Dropbox is simplifying our lives within the department.

Our social studies department has decided to use Dropbox to share files among us this year. I’m really impressed. As department chair, I can drop in my agenda for meetings and add any other files that I would have distributed as email attachments in the past. When I scan items with the department scanner, I can put the scanned items in my Dropbox on the computer attached to the scanner and it appears nearly instantly in the Dropbox on my laptop.

Once you register on the Dropbox website and download the installer, an icon appears on your menu bar which leads to a folder that is linked to the Dropbox website. You get 2 gigabytes of space for free and you can purchase additional space if needed. We have found the free 2 gigs is plenty for sharing files.

Great features include a “public” folder within Dropbox that allows you to share items by a url that is automatically generated. You can also create a “shared folder” and invite people to use it. Once the invitation is accepted, any of the invitees can place items in the folder to be shared. We used this feature this summer to work collaboratively on curriculum. I created a “department” folder that we are all members of that will make sharing items much easier this school year. I’m also going to use Dropbox to share items with my classes this year.

If you haven’t tried Dropbox - do so. If you use Dropbox, let me know how you use it?