If I had access to computers for all of my students, I would love to switch to a “paperless” classroom.  With today’s technology, paper is obsolete.  I would be able to organize my units into folders on the server and students would be able to access the folders for their work.  My students would be able to click on internet links, watch video clips, listen to podcasts, and read online articles.  Their learning would be more self directed.  I would be able to act as more of a guide by providing them the tools they need to discover what they need to know. 

By using Web 2.0 technologies, students would have more opportunities to collaborate and could participate more in discussions that would involve the whole class.  There would be countless way to assess student learning rather than the old paper and pencil tests. Instead of reading descriptions in textbooks, students could take virtual tours and view actual video footage of places they are learning about.  They would have more outlets to express and share their thoughts and ideas.  Parental involvement would increase because parents could access their child’s work and even provide feedback. 

There would be a variety of ways to measure student learning in a paperless classroom.  Teachers could have students keep online portfolios that would easily show student progress.  Teachers could monitor students’ discussions to check for understanding.  Students could work on programs that monitor and report their progress to the teacher.  Teachers could check students’ work for plagiarism.  Teachers could easily assist students with editing their work in a digital format without wasting time with rewriting.  Of course, these are just a handful of ways in which learning could be measured. 

I do believe that a paperless space would make it much easier to build a learning network.  Students could network beyond the classroom.  They could collaborate with other students across the world.  They could participate in discussions with students from other cultures they may be learning about.  Students could receive feedback from more than one teacher providing different perspectives.

 Overall, I think paperless classrooms will be the future of education.  Paperwork reduction is a goal of many industries.  More and more companies are moving to online means of doing business and students need to be prepared with these skills.

Advertisement