Technology opens the door to the world. It’s up to us to walk through it in a meaningful and respectful way.
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The concept of paperless classrooms has become idealized due to the uprising of technology. Since our students essentially have the world at their fingertips, is it illogical to believe that our classrooms will soon need no more print resources to teach future generations? Already there has been a shift away from physical textbooks to online versions, which often come with the added benefits. Online textbooks have led to online homework assignments, quizzes, and even standardized testing. While so many aspects of education have moved to be accessible online, I believe it will be impossible to convert to a completely paperless classroom. Further, I think our education system would suffer by forcing this shift from print to digital.
Starting from a practical standpoint, to shift our classrooms to paperless would mean to shift students’ homes to paperless as well. While many homes are completely connected to the internet, there are just as many who do not have a reliable way to access a computer. It is unfair to constantly disadvantage them by requiring the use of a resource they don’t have. This certainly leads to a much larger discussion about the inequalities urban schools and their students face on a daily basis. Before schools can truly move to paperless classrooms, it would only be moral to ensure their students are capable of keeping up with this movement. The amount of funding that would go into transitioning to a paperless school is more than enough to scare Boards of Education, taxpayers, and anyone tasked with the job of developing that budget.
However, let’s move away from the financial or social aspects of a paperless school. Assume our education system did not contain its current flaws and inequalities. Instead, I want to consider this question: Is a paperless classroom the best way to educate our students? Technology provides a unique advantage that students of previous generations are envious of. There is no doubt that technology has revolutionized education by opening millions of doors to educators and students in new ways of creative, innovative, and genuinely fun learning. Schools should absolutely take advantage of opportunities to involve laptops, iPads, clickers, and even cell phones to keep students engaged in lessons. Using online textbooks instead of carrying five different hardcovers all day long is a blessing to students. Creating online study guides, posting powerpoints, and submitting digital versions of assignments are all great ways to reduce paper waste while still providing quality education. But there is a limit where paperless changes from beneficial to harmful.
Requiring students and teachers to go paperless takes their choice of preference away from them. Just as some people favor visual versus verbal learning, some would choose physical textbooks over digital ones. Some people have issues staring at a screen for extended periods of time, resulting in eye strain and headaches. Others like to hold a physical copy of whatever they are reading in order to focus and absorb the information more effectively. On top of simple preference, there are numerous studies that prove writing down information is a crucial step to memorization. It’s been proven that typing down notes requires less mental work than writing, which leads to less retention of the notes. Perhaps as future generations grow up surrounded by more technology, there will be a shift in how the brain processes and stores information through typing. As of right now, I think that classrooms should still be cognizant of the difference between typing and writing and learn to differentiate when each is most effective.
I think technology should absolutely start replacing print resources where they are no longer needed or beneficial. Schools should purchase online textbooks to allow students to use them both in and out of school where they would otherwise have to share class copies. Having students submit assignments online to reduce the usage of paper is a perfect way to minimize waste. Giving students the option to type or write their notes, based on their preferences, allows more flexibility for students to learn what works best for them. There is no doubt that technology can create classrooms that cater to twenty-first-century students by discovering more effective ways of learning and teaching. The focus on schools should not be to convert to completely paperless classrooms; rather, it should be on creating an environment that provides every opportunity for student success through whatever methods are most beneficial for each individual.
Jessica's Blog: The Learning Curve of Teaching 