In a computer-assisted classroom, you will often work with your writing in electronic, not paper form. Therefore, you will need a reliable method of transporting your files from a home or lab computer to a classroom computer. The following methods are available, listed in order of preference:
Webspace: all students have free server space accessible through https://webspace.utexas.edu. This allows you to upload files from one location and download them from another, for example, uploading a paper from home and retrieving it in class. See our Webspace tutorial for more information.
USB Flash Drives: the second best way to transport files (after Webspace) is to use a USB flash drive. You can buy these at virtually any computer store for around $20 (64mb) and up. The computers in the Lab do not have Zip drives.
E-mail: occasionally, flash drives break, are lost, or fail. Although it is not recommended that you use e-mail as your primary means of transporting documents, you may want to use e-mail as a backup method for file transportation. That way, if for some reason your drive fails in class or you can't access your Webspace account, you may be able to retrieve your document by checking your e-mail. To do this, simply e-mail yourself before class with your document as an attachment. Do keep in mind, however, that you may have a problem reading the attachment due to size or format limits that many popular webmail programs have. Test out this method before relying on it.
Teacher volume: see below.
A Note on Floppy Disks: Floppy disks are NOT a preferred method of transporting documents. They are relatively unstable and often break, leaving you without a document on the day it's due. In addition, some Mac classrooms have few or no floppy drives for students to access. Finally, there's the Windows-Mac compatibility issue--Macs can read PC disks but PCs cannot read Mac disks. For all of these reasons, a floppy disk is not a good method of file transportation. Instead, use your Webspace account, or the Teacher folder.