Going Paperless

The hip new trend is to “be green”.  Do your part to save the environment.  When my instructor asked me to present on a topic of my choosing to my peers and lead a group discussion about current topics in technology, I chose to “go green”.  Why not?  Everyone is doing it!

The more I researched my topic for the presentation the more ways I learned how as an educator I could cut back (way back) on the amount of paper products I used in my classroom.  I could stop lugging around my heavy book bag to each classroom I taught in.  As one blog even mentioned, I could ultimately loose 20 lbs by going paperless!  (See Link)  What a deal!  To me the benefits of going paperless far outweigh the negatives.  With the advancement of technology and more reliable access to digital resources, there is no excuse why I can’t do the same.

Since my discussion with my peers, I have tried to make more changes to my teaching habits.  One thing I am having trouble letting go of is keeping a hard copy of my gradebook.  Many of my peers and colleagues have already converted to using only a digital gradebook, but for some reason I need that tangible object for my sanity or security.  More than anything I think it is a mental block that is preventing me from switching over.  No one said breaking habits was easy, but someday…

I believe that schools and educators will go through a “facelift” of sorts during my tenure as a teacher.  By the time I retire, the face of edcuation will have vastly different features from when I started my career.