[Athen] Electronic file transfer sites

[Joshua Hori]

Hello Everyone!

With Fall courses right around the corner and FTP servers no longer allowed on my campus...I'm constantly looking for new ways to transfer files online and I recently stumbled on this article, which is pretty helpful since it lists strengths and weakness of multiple file transferring sites as well as provides links to each.

I haven't tested accessibility on all of these sites but I do know that zshare, which has a 1 Gig limit for registered users and a 2 Gig limit for premium users, can be really hard to sign up on since the captcha doesn't have a "listen to" option, although the rest of the forms that you fill in are accessible. (Tested using JAWS)

Here is the link for the article: http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/08/16-apps-that-make-sharing-large-files-a-snap/

Also, for those of you that are hesitant about using these sites due to the complicated button labyrinth that confirms you are not a robot, there is a nice firefox add-on that will automatically bypass all of the wait times and button presses called skipscreen. Skipscreen doesn't work for all sites, but there is a list of sites here: (plus you can download the add-on)

http://skipscreen.com/

The great thing about online transfers is:

*         Student doesn't have to come in to pick up CD/DVD/USB with electronic text on it.

*         You can be notified when file was downloaded by student.

*         You can control the amount of times that an electronic file can be downloaded.

*         The file is available to student even after work hours.

Of course, there is a flip side to the coin:

*         Are the students computer knowledgeable? (it helps!)

o   Sometimes training and/or a walkthrough is needed. In some cases, I'll make a tutorial for students to use.

*         What kind of internet connection is the student using?

o   I have found one or 2 students still on dial-up, so I burn a CD/DVD for the student instead. I have also advised students to download e-Text files while on campus to receive fast download times.

*         Service interruptions, or incomplete downloads.

*         Users not using Firefox.

o   Some of these sites can become difficult, irritating and time consuming to use without the skipscreen feature.

*         Some sites do not have a "private file" option, meaning that it's available to the public at large.

I hope this is helpful to someone!

Sincerely,

Joshua Hori
Assistive Technology
Student Disability Center
University of California, Davis


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