If MATC staff had a nickel for every thumb drive (aka flash drive or USB stick) left in a computer on campus, they would be rich.

Unfortunately, those drives store an awful lot of lost homework.

There is a better way to store your assignments: Google Drive.

Because MATC uses Gmail, a Google product, as its official email, every student at MATC has access to a whole bunch of Google tools, including Drive.

Google Drive, found among the Google Apps available to you when you open your Gmail, is a “cloud storage service.” That means you can use Google servers, via the Web, to store your documents – no thumb drive (or backups) needed.

You cannot lose your Drive, as long as you have an MATC email. (The college does cancel your email after you graduate, so you need to move important documents – résumés! – from your school Drive to a personal Drive before then.)

When you use Google Drive, you can work on your homework from any device – desktop computer, laptop, tablet or phone – with internet access, after logging into your school Gmail. (Remember, Wi-Fi is free on campus, as is use of the computer labs.)

Plus, other people – say, a Drive-savvy instructor or your classmates – can edit your document right in your Drive, once you share it with them. No need to download or copy.

Tutorials abound online to help you master Google Drive, and staff in the Academic Support Centers can help, as well. Please give serious thought to giving Drive a test drive. MATC staffers don’t need any more thumb drives – honest!