Summer vacation is now officially over (for most educators and students), and school is back in session. I remember way back when I was still in college, trying to keep track of all of the paperwork professors would give us – syllabi, homework assignments, lecture-specific handouts, study guides, etc. By the time the semester was over, I’d have a pile of papers in my backpack, and I’d be in a panic, not knowing whether or not I’d completed all of my coursework, if I was going to miss a reading assignment, and not knowing when at least one final was scheduled to happen.
As an educator, you can make things easier for your students (and give them less of an excuse to not know what and when things are due!) by using your YouSendIt Folders. Let’s show you how to do this.
(Please bear in mind that in order to do what we’re going to show you, you will need a primary, and an alternate email address.)
First, I’m going to create a YouSendIt folder (for more information on folders, click here). When logged into my YouSendIt account on the website, I’ll click the Folders tab at the top of the page.
Let’s say I’m teaching a college English course. I’m going to create a folder named English 2A.
Within the English 2A folder, I’m going to add my class syllabus, create 2 subfolders: Homework Assignments, and Study Guides.
Now, I have a folder with my course syllabus, with subfolders where I can put homework assignments and study guides for exams. You can add content into each of these folders whenever you see fit. But how do your students access the content in your folders? I’ll show you how.
I find the best way to share content with multiple people, so long as the data isn’t confidential, is to create a folder with read only access, and doesn’t require users to verify their identity when accessing the folder. This is a great solution because a.) it allows you to create a folder that even non-YouSendIt users can access files in, and b.) other users will not be able to modify or delete your files and/or folders.
To create a folder like this, I’m going to go back to my YouSendIt root folder, and select the English 2A folder. An Actions menu will appear, where I will select Share.
Now, I’m going to share the English 2A folder with myself at my alternate email address. Make sure that View folder content is selected, and that Require verification to view files is deselected. Select Share to share your folder.
I will then receive an email at your alternate email address, with an invitation to the shared folder. What I’m really looking for here is the URL to the shared folder, which is the link I’ll be sharing with all of my students. I’m going to hover over the View this folder button, right-click, and copy the URL. Anyone I provide this URL with can now access everything in my English 2A folder.
When my students go to my folder, they can access all of the content I wish to share with them. I can start by adding the course syllabus and the first few homework assignments, add more assignments and notify my students as the course progresses, and add study guides as exam dates come closer. Once the course is over, I can delete the folder, or delete all of the content within the folder, and start over when a new session of the course begins. Now I have a much easier, more dynamic way to get my class-related material to my students!
If you use YouSendIt to in conjunction with a classroom-related environment, or if you have any ideas or questions about this, we’d like to know. Please feel free to post your thoughts in this thread. Thanks!
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