Dropbox is a super easy way to have your photos, documents, videos and other files available to you almost anytime and anywhere. Over the past few years dropbox has become an essential tool in my day to day youth ministry.
Dropbox can be used on your computer, laptop, smartphone, tablet and via any computer on the internet. When you upload something to your dropbox folder it is synchronized so it is available everywhere.
Here are 5 ways I use dropbox in youth ministry:
1. Curriculum –
We have many different small group leaders and Sunday school teachers. I put the PDF files of the curriculum on dropbox. I can then grab the direct link to that folder and tweet, Facebook message, email or text that link out to everyone. They can download the curriculum and print it or have it available on their device
2. Photo Sharing –
I have a youth who takes photos with her digital camera and then uploads them to a shared dropbox. This way we do not have to mess with turning in cards or flash drives and our youth photos are on the web. I can then send a link of those photos to anyone, or save some to my phone to post on instagram, Facebook or twitter.
3. Audio Visual Files –
Our church does a weekly radio show including interviews, promotional pieces and parts of the sermon. We use a shared dropbox so different people can drop in their parts of the file. It is synced so all the parts can be put together. When I render a video or audio piece I will ask it to save in the dropbox. I can then go home, and the file will automatically be saved and available to all devices when it is finished.
4. Forms/Flyers/Files –
I put any forms or files that need to be able to be sent to parents in a folder on dropbox. This way if a parent needs a permission form I can pull out my phone, copy the link and send it to them via text or email.
5. Backup –
One of the best things is that I save almost everything to dropbox. This means that if my computer crashes, I still have all of my important documents available.
When you sign up for dropbox you get 2 gig of space to use. More can be purchased if necessary. You also have the opportunity to add space by doing things like inviting friends to join dropbox. So here goes. Use this link to download and join dropbox and you will get an extra 500 mb and I will get an extra 500 mb. You can gain up to 16 gig of space this way.
Do you use dropbox for youth ministry? What are some of the ways it is helpful for you?