OneDrive @ UF

You are always on the go and your important files and documents should be too!

Introducing OneDrive for Business: UF’s approved individual cloud storage solution for all current students, faculty, staff, and employees. Enjoy 1 TB of free storage and access your data from any device, at any location. Also quickly and conveniently create, edit, collaborate, and share documents with online web applications of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.

Learn more about the major advantages of OneDrive as a teaching tool.

Getting Started

Microsoft OneDrive is a web-based file hosting service that utilizes cloud storage to allow users to store, edit and share files with other users via the Internet.

What can you do with OneDrive for Business?

Store

Most free cloud storage options only offer 15 GB in storage, but with OneDrive @ UF you will be able to store up to 1TB of data. This is equivalent to 320,000 high resolution photos, 1000 hours of digital video, or 17,000 hours of music. The premium plan also allows a 2GB maximum file size, and 20,000 file and folder limit.

Create and Collaborate

OneDrive allows users to create Word, Excel, OneNote, Access, and PowerPoint documents from any location with a simplified, online version of Microsoft Office 2013. Teams can work more efficiently on projects as multiple people collaborate on a file in real time. Document owners can monitor a project’s progress by assigning workflows to teammates and setting document alerts to track changes.

Sync

Work from any device, anywhere, with automatic syncing across operating systems. File changes are simultaneously saved to both online and desktop applications, giving users offline access to all their important documents. Also, the formatting of documents is preserved as users seamlessly transition between software.

OneDrive supports PC, Mac, iOS, and Android devices as well as Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X systems. However, the desktop application does not operate on Windows XP or Linux.

Save

With OneDrive, you never have to worry about losing your important files to device failures. Documents are instantly backed up onto the cloud service and are universally accessible via the internet.

The Version History function enables users to easily recover and restore previous versions of a file without saving multiple copies. Therefore, you can eliminate excess backup files and free-up more storage space. Also, items sent to the recycle bin can be retrieved for 30 days.

Share

Documents created and saved in OneDrive can be shared with a secure link. Every recipient can access the same shared file from any device, allowing for greater mobility and ever wider accessibility to important information. Furthermore, users can make documents public by embedding them into blogs, assignments, and other webpages as well as social networks like Facebook, Twitter, or Vine.

Secure

When handling sensitive information such as grades, tests and answer keys, it is important to know you can depend on OneDrive to provide strong protection against security breaches. OneDrive has been vetted with UFIT Security and is approved storage of UF restricted data, excluding Protected Health Information (PHI). All user data is protected under multiple layers of encryption. In compliance with HIPAA, FISMA, Safe Harbor, and most other privacy standards, Microsoft guarantees to block search engine web crawlers from private business files.

OneDrive further protects against security breaches a with a multi-factor authentication login. In addition to a password, login options include a phone call or text message. Moreover, only a document owner can control who can view, edit, or change a file. Each user can be assigned various administrative tasks and levels of authority.

Organize

Anyone can easily navigate through OneDrive with its simple, user-friendly design. Massive amounts of data are organized by file type into easy-to-find folders. You can arrange all your business files by department, mark them by priority, and follow documents for quick reference. You can even export and archive all Outlook email attachments to an OneDrive folder.

Educational Application

Keeping track of thousands of students in multiple courses, over multiple semesters can get overwhelming. However with OneDrive, instructors can better organize class materials and manage any course, whether it is online, face-to-face, or a hybrid. The following are some of the primary educational uses of OneDrive:

Disseminating Information

  • Instructors can require students to sync to a file or folder thus allowing the transfer of files that are too large to be sent via email or uploaded to a Learning Management System.
  • Instructors can sync to a student’s file thus allowing students to submit projects or files that are too large to be sent via email or uploaded to a Learning Management System.
  • Students or instructors can access lecture material or data from any classroom on campus to access via the web using a username and password.

Declutter Data

  • Instructors can organize class assignments into easy-to-find folders, cache lesson plans, and track teaching methods from year-to-year.
  • Reduce excess backup files with the Version History feature. You can recover every version of a file without saving separate copies.

Peer Collaboration

  • Instructors can strengthen UF programs and reputation through a communal approach to education. They can share and edit lesson plans, and streamline objectives within and across departments.
  • Students working in groups can share a file and simultaneously edit or peer review.
  • Eliminates the need to email files back and forth to other group members.
  • When a project is finished, the students can instantly transfer large documents to an instructor with an invitation to access the project.

Five Ways Educators can Benefit from OneDrive

  1. Manage Curriculum
    Keeping track of thousands of students in multiple courses over multiple semesters can get overwhelming. However, with OneDrive, professors can:

    • organize class assignments
    • cache lesson plans
    • track teaching methods from year-to-year
  2. Secure Storage
    When handling sensitive information such as grades, tests and answer keys, it is important to know you can depend on OneDrive to provide strong protection against security breaches.

    • Data is protected with a password and an optional multi-factor authentication login
    • Directly share letters of recommendation with students and prohibit them from altering the content with encryption features
  3. Universally Accessible
    • Access lecture material from any classroom on campus without carrying around a flash drive or laptop.
    • Create an interactive learning environment by sharing lecture materials with students. They can follow along and take notes directly on class presentations.
  4. Declutter Data
    Organize massive amounts of data from academic research to coursework into easy-to-find folders. Reduce excess backup files with Version History feature. You can recover every version of a file without separately saving them.
  5. Colleague Collaboration
    Professors can strengthen UF programs and reputation though a communal approach to education

    • Share and edit lesson plans
    • Streamline objectives with an across departments

Learn more about OneDrive.