Google Apps For Education: Is Your School Connected?

Since last year, I have been trying to get my district to make the transition to Google Apps for Education.With free Gmail account for every student, access to Google Docs for all, collaboration is easy. Relying on Google's server, (ours crashed a month ago and had to be replaced-$$) schools have their files automatically backed up and protected from viruses. Google support is excellent, and these are just a few of the schools using Google Apps: Brown University, Wesleyan University, Oregon Public Schools, Boston University, Vanderbuilt University and Notre Dame University. If you would like to see more information or attend a webinar, Google has a treasure-trove of tutorials for you here.

Just remember: you need a functioning network with adequate bandwidth. Otherwise, you will never get to the cloud.

25 Places to Store Your Files for Free

So many choices. I have personally been using GoogleDocs because I have a Gmail account and because creating and sharing documents is so easy. Although the storage is quite small compared to many on this list, it has been more than adequate for me. (I have stored many photos as well as files.) If you are just looking for a lot of storage without the "office" elements, you might want to try Amazon Cloud Drive (holds up to 2,000 photos) or ADrive. (advertisements) File Factory stores a whopping 500GB, but here's what they say about how long a file is stored: "If a file has been downloaded at least once before the end of the first 90 day period, it will remain for another 90 days. If a file is not downloaded at all after 90 days, it will then be automatically removed."  Proceed with caution.

100 MEGS Free	100MB
ADrive	50GB
Amazon Cloud Drive	5GB
Box	5GB
FileDen	1GB
File Dropper	5GB
File Factory	500GB
File Savr	10GB
GoogleDocs	1GB
iDrive	5GB
MediaFire	200MB
Megashares	10GB
Megaupload	200GB
Memopal	3.5GB
Mozy	2GB
MyFreeFileHosting	100MB
OpenDrive	5GB
SnapDrive	5GB
Steekr	1GB
Syncplicity	2GB
Tilana	2GB
UploadingIt	10GB
Zerocatch	100MB
Znail	50MB
ZumoDrive	2GB

Let's Talk About the Cloud

The other day, I was asked by an administrator to explain in simple terms what cloud computing was. I thought about it for a second, and then said this: Your files are on your desktop computer right now, right? Well, imagine if they were out there (I pointed to the sky) and you could access them wherever you had Internet access. I further explained that using their servers instead of ours would be much more practical and safe, given that a company like Google has their own huge group of tech people and thousands of servers with secure encryption. The cloud would be like a big bubble protecting all our files. Web 2.0 is a big part of cloud computing as it involves online programs which we allow us to collaborate with others. I personally like cloud computing. I use GoogleDocs and I am trying to interest my school district in Google Apps for Education. (After all, it's good enough for Brown University...) I know that people feel very concerned about personal files being out on the web, and I never store anything that sensitive in the cloud.

Here's a short video which explains cloud computing:

Cloud Computing and Syncing For Free?

Glide OS 4.0 claims to be the "first complete online operating system" which is made up of collaboration  and productivity apps. With 30GB of free storage, (250GB is $50/year) Glide allows up to six family member accounts and will sync from the cloud with your desktop computer or mobile phone. Click here to watch a quick video on the product.