November 6th, 2007
drop.io is a great new tool for sharing files
drop.io, though still in alpha testing, is an incredibly slick tool for sharing all types of media. Documents, pictures, video, and any other digital content can be uploaded with a few clicks. The service is anonymous, yet allows you to control user access, the name of your site, and to delete the drop as needed. Within a minute, I had created the so-called drop http://drop.io/educationzdnettest1, had uploaded a screen shot, and submitted a text file via an email link (feel free to upload and view files - I left it open to all).
For teachers, imagine being able to quickly share files of any sorts with students or set up a quick digital dropbox. Students can store files online and retrieve them later; this is especially useful if your school (like most) does not have a web application like Edline in place. When you create the drop, you set the name (in the case above, I specified educationzdnettest1), affording a fair degree of anonymity and security (don’t share the URL or the optional password and no one will have access). I wouldn’t store my grades here, but I’d certainly post lecture notes, video clips, documents, etc. Users can also post comments, Twitter-style, from the interface.
Happy dropping!
Follow Chris Dawson on Twitter! Christopher Dawson is the technology director for the Athol-Royalston School District in northern Massachusetts and a member of the Internet Press Guild. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations, but always keep in mind that the opinions expressed here are his own and not those of his daytime employer, even if he talks incessantly about his day job.
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| 11/07/07
