There are a lot of clever ways to keep from losing those little USB “thumb” drives, but they invariably end up missing or damaged, or you just have too many to keep track of them all. Now you can forget about those and try a free “cloud drive” instead, which you can access with most internet enabled devices with a browser. Clark eLearning support techs have tested several services and although there are many with great usefulness, we prefer one called Dropbox for its ease of use, excellent features, and compatibility with the software used at Clark. Sometimes when this storage concept is shared there is initial confusion between the assignment dropbox in Moodle and the Dropbox service in the cloud, but once both have been experienced, the differences should be clear. This can be especially useful when you run into Moodle’s file size limitation for uploading. Most of the provided Dropbox folders are private, but you will have a public sub-folder where you can place such files and then just share the link to download. So even if you’re up against a deadline and unable to upload an assignment file into Moodle, Dropbox could save the day.
While Dropbox functions as a cross-platform cloud storage service that works with Windows, Mac, Linux, and many mobile devices with a browser, another strength is in file synchronization and history. As each device onto which you’ve installed Dropbox is used to access your cloud folders, your latest saved revisions to any files will be there, automatically synchronized for you. If you’re on a public computer, you can still use your Dropbox by logging in on the web interface. The revision history support also allows for file recovery, so any files you may have deleted or mistakenly altered can be brought back. This makes it handy for students on the go, because you can’t lose your work no matter where you are. As long as you have access to a device with the program to open, edit, and save the file, you can work on your assignment.
The file history is limited to 30 days in the free version of Dropbox and the space allocation is 2GB to start, with up to 18GB possible. Users who want more storage (up to 500GB) and extended features can upgrade to a paid version. If you’d like to learn more about Dropbox and how it works, click below:
