Many school districts across the country are using web-based programs to host, track, and share information about students’ progress. Power Campus and Infinite Campus are two programs that come to mind. What those programs lack is an option for teachers to quickly and easily upload the information that they share to their students in the classroom. This is where online drop boxes come in to save the day.

Online drop boxes like drop.io provide a place for individuals to share files. I use my drop.io account to post copies of PowerPoint presentations, videos I’ve created (more about that in a future post), web links, and homework reminders. You can take a look at my drop.io account by clicking here. As you’ll notice if you look in the browser bar, the url for my drop is http://drop.io/mrbyrne. Drop.io allows you to customize the name of your drop. When given the choice I like to pick names that I can remember easily and that my students can remember easily. The simplicity of the drop.io name is the primary reason I choose to use drop.io over other drop box services. Did I mention drop.io is free and you can have as many accounts as you’d like?!
Here’s a video overview of drop.io.

In case you’d like to do a little drop box research on your own. Here are some links to get you started:
http://www.privatebox.co.nz/
http://www.evernote.com/
http://www.box.net/