The district this week installed new technology from School Web Lockers, a leading provider of cost-effective, K-12 computing solutions for online file sharing, collaboration and storage.

"Our students and teachers have had a difficult time transferring homework files between school and home," Harris said. "Now, they have a way to access all of their files -- from any computer, at any time. School Web Lockers makes it easy."

Offering unlimited data storage capacity for as little as $1 per student, the School Web Lockers service consists of a secure, password-protected web site that all four Lytle schools can leverage for file sharing and storage, according to the company. Each student and staff member will have their own digital locker that comes with a user name and password.

They can use the lockers to upload homework assignments and projects, send and receive assignments, view graded work, and communicate with teachers and classmates outside of the classroom. For added collaboration, School Web Lockers also provides teacher blogs and message boards (for school-wide or even district-wide online discussions.)

"Lytle students and teachers will find that file sharing with School Web Lockers is not only more convenient, but it is also safer and more secure than using portable devices such as USB drives or compact disks, which can threaten the security of district networks," said Kelly Agrelius, manager of sales and marketing for School Web Lockers. "Another advantage is that students access their data on a separate domain from the school network, which also addresses further security concerns."

All School Web Lockers files are backed up daily and preserved from year-to-year to allow students to easily create a portfolio of work. The service also offers built-in security and safety measures, such as blocked file types, parental sign-in, and the ability for teachers and school administrators to monitor what students are storing.

The School Web Lockers system is completely hosted within a co-location center, which means schools not only reduce their investment in technology infrastructure, but they also eliminate software maintenance and administration costs.