To get the most out of SkyDrive, try some of the specific suggestions below, or let us know how you use this app in the comment box at the bottom of the page.

Organization Activity

The features that SkyDrive provides are inherently organizational and aesthetically minimalist. That being said, you and your child can find way to use the service ways that help to foster organizational skills. For every subject your child is taking in class, encourage him to create a separate SkyDrive folder. Notes that he takes during class should be converted to an electronic version. Once an electronic version is created in SkyDrive, your child can sync the notes to his mobile app, giving access to a wealth of relevant course information on his smartphone or tablet. Corresponding images can be added to each tiled folder, creating a visually stimulating selection of school documents. Ideally, SkyDrive will be your child's number one source for study, as it is portable, organized, neat, and a great learning tool.

Planning Activity

With your child, use SkyDrive's Hotmail calendar to plan daily, weekly, and monthly activity. The weekly tab functions well as a place to record homework assignments while the monthly tab is best utilized to denote dates of quizzes, tests, and exams. The daily calendar view allows for extended hour-by-hour descriptions of daily events. Household chores, hygiene reminders, should be entered here. If your child needs a particularly strict set of instructions, they can also be entered in the calendars's daily tab.

SkyDrive & ADHD

Children with ADHD often have trouble prioritizing and organization their day-to-day tasks, which can result in feelings of unpreparedness, especially in the classroom setting. Failure to organize schoolwork and record progress in classes are traits frequently associated with children who have ADHD. Using SkyDrive both as a study tool and an organizational calendar can aid children with ADHD in becoming more organized and prepared for classes, enabling more confident and competent learners.

How to Use SkyDrive for Children with ADHD:

• Children with ADHD should utilize the "daily" tab in the Hotmail calendar. Because children with ADHD are most productive when they adhere to a detailed, easy to follow, list of tasks, they will find SkyDrive's calendar very helpful in organizing and prioritizing tasks. Children with ADHD should be given extended descriptions of tasks they must complete, as well as the time frames in which they must be completed. Parents may have to create these lists at first, but children should be willing to implement these productivity strategies into their lives almost immediately. Once they become familiar with the app's functionality, children with ADHD should begin to create their own calendar events, allowing them to be more in tune with day-to-day activity.

• It is often said that children with ADHD sometimes need a push in order to get them to begin a task - especially if that task is studying. Using SkyDrive, children can create subject-specific folders, where they can keep digital copies of all of their notes. They can even make study guides for major tests, allowing them to make studying an activity that can take place anywhere. Cloud-based storage can invigorate the studying process by making it more mobile.

• The "File Sharing" feature allows children to share their documents, pictures, music etc., with other members of the SkyDrive community. Children should seek out peers and classmates that use SkyDrive - or introduce the app to them all together. Once they become part of a SkyDrive group, they can sync, and share files among one another. Notes, group projects, and study guides can be created, added to, and shared among all willing participants. SkyDrive can afford children with ADHD, who sometimes struggle to take quality notes, the same access to classroom content as those in the same class who are better note takers. Of course, children with ADHD should also contribute shared notes and content, by contributing anything that they think might be helpful.

SkyDrive is a great file-storage resource, but there are a few similar alternatives below. Let us know which one you prefer in the comment box at the bottom of the page.

Dropbox

Dropbox is one of the original cloud-based storage systems. Find out more on our Apps+ page.

Cubby

Cubby is another cloud-based storage app, that offers up to 5 GB of space for free. Be sure to look at out the Apps+ page for more information.

iCloud

A product of Apple, iCloud offers subscription based cloud space to users who wish to share content across platforms. Check our Apps+ page to learn more.