Floppy disks are old. Compact discs are big, round and fragile.

The next major innovation in portable data storage comes in the form of a flash drive, a pocket-sized device which can best be described as a portable computer hard drive used to store documents and other types of files.

NIU’s computer science department recommends students use a flash drive.

Penny McIntire, assistant to the chair in the computer science department, has taught various courses in computer science at NIU for 20 years.

“For a while we explored programs dealing with flash drives but we don’t require students to have them,” McIntire said.

She also said the computer science department has other ways of getting the information they need from students without requiring students to use flash drives, so it is only recommended.

McIntire said she uses flash drives because they are very convenient and hold more information than floppy disks.

“A lot of students use them and a lot of faculty use them too,” she said.

The communication department also recommends their students have a flash drive.

Telematics computer lab graduate assistant, Meg Dougherty, said the Internet courses in the communication department usually require students to have a flash drive, but otherwise it is recommended.

Junior sociology major Mercedes Childress, said she uses flash drives for her political science classes because they write a lot of essays in class.

Childress said flash drives are not necessarily more convenient for her since she only uses them for essays.

“Flash drives come in handy since the computers in the lab don’t accept disks,” Childress said.