Saturday, December 10, 2011

4Shared File Sharing Account

A few years ago, as many of the listservs and electronic discussion groups stopped allowing attachments to their posting, it became increasing difficult for teachers to share files with one another. Teachers were left with pasting the document within their posting which caused most of the formatting to be lost or offering to email the file to all interested parties. This last option became increasing difficult as one posting could result in hundreds of requests. Teachers became reluctant to make such an offer.

To solve these problems, in February of 2009, an all access account at 4Shared filing sharing service was created. The account allows anyone to easily download and upload files. The account currently has hundreds of files with thousands of downloads.

Below I've tried to outline the steps of downloading and upload files to and from the 4Shared account. Please be aware, the directions may vary based on the computer and internet browser you use. Please let me know how I can change these directions to accommodate everyone.

Some may have problems reaching the site as a few school districts block access to file sharing accounts. As a result, a number of teachers download the information at home and transfer it to their school computers.

Please feel free to download any of the files on the 4Shared site. Each was uploaded by teachers throughout the country willing to share their work. Please seriously consider uploading materials as well. Throughout my teaching career, I have found psychology teachers always willing to help. Please refrain from uploading copyrighted materials or items inappropriate for the high school level.

To Download Items from the 4Shared account to your computer
  1. Go to http://www.4shared.com/dir/10555367/29577282/sharing.html. The main 4Shared screen should appear listing the various units in a psychology course
  2. Browse through the various folders (click on any folder you would like to explore) until you find an item you would like to download
  3. Once you have found something to download, click on the green down arrow located at the extreme right
  4. Cursor down until you see a blue box saying "Download Now" and "No Virus Detected". Click on that box.
  5. Click the "Slow Download" button. The screen should change to one with a blue countdown box. Wait until the countdown is complete.
  6. Click on "Download File Now".
  7. A typical Windows "You have chosen to open" box should appear. Select whether you want to open the file or save it.
  8. Click OK. If you are saving the file you will be asked where you want the file saved. Choose a location and click save.
Under no conditions should you be required to pay for using the 4Shared account. The owners of the account would obviously prefer you purchase a premium account. A premium account allows for a host of options making downloading files a bit easier and faster, but is not necessary to download or upload files.

To Upload Items from your computer to the 4Shared account
  1. Go to http://www.4shared.com/dir/10555367/29577282/sharing.html The main 4Shared screen should appear listing the various units in a psychology course.
  2. Browse through the various folders (click on any folder) and determine which subdirectory would be the best for your item.
  3. In the Upload files box at the bottom of the screen click the "browse" button.
  4. Locate the file you would like to upload on your computer.
  5. Use the "more" button if you have multiple files to upload to the subdirectory.
  6. Click the "Upload" button with the green up arrow.
  7. A screen should appear stating your upload was successful.
Thanks to everyone who has posted files on the 4Shared account. Please feel free to contact me (Kent Korek) at kkorek@germantown.k12.wi.us if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, etc. about the 4Shared account.

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for this post--lots of interesting stuff to look through. I'll have to pay it forward and upload.

    How would I go about finding similar folders for other classes that I teach? The site is not very user friendly.

    Thanks!

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  2. I don't know that there are other folders for other classes, Anonymous - this site is just set up because Kent took the initiative to do so. It is a little unwieldy for me personally, but the rewards of getting all of this great material is worth it. Is it possible for you to start something like this with colleagues in your other subjects? It doesn't have to be 4Shared, but it could be Dropbox or another format. Good luck!

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