The education system has changed dramatically since the outbreak of the pandemic. If earlier only a small part of teachers knew how to use the Internet competently and gave students access to materials through gadgets, now it is the responsibility of all teachers. And in order to keep up with your colleagues, you should initially understand what services can help you with sharing files with students. In fact, if you understand it well, you can find many good file sharing and other sites on the Internet, so you just have to choose the best one.
This list includes sites that your students may already be familiar with, which will make the learning process easier and more enjoyable. In addition, all of these services use cloud storage technologies and provide free storage and easy file sharing. These companies offer several gigabytes of free memory, which will be enough for working with texts, spreadsheets, and presentations.
#1 Facebook
It's strange to see Facebook in the list of file hosting services, but there are several reasons for this choice. First, the company recently added file-sharing functionality to all Facebook chats. That is, you can upload the necessary files for your students to learn better, such as music, word, and .exe files. Secondly, most of your students will likely be familiar with using Facebook, which will make your communication much easier.
However, there are also disadvantages, the file size is limited to only 25 Mb, but this should be enough for you. After all, you can always use additional services that help to reduce the volume of the document and images inside it.
#2 Dropbox
It is one of the largest file hosting services on the Internet, which has gained popularity due to its simple use and rather powerful capabilities. In order to share any document with your students, you just need to create a free Dropbox account and select a folder on your computer. As a result, any file that falls into this folder will be automatically saved on the Internet, which will allow you to easily provide download links to students.
Another big plus is the ability to use Dropbox for students without creating an account. They only need a download link.
#3 Box.com
It is Dropbox's main rival, which offers similar services. For example, every file that is stored in your Box.com account can be easily downloaded by your students using download links. In addition, the company provides users with 5 GB of free storage, which should be enough for educational purposes. If you've used Dropbox but for some reason didn't work for you, try Box.com.
#4 Studocu
Studocu allows students to keep and organize all of their study material in one place. You can also access the books, lectures, class notes of other users in order to explore your knowledge on a certain topic. In case you want to test your proficiency in a subject, you can also use the exam preparation questions available on the platform.
#5 Google Drive
An excellent file sharing service with rich functionality and a large amount of free memory. However, a prerequisite is that the recipient has a Google account because google drive is linked to all other services of the company. If all the conditions are met, then you get 15 GB of free memory at your disposal, as well as the ability to almost instantly exchange files with students.
#6 Microsoft OneDrive
Another file hosting service that connects the work of various services of the company, but from Microsoft. OneDrive is a cloud-based platform with the ability to share and connect all other services from Microsoft. Simply put, it is one of the best collaboration options.
In addition, you get 7GB of free memory, but if you follow the promotions closely, you can get up to 100GB.
#7 SugarSync
Also, a good alternative for students and teachers, as the company provides 5 GB of free disk space with all the functions. The ability to share files is also a big plus. You can give your students access to entire folders by simply clicking on them. Of course, there are even more settings there and all of them should be dealt with separately.
Conclusion
Being a teacher is not an easy task, and being a teacher in a pandemic is generally overwhelming. Even if you first sit down at a computer and do not know how to convey the necessary information to students, all you need to do is read this article and try some of the services presented. All the applications that were mentioned in the article are free and quite functional, which undoubtedly brings them to the top in popularity. In addition, students will certainly appreciate it if they receive their homework on Facebook or directly via email.
