Collaboration Tools (2) Dropbox

This is my second blog about collaboration tools. This time I want to tell you about Dropbox. Like Google Drive, Dropbox is a cloud storage service that lets you share files with your group members.

I have to say from the beginning that Dropbox is my favourite of the two. Over the past couple of years, Dropbox and QR codes have become good friends of mine! Anyway, I'll explain why I prefer Dropbox to Google Drive a little later.

To start, go to the Dropbox homepage and sign up for an account. Once that is done, click on the 'Download Dropbox' button to download the free Dropbox desktop application. Once downloaded, click on the Dropbox icon to install the application on your computer. A Dropbox icon will appear on the toolbar of your computer. Next, enter your email, Dropbox password (which you created earlier) and log in to Dropbox.

Click on the Dropbox icon on your toolbar and open a Dropbox window. You can now drag and drop your files into Dropbox. It is as simple as that. Now, wherever you are, you can access all your files (photos, slide shows, essays, etc.) by going to your Dropbox folder.

Once in Dropbox, you can create various folders for all your different documents. To work on a file with your group members, simply click the 'Share a Folder' button and you can create a new folder just for sharing or share a folder already made. You now type in the email addresses of the students you want to share with and click the 'Share Folder' button. With their email link, your group member will have access to all the files in that folder.

Dropbox and Google Drive are both excellent. Google Drive gives you more free storage, so it's good to use for large files like videos. However, overall, I find Dropbox a little bit more flexible and easier to use. For example, with Dropbox you can share using a link or a shared folder. Also, it works really well with my iPad, allowing me to move files easily to my MacBook laptop computer.

To sum up, I think you probably need to use both Dropbox and Google Drive. Together, they will really make group work a lot easier the next time your teacher asks you to collaborate on a presentation or video project.

Also, don't just use Dropbox or Google Drive for group work. Use them for all your files, all the time.  Put the apps on your smartphone and you'll have access to all your files at home, on campus and on the train!

Collaboration Tools (1) Google Drive

Students are often asked by teachers to work together in groups on a project. It might be a writing assignment, a PowerPoint presentation or even a video. Today, therefore, I'm going to tell you about two great tools to help you work and share your work together with your group members. First, let me tell you about Google Drive. Many of you have heard of it, but I don't think many of you use it yet.

To use Google Drive, the first thing you need to do is open a free Google account. Then you can download Google Drive as a desktop app onto your home computer. Once you have done that, you can upload any documents, including PowerPoint presentations and video, into Google Drive. Also, everyone gets 5GB of storage for free, which is enough for most students.

Now you can access any documents that you have uploaded to Google Drive from anywhere. You can also download the Google Drive app to your smartphone. 

Now for the collaboration bit. To share a document with other members of your group, just click on the share button and add their email addresses. They will then be able to see the document on their Google Drive dashboard. A link to the document will be sent in their email. Alternatively, if you want to share the document with many students, simply share the document with a Google Group.  

By working this way, you and your group members can work together on a project without the inconvenience of having to meet up all the time. I know this can be a big problem at Rikkyo University because we have two campuses. 

One final thing. Google Drive has brought in a new feature recently that allows you to see who has been doing what to your document. For example, perhaps your friend has edited the worksheet without you knowing. Well, now you can see all the work that has been done in an activity stream. Just click the (i) button in the top right hand corner. 

Summer Listening

As the summer holiday begins, a few students have asked me what they can do over the break to improve their English. One good idea is to do some English listening every day. Here are some ideas.

     If you have the Podcasts app (see the previous post), you can subscribe to two good podcasts. First, there is 6 Minute English, which I discussed in a post a couple of months ago. In this programme, two people discuss a recent news story and use it learn some new vocabulary.
   






Second, you can subscribe to English at Work. This programme is a weekly drama about people working in an office called Tip Top Trading.

The programme follows the lives of four main characters and is a good way to study English communication in an English-speaking office. If you go to the BBC learning English website, you can also find the transcript for each episode. However, please remember, it is better to listen first and read later.

     Finally, also at the BBC Learning English website, you can find Words in the News. Here you can find a simplified BBC news story every few days. You can listen to the story and read it. Any difficult vocabulary is explained at the bottom of the page. For students who want a more challenging listening or reading exercise, you can follow the 'Related BBC links' link to find a more complete version of the news story.

Apps for Quizlet

Some students asked me recently what app they should get for their smartphone in order to use their Quizlet flashcards. This is important as, while there are many flashcard apps on the market, not all of them are designed to work with Quizlet.

The first thing to remember is that, while there are a number of free flashcard apps available, they tend to limit the number of vocabualry sets you can download. Therefore, I suggest you buy an app for your mobile device, allowing you to download as many sets as you want. Having said that, most Apple users are lucky because there is a great free app for them.

Apple users should get the Quizlet app (specially designed by Quizlet for Apple products) which is free from iTunes.

Unfortunately, the free Quizlet app does not work with earlier Apple operating systems. Therefore, if you have an older iPhone, I suggest buying an app called Flashcards Deluxe. This app costs ¥350 from iTunes.

Quizlet are in the process of developing a free app for people with a smartphone using the Android operating system but, for now, you will have to buy one. I recommend an app called Quizard. Many students have told me that it works well with Quizlet. It is available from Google Play for ¥237.

I hope this information helps. Please let me know how you get on with these applications.

Using Quizlet

Quizlet is an online vocabulary learning website. In easy English, this means a place where you can make online vocabulary flashcards that you can use to help you learn lots of new words quickly.

If you need to learn some new words for an English class or TOEIC, Quizlet is a great resource. To learn how it works, just go to the website and play around with the flashcards already made. For example, type in TOEIC in the search box and you will discover thousands of TOEIC vocabulary flashcards already made by other learners that you can use.

Better still, sign up for Quizlet and make your own flashcards. If you are a member of Facebook, you can sign in using the Facebook login system.

If you have a mobile device, such as a smartphone or iPod Touch, you can download all your flashcards onto it and study the flashcards anywhere. Just download an app onto your mobile device. Apple users can get a free Quizlet app from iTunes, while Android users will have to pay around 200 yen for an app. There are several free apps for Apple and Android users but they limit the number of vocabulary sets you can download.

Students around the world are studying with Quizlet. Don't get left behind!

Here is the link: quizlet.com