Teacher talk: How Dropbox changed teaching (for me)
I doubt I'm alone in this facet, but I constantly lose flash drives and hard copied files, Many times, these storage devices contain lesson plans or other teaching resources that took me hours to create. Thankfully, the school where I teach recently purchased Dropbox, a cloud-based file storage tool. Now, I have the ability to just "drop" files into my Dropbox account and access them anytime, from anywhere.
With this service, users have the ability to access their files from any computer. Dropbox also has apps available for iPhone, iPad, Android, and Blackberry devices. Our school has unlimited storage space and it's very easy to use. While free accounts are available, larger storage sizes require a fee.
I have found Dropbox to be an extremely useful teaching tool. Not only does it help me stay organized, with the ability to have all of my files readily accessible at my fingertips, but it also reduces the need for me to keep physical file folders in my already cluttered classroom.
Since my entire department has Dropbox accounts, we have folders that the whole group can access. This makes it very simple for any member to share lesson plans, project ideas, or other teaching resources with the rest of the department. In the past, we have always shared resources by sending attachments in our emails. The convenience of Dropbox relieves us of having to do this. Even more, since we receive so many emails every day, it can be quite common to skip or miss one, which could result in missing a great lesson or resource.
Many companies also use Dropbox, and there are a range of additional uses for it besides sharing folders. As I become more acquainted with the tool, I'm sure I will begin exploring its diversity. But for now, we are quite satisfied all having access to a shared pool of unit lessons, presentations, and activities, saving us valuable time in planning. Teaching is an extremely busy profession and we do not often have the opportunity to visit with our colleagues on a daily basis, let alone observe them teaching fantastic lessons. Dropbox is yet another convenient technological advancement that affords us the ability to collaborate in a more efficient manner.
About the Author:
Christi Wilson is a credentialed teacher of highly-gifted students in Northern Nevada. She has 11 years of classroom teaching experience, a bachelor's degree in elementary education, a master's degree in education leadership, and has even taught K-12 education online. A mother of three busy boys, she knows how important it is to keep students engaged in the classroom and interested in a lifetime of learning.