In an ever-evolving world of major and influential technological advancements, schools, especially Jesuit, have evolved to adapt such technologies through implementation of services like Moodle.
However, many students are largely unaware of another helpful service called Dropbox, which eliminates the need to manage and maintain previously used methods like jump drives and e-mail. These methods of transferring files between two or more computers (school and home) require a lot of work and are generally a pain to do. Dropbox resolves this.
To clear things up, here is how Dropbox works. Dropbox can be installed on any Mac or Windows PC, and once installed, a Dropbox folder is implemented. Any documents saved to this folder are automatically, without any user interference, uploaded to the user’s Dropbox. In addition, if that user has another computer with Dropbox installed, the file with which he is dealing is automatically downloaded to that computer. Best of all, if that computer does not have Dropbox installed like the computers in Jesuit, the user can still access his entire Dropbox folder online by visiting dropbox.com via any modern browser – Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari, Windows Internet Explorer, etc.
The life of a student at Jesuit is often spent working on documents and/or various files at school. A common logistical wall into which the students run is the need for ways to transfer those files to their home computer so the work can be finished. As previously stated, most students are only aware of the two methods listed above, which are using a jump drive and emailing documents. Dropbox simplifies this process by providing its users with 2GB of free space to store these documents, documents which sync automatically to their computers upon re-opening.
In my personal experience, this utility proves to be most valuable when working on a document at home. I am able to save to my Dropbox folder and not worry about forgetting to email myself the file, allowing me to print or work on the document further at school.
In addition to Dropbox’s Windows and Macintosh applications, the utility also has mobile applications for iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry. The mobile counterparts allow the user to view their entire Dropbox, providing that the file formats can be viewed on that device. For example, iPhone/iPad users can open up various document types such as word documents, PowerPoint presentations, excel spreadsheet, PDF’s and more all within the app. iPhone users can also upload photos and videos via the Dropbox iPhone app.
Perhaps the best part of Dropbox is that it is free. That’s right. Making a Dropbox account, using the service, and downloading the applications for the various platforms supported are all free as long as you don’t use more than 2GB; however users can earn more space by inviting friends to Dropbox via Facebook or Twitter.
Overall, Dropbox does in fact simplify your life by allowing you to sync your school and work related documents on various platforms through a consistent and reliable online service.
