Dropbox
About Dropbox
Dropbox is a free cloud-based application that lets you save, store and move your digital content. Through your Dropbox account, your content (pictures, videos, documents and other files) is accessible from any device, anywhere.
You can set up and access your account from any device, however, it is important to note that the mobile app and the web version are quite different. The mobile app, although easy to access and use, has fewer options for managing your content; the web version has greater functionality and is recommended if you are hoping to create and manage files and the content contained within.
How to Set-up a Dropbox Account
Best Practices for using Dropbox and other Web Based Sharing Solutions (for all WRDSB staff)
Understanding that all members of the school community are responsible for complying with the WRDSB RUP and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, it is highly recommended that:
Dropbox is a free cloud-based application that lets you save, store and move your digital content. Through your Dropbox account, your content (pictures, videos, documents and other files) is accessible from any device, anywhere.
You can set up and access your account from any device, however, it is important to note that the mobile app and the web version are quite different. The mobile app, although easy to access and use, has fewer options for managing your content; the web version has greater functionality and is recommended if you are hoping to create and manage files and the content contained within.
How to Set-up a Dropbox Account
- to create a Dropbox account for use at school, go to Dropbox.com and sign up for an account using your WRDSB email address (this is the recommended WRDSB practice)
- on the homepage, you will be offered the option to download Dropbox - this is not necessary and is not an option on school computers, but it is something you might wish to consider on a personal computer (it will add a Dropbox icon to your toolbar for easy access to your account and offers a few extra features, e.g. editing a document within Dropbox, without having to download first)
- record your username and password in a secure location
- log in to your account
- once you are logged in, take a few moments to look around the page and hover over each of the icons to view your options
- to UPLOAD content to your Dropbox, click on the first of the 4 small icons to the right of the Dropbox title - this is the UPLOAD button - choose the content you wish to upload from your computer
- to create a folder, click on the second small icon to the right of Dropbox (blue folder with the green plus sign)
- to move content into a folder, drag it to the folder or right-click and choose Move
- when you right-click on a file or folder, you will see a few options for management
- when you hover over any file or folder, a link symbol will appear over to the right - when you click on this symbol, there are options to either copy the link, or to share with someone via an email address - when you share with someone via email, the content will appear inside their Dropbox
- there are other options and some useful Help tips on the homepage - explore these to see further options
- when you open the Dropbox App, you will see that the layout of the page looks quite different from the web version
- the left column is your files list, the right side displays the content of any chosen file
- there are icons under the left column and above the display area - explore these to see what they all do!
- to upload content to Dropbox, touch the 3 small dots to the right of the word Dropbox at the top of the left column - this allows you to upload any content from your Photos library
- choose the Export / Share button above the display area to view options for sharing
- many apps on the iPad allow you to upload to Dropbox directly from the app - an example of an app that does this is Explain Everything
- there are other apps where the process of saving to Dropbox includes an extra step > ‘Open in App’ - Pages is an example of this
Best Practices for using Dropbox and other Web Based Sharing Solutions (for all WRDSB staff)
Understanding that all members of the school community are responsible for complying with the WRDSB RUP and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, it is highly recommended that:
- Teachers use a WRDSB email address to set up a Dropbox account and any other web-based sharing accounts
- Teachers set up individual teacher accounts (password-protected) rather than use school accounts (the fewer people who have access, the greater the level of security)
- Teachers, rather than students, move content from an iPad using Dropbox or similar tools
- Students do not have access to teacher usernames and passwords
- Teachers log out of the account, or Unlink iPad from Dropbox when finished sharing; web accounts should not remain logged in
- When using Dropbox with sensitive content, it be used to move this content rather than to store this content
- Teachers do not set up the automatic upload/share feature on school iPads
- Teachers use first name/last initial when identifying students
- Teachers ensure cloud accounts are cleaned out at the end of each school year
(for more about this, please see the WRDSB Dropbox Best Practice Guidelines)
