n LiveBinders (
livebinders.com) is a vir-
tual online binder. If you have documents from trainings or board manuals you want to store, LiveBinders can be used to create an online storage location with tabs for dif- ferent topics. You can access the site without logging in and can search any topic of inter- est. We recommend the “Education/More Education” section, which will take you to a listing of many broad subjects. Teachers na- tionwide have created “grade level” binders and filled them with standards-aligned as- signments, projects, discussions and links. What was most impressive is that some of
the binders, especially for hot topics like the Common Core State Standards, have more than 10,000 hits. Another popular theme features close to 100 “project based learn- ing” binders. With the new focus on the 21st century skills of integrating subjects, stu- dents working in teams, communication, and problem-based activities, it’s a great starting place to see what others have al- ready done. Our tip? Check out the number of views, as those with more views seem to
have more substance to them. The subject- specific binders, such as math, STEM, arts and web2.0 tools have a great variety of very popular binders.
Devin: Did you see the binder on Fireplace
Refinishing? Lisa: Fortunately, no. But it could be an in-
teresting project-based learning teaser. Devin: Or not. Hey, in your new role as
ACSA’s vice president for legislative action, are there any sites you’ve run across that are help- ing you with your travel logistics? Lisa: As a matter of fact, I was presenting
at the ACSA North Conference and someone suggested TripIt – and I love it!
n TripIt (
tripit.com) is a site that allows
you to save all of your travel arrangements. Booking a flight on Southwest? Reserving a rental car? Email the confirmation to TripIt and your information is saved. Same goes for any other key information you need for a trip, including hotels, rental cars, restaurant recommendations, and more. A week before
you travel, you receive a reminder about the trip logistics. A few days before, another re- minder makes its way to your email inbox, but this time, weather forecasts and travel advice for that area are included. Gone are the days of printing out different emails, printouts and receipts. TripIt also has a smartphone application, so all of the infor- mation is really at your fingertips.
Lisa: Devin, I’ll know if this site really
works when I can get my husband to stop printing and filing every travel plan we have. Devin: Let me know how that works for
you. Lisa: Will do. Let’s move on to file storage.
Got any suggestions? I’ve about maxed out my storage on my MacBook again. Devin: Check out Dropbox. Its one of my
new favorites. n Dropbox (
dropbox.com) is a web-based
file hosting service in the “clouds” that en- ables you to share files with one another. Best part of Dropbox is you can log in from any computer. If you have work files you want to take home, drag them securely into Dropbox and you can access them from home, work, smartphones, iPad, mobile, computer lab or wherever else you can access a computer and Internet connection. No longer do you need to rely on remembering where you put your USB drive. One challenge we have found with Drop-
box: If you are working with others on edit- ing a file, the first person who opened it has the file where changes will be saved. When you leave the Dropbox site, the file is pro- tected again, and others can access and edit. There is also a slight delay when you drag files, especially large ones, into your Drop- box folder. Don’t expect them to be there in- stantaneously, as it may take a few minutes for them to fully load. Again, Dropbox uses the freemium
model, so you have 2MB of free storage. However, invite a few friends to open an account and each friend earns you another .5MB of storage.
Lisa: Am I the only one who misplaces USB
drives? Devin: No. That’s why Dropbox is so valu-
30 Leadership
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