed myself when in college. I like the collaboration ability. I would love to have many tech teachers in the county submit work they have created. We have a conference, but I don't think it is the same. Maybe I will have to start it!

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  3. Leslie- I love it!!! I am going to back up important things asap! I always get nervous about my plan book and gradebook. Do you know when you backup does it prompt you if you already have the file in the drop box?

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  4. @Sarah, I'm glad you are trying it! Your files sync in the dropbox, so I imagine it would ask if you want to keep the old once or replace it. To be honest, I have not tried to put something in there that I thought might already exist...something new to try! I love that if I have updated something at work that it will sync the next day when I get to school. The only downside that we have found at work is if we have updated something at home the night before and we get to work and the network is down. You still have access to all of your files, but whatever needs to sync won't update until the network is back!

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  5. I love this idea. I have a desktop, school laptop and netbook all running on different operating systems- silly, I know. The netbook doesn't get used as much as I would like, although it is so light, because it is too much trouble to get access to the files I want- just like your video showed! As we speak I am putting my school files into dropbox, so that I can access them on my other home computers. Thanks!

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  6. Leslie, this is a great find. Like Janet, I have 3 different computers and need to remember which one I worked on a specific document on. I like the idea you mentioned with sharing things amongst your colleagues. Do you think this would be something you could have your students use in high school. Maybe for a collaborative project, or do you think it's more for professional uses?

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  7. @Megan, I think this would definitely be something that I could use with the high school students. I would recommend Dropbox to them for personal use, but my use with them would be limited to sharing documents or folders. The kids can use it amongst themselves like Google Docs and can edit files saved all in the same location. To share files with the students though, the documents are assigned a URL that you can send out and have as editable or not! I think it definitely has numerous uses.

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