My cool tool: Dropbox

After thinking about applications I have used over the years, one came to mind. The newest one I have been using is Dropbox. Although I use this app for work, it is still school related. As is it illegal to share picture of the children in my class or any part of the daycare, I can use Dropbox to upload pictures or videos for my director and parents to view.

Whenever we make crafts in the classroom or redecorate our door, I take pictures of these events to show parents that we do other things than just 'play'. Other than that, my director uploads work schedules, classroom materials, safety handbook, discipline guidelines, etc. All of this is important to have at my finger tips because it is so easy to forget about anything and being able to look up procedures in a matter of 5 seconds is crucial as I have children to take care of. If I did not have Dropbox, I would have to have another teacher take over my class while I went to the office to find the files I need or would have to take the children with me and then sift through all the procedures to find the one that I need. That is just too much work! Dropbox has been very helpful with everything.

I can use Dropbox in the classroom as I do everyday now, to upload pictures of students' masterpieces, guidelines for classroom rules, homework assignments (as many students lose their homework or if they are sick, they do not have to wait for the next day to receive it), grades, lesson plans, etc. Dropbox allows for parents to know what is occurring in the classroom and be up-to-date with their child's homework. I would use Dropbox because I am already familiar with the way it works, it can be accessed anywhere with internet, I get email updates when something is added to it and to what folder, and so much vital information is available at my fingertips. Dropbox is so simple because in a way, it is set up just like email. Here is an example of what my Dropbox looks like, just like gmail!

Students could use this app. It is simple to upload pictures and I would give them the opportunity to show their parents what they are doing in class. I guess the only challenging things about this app is how many different folders are on it. Everything has to be organized in the correct folder because how are parents supposed to find the information they need unless it is where it is supposed to be. Of course I always would supervise the children when using the app, but I would have to make sure they put the video or picture in the correct folder.

Use this link to access Dropbox or download the app.