Setting aside time to get work done is not something that
just happens for everyone. Some need to make
it a priority. Those working full-time, going to school, and raising children
know exactly what I’m talking about. So when the environment and time are conducive to being highly productive, it's very frustrating when technical issues are what's keeping you from getting your work done.
So imagine how I feel in this scenario-
I’ve followed through with my scheduling priorities and have
just pulled into the local coffee shop. I’ve got my laptop with me and I’m
looking forward to a 20 oz. caramel macchiato, free Wi-Fi, and a few hours of uninterrupted
“zone” time to get my work done (I actually look forward to these types of
study dates with myself!). I gently and oh-so-slowly enjoy my first sip of
coffee while taking out and turning on my laptop, only to find out that the
file I needed was on my flash drive which I left at home!!!!
Never work at
coffee shops? Well, imagine you’re
teaching at school and you remembered your flash drive because you will be using
a poetry presentation on “The Raven” with supplemental notes you’ve typed up in
Word. Well, guess what? When you stick
in your flash drive you realize that your last save was done on your home
computer! Yikes! There goes that lesson plan!
No matter what field we’re in or what scenario you can think
of, EVERYONE has in some way or another had to deal with needed files. It’s
inevitable. We’re all using a multitude of devices and we’ve got files saved
all over the place. Enter Dropbox.
Dropbox just might be the solution for me. I need to
simplify! (Turns out, Dropbox’s motto is “Simplify your life” but I didn’t know
that when I typed this.) Dropbox is a free service that securely stores your files and and allows you access via multiple devices (computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc) anywhere. If you
download Dropbox onto all your work/school/home computers and cell phones, when you update
a file on your phone, it’s automatically updated on all your other devices and
on the Dropbox website too. Having
duplicate files and parts here, there, and everywhere does add some level of
stress in my life. The prospect of not having to email myself files so I can access them on all my devices is very appealing!
The program is free for 2 GB. You can upgrade to 50 GB for
$9.99 a month and 100 GB for $19.99 a month. The process of downloading and
getting started was very easy and user friendly. After I signed in they had all
the steps outlined for me, including the ones I had already completed. I was able to add the program to my
mini-laptop and right away I could see the files I had added from my other
laptop. The first thing I added into my Dropbox folder was my wedding planning
folder. I had folders and multiple files on 2 laptops and a flash drive and it
was refreshing to have it all in one place. I thought, “Now my fiancé can have
access to these files too!” (not that he wants to!)
Next, I’ll be simplifying my life by putting all my college
class folders and teacher files onto Dropbox. I’ll play around on it a little
more so that I can start sharing with family, friends, colleagues, and classmates. When I share a folder with someone through Dropbox, it appears inside their Dropbox
and syncs to their computers automatically. Groups can collaborate on projects together easily. Another great perk is if my computer
crashes, all is not lost if my files are on Dropbox!
Dropbox is going to be one of those technologies that helps me see technology is not making life more complicated, but is helping make my life easier. Now that's refreshing!
7 comments:
I don't much care for coffee, but the way you described it made me think again. =)
I, like you, have discovered the wonderful world of drop-box. Unfortunately I had to learn the hard way after my flash drive some how fell off from my key chain and I lost 1/2 a school year that was very hard to get back.
After hours of recreation I learned about drop-box. I still have my flash drive in tow, but I love knowing that my most precious files are floating around in cyberspace somewhere just waiting to be accessed when I need them.
Great reflective post!
Lydia
Just when you think that computer engineers could not possibly suck any more money out of your pocket here comes the cloud services. I love that I can keep my stuff in these cloud services but now I have to decide which one I want. That means that no matter what I will have to pay if I want to store everything. Right now I provide my own cloud which is a 250gig portable drive. 9.99 a month is 120.00 a year times 20 years of teaching is 2400.00 before I calculate in inflation and price hikes. I know we will need these things eventually but I think that I will hold out until I can get 250gigs free.
I too love the luxury of sitting at Starbucks with a room full of white noise as coffee house music plays in the background and I grade papers. Some people do not like to grade papers but I like it especially if I can be sipping coffee and eavesdropping at the same time. :)
One of my students recently told me about DropBox. I think this is a great service. Although, I agree I'd rather limit myself to just the free service! Perhaps, students can benefit from this service too. I have many online students that work on their online classes from school. Using DropBox would be a good way to save their work and continue from home. This would also help avoid academic integrity issues, where students use their peers files, by taking them off of computer labs at school. The only issue may be possible firewall at the traditional school. A good, free tool for a least some teachers and students! Thanks for sharing!
Kim
First, let me tell you...I LOVE caramel macchiatos...and I do the same thing...I love going to the coffee shop to have my caffeine fix, work away from home (and all its distractions), and all the while being at the cool environment of the coffee shop! I recently opened a dropbox too. We just had a technology meeting at my school and our technology coordinator was telling us to throw away all our flash drives because soon they would be obsolete! That's what they had told her at a technology conference she went to. I also encouraged everyone in my 2nd grade team to open a dropbox account too. I have gained more storage from dropbox by referring friends. If they sign up, you get more storage. Now we all share files and can access them from home and school. Another negative thing that happens with flash drives too is you cannot open the files sometimes. What worked perfectly at home is no loger accessible at work! So, yay for dropbox and all cloud type storage providers for making our lives a little easier!
Thanks for your interesting post!
Larisa Kivett
Working at a coffee shop sounds great! I tenderly remember grading papers (and sketching)(and tutoring) at B&N in my pre-kid days. I was just warming up to flash drives and now this! Man, am i behind the times! I have apple products, so I might look into their cloud services. I also found this:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/cloud-save-save-files-cloud-chrome/
that mentions a lot of the different cloud services.
Also a review on this:
http://www.tcgeeks.com/best-ipad-cloud-sync-app/
where documents, etc gets saved automatically, for the absent minded like me!
Thanks for bringing this up, I definitely need to look into it for myself!
I too found dropbox to be a great resource to use for a person that's constantly on the move and have alot of documents to keep up with. I've been using dropbox for the past 2 year now and it amazing how easier it is to send and manage documents. One thing i love about dropbox is how simple it is. I very similar to another folder on your pc. I most find myself using dropbox to store and share documents with members of my organization. Most email will not allow you to send large files without compressing it. But with dropbox, I'm able to save large files and everyone that has access to that file can see all the updates instantly. It's great for planning and coordinating events over a conference call.
Larisa and other commenters,
Thanks for sharing about the referral perks! There are many programs out there and I'm glad I stumbled across this free, user-friendly program. For now, it works my needs. Technology is so silly in that things I think are brand new, some of you have been using for a few years! Thanks for all your ideas, comments, and links.
~Bren H.
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