Dropbox

You do not need to use one any longer! you can have a free back up of your files on somebody Else's computer on the cloud. See cloud computing. Drop box is a free online application that allows users to place different type of files: text, graphics, PDF files, even music in a folder that you can access from any computer or Internet connected device. Normally, when you work on different computers, you have to use a memory stick to translate the files between computers. With an account at dropbox.com, you do not need a flash memory anymore! Every time you finish working on a file, just send it and save it in you Drop Box's public folder; when you need to retrieve this file from another computer, you just open your account and access the file from your public folder at dropbox.com. If you have installed the application in your computer, the public folder with the Drop box icon is located in "my documents" folder. With this application you always have access to the latest version of the file. Modify and updated By Gina Dorado ||
 * |||| Dropbox **Drop Box is a service that help you to back up and synchronize your files online and across your computers! ** Do you still use a flash memory or a stick memory to back up your files?
 * ^  || ** Strength ** || * Sign in and access your files from any computer's browser or mobile device.
 * Free version available with 2GB storage
 * Provides an easy online way to store and share files.
 * Automatic on-line backup.
 * Friendly Interface.
 * students do not have to be responsible for a flash drive to have remote access to their files.
 * Can earn additional free space by referring friends
 * No more clogging up emails sending documents back and forth
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">If changes are made on a shared document, you are able to see when the changes were made and who made them.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Can download program to hard drive so files immediately sync when worked on. ||
 * ^  || Weakness || * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">It is free up to 2GB of Memory; after this amount of memory, you need to start paying a monthly fee.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Can get confusing when you try to sync documents from one device that has multiple users.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Requires internet access to be able to retrieve files.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">If you have a personal and work account on the free version, on many computers they cannot both run from your hard drive. You have to use one as a web-based service. ||
 * ^  || ** Opportunities ** || * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Teachers and students benefit from this service.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">School administrators can also benefit form this useful service.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Only people you invite can share content of one or more of your files.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Files can be shared to students online with easy access. ||
 * ^  || Threats || * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Users should be aware that confidential documents could be accessible by a third party on remote cloud based file servers.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">In many states, sharing PII (Personally Identifiable Information) over services like DropBox can be grounds for legal action. Keep all student data, names and personal information in a secure location. ||
 * ^  || == Ideas for the classroom == || * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Helps with teacher organization on files pertaining to the classroom.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Provides a catalogue of resources for future school years.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">A Teacher can post an assignment for a specific class and only those students can access it.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Can be used as an online picture gallery for class trips and experiences.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Easy way to distribute documents to all the computers in the classroom without a network.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Teacher can easily share information with other teachers from phone or laptop.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Great for working on lesson plans both at school and at home - you will always have the most up to date version
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Students can work on assignments collaboratively by saving work in a shared folder
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Teachers across schools and grade levels can collaborate and share their resources. ||
 * ^  || Sources of Information || * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Drop Box Website ||

=
Our students are either in the computer lab or using the netbook cart. They very rarely are able to get the same computer twice, so having access to "cloud computing" on school computers help immensely. Many of my students have lost flash drives or have had them go bad due to wear and tear. Unfortunately, several students have lost research papers because of their device or operator error. Drop Box will allow them to open their work regardless of which computer they have been assigned to use. Also, if they forget or lose their flash drive (today's equivalent to the dog ate my homework), they will still have access to their work and be able to turn it in. (Jeannie J.)======

Our students use iPads once a week. Drop Box has proved to a be a very useful Web 2.0 tool for activities on the iPads. The students who create something are able to "drop" their creation into the account and then the teacher is able to access it from any computer. At Christmas time, each student created a book on the iPad about Elves. They then loaded the finished books into the drop box account for our class. I was then able to access all of them from one computer and upload them to our class website. The fact that all of my students were able to be on individual iPads, but have their finished products end up in one places was extremely effective. (Sara P.)


 * Additional Information about Dropbox:**

I have been using this site for about a year and absolutely love using it. One feature that I like is that you can access deleted files. Sometimes I delete files that I don't think I need only to realize that I needed it after all. This site allows access to older files you have created. I feel that this would be important when using it with students in a classroom setting. I know that sometimes accidents happen and files are not saved correctly. Using dropbox would allow some security in saving files.

Another feature that I like about dropbox is that I feel like I have an added file backup system. About 4 months ago my laptop that I do a lot of my classwork on quit working. The whole screen light went out and nothing was accessible from it. I was not as upset as I could have been since all of my files were stored in my dropbox file and were easily accessed by my desktop computer. I also like that when you save files to dropbox you are not taking up your hard drive storage and slowing down your computer. (Tassie M.)


 * School wide Examples:**

I love dropbox! I work in a turnaround school and we are constantly creating spreadsheets and documents of the most up-to-date data on our students and sending them to coaches and administrators. Last year I talked my coaches and administrators into utilizing dropbox to share and store the data. I am proud to say that my email inbox and outbox is no longer inundated with data emails and all of our data is securely stored on the cloud. (Bryan L.)

Within my math department, each content area PLC's at least once a week. The Algebra 1 team last year spent many hours collaborating on a redesign of the math instructional process for our school. We used Dropbox to instantly share and update the lessons we created. Dropbox allowed our collaboration to be painless, easy, and inspiring! (Cyndi G.)