About a month ago I posted an informal Twitter survey asking people if they preferred Dropbox or Box for file storage and sharing. Quite a few people replied that they had not heard of Box. Therefore, I’d like to point out what I like about Box.

Both services offer online file storage, sharing, and synchronization from multiple devices (iOS, Android, and desktop apps). But since Dropbox discontinued support for folder sharing for new users, Box has an advantage in the file sharing department. On Box you can create a shared folder that enables all of the people you share with to access the files contained within it. Whenever you update that folder all of the people you have shared it with automatically see the new files in the folder. If you allow downloading of the files within your Box folder you will be able to see who downloaded files and when they downloaded the files. If you make your folders public anyone with the link can access the files too.

Applications for Education
Creating a public Box folder could be a good way to share files with your students. If you create a public folder and share the link with your students, you can gradually update it over time and your students will always have the latest files without having to visit a new link. Create your folder(s) and have your students bookmark it or place a link to it on your class blog so that your students always have access to the latest important files for your class.