Help Me Decide
Which collaboration tool is right for me?
Notre Dame faculty, staff and students can take advantage of several free collaboration tools. The best choice for you depends on your specific needs and preferences. Download the Collaboration Quick Reference Guide (PDF)
Do you need to store highly sensitive information? (credit card numbers, social security numbers, driver's license numbers, bank account information, or HIPAA information)
If you need to store highly sensitive information, please work with your departmental IT support team.
Do you need to manage a class or course and share information with students?
(Recommended)
Sakai is a collaboration and learning environment that facilitates teaching, learning, and assessment. Sakai offers a great place for instructors to share their files with their class, and is the same place where students can go to take tests and quizzes, submit homework, or view their grades.
Other Options
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Box.nd.edu
Box is a collaboration and storage service accessible from any browser on any device. Collaborate on folders and files with colleagues inside and outside of Notre Dame.
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Google.nd.edu
Google Drive is a "cloud" storage system that allows you to store and synchronize your files across devices, share folders or files, and collaborate; it combines with the other Google Apps features to provide a wide array of functionality.
Google Team Drive would be a good choice for this situation. You can add the Academic Google Group that is automatically generated for your class to manage access to the Team Drive.
| Competitive Features |
Sakai (recommended) |
Box.nd.edu | Google.nd.edu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sakai is the official Notre Dame course management system | |||
| Default storage space | 2 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Share course files with students |  |
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| Auto-created dropboxes for students | |
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| Online quizzes and tests | |
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| Gradebook | |
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| Mobile-friendly | |
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| Other | Requires orientation and education | For fast and easy sharing | Full functionality requires using multiple Google services |
Do you need a shared folder for your project, team, or department?
Do you need subfolders to have different permissions than the top-level folder?
(Recommended)
Box is a collaboration and storage service accessible from any browser on any device. Collaborate on folders and files with colleagues inside and outside of Notre Dame. See this link for requesting a group account. When a team member leaves the university, his/her shared folders should be changed by the team member to make someone else an owner of the folder(s) to allow for continual access to these shared folders/files.
Other Options
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Google
Google Drive is a "cloud" storage system that allows you to store and synchronize your files across devices, share folders or files, and collaborate; it combines with the other Google Apps features to provide a wide array of functionality. Google Team Drives allow you to create a uniform folder/file structure to share and collaborate with all members of the Team Drive.
| Competitive Features |
Box.nd.edu (recommended) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Default storage space | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Allows group folders (not owned by single person) | |
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| Share files with users outside of ND | |
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| Real-time collaboration and editing |
(BoxNotes) |
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| Include students | |
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| Preview documents online | |
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| Sync with Mac and Windows | |
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| Consistent experience on Windows, Mac, and Linux | |
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| Share files with other users | |
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| Access from mobile device | |
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| Store in folders | |
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| Limit permissions | |
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| Comments and feedback | |
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| File versioning | |
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| Office productivity suite tools (documents, spreadsheets, calendars) | |
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| Customizable templates/themes | |
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| Wiki, blogs, calendars, document sharing | |
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| Show more features | ||
(Recommended)
Google Drive is a "cloud" storage system that allows you to store and synchronize your files across devices, share folders or files, and collaborate; it combines with the other Google Apps features to provide a wide array of functionality. Google Team Drives allow you to create a uniform folder/file structure to share and collaborate with all members of the Team Drive.
Do you need to simultaneously collaborate on a document with another user in real-time?
(Recommended)
Google Drive is a "cloud" storage system that allows you to store and synchronize your files across devices, share folders or files, and collaborate; it combines with the other Google Apps features to provide a wide array of functionality. Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides all allow for simultaneous editing, making working with others a breeze.
(Recommended)
Google Drive is a "cloud" storage system that allows you to store and synchronize your files across devices, share folders or files, and collaborate; it combines with the other Google Apps features to provide a wide array of functionality.
Other Options
-
Box.nd.edu
Box is a collaboration and storage service accessible from any browser on any device. Collaborate on folders and files with colleagues inside and outside of Notre Dame.
| Competitive Features |
Google.nd.edu (recommended) |
Box.nd.edu |
|---|---|---|
| Default storage space | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Edit online via mobile device | |
|
| Allows group folders (not owned by single person) | |
|
| Real-time collaboration and editing | |
(BoxNotes) |
| Office productivity suite tools (documents, spreadsheets, calendars) | |
|
| Share files with other users | |
|
| Share files with users outside of ND | |
|
| Preview documents online | |
|
| Access from mobile device | |
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| Organize in folders | |
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| Sync with Mac, Windows, and mobile devices | |
|
| Limit permissions | |
|
| Comments and feedback | |
|
| File versioning | |
|
| Show more features | ||
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Has feature |
Not supported |
Partially available or supported |