March 2, 2011
The Paperless Rationale for Technology
I have some concerns about the "going paperless" rationale for using more technology in the classroom. While there may be environmental benefits (there are questions about this if students simply print out the documents), I worry that the technology will simply be used to replicate old models of teaching. This article in the Chronicle of Higher Education provides some practical tips for going paperless but confirms my fears that this rationale doesn't promote effective use of educational technology.
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We seem to have a lot to say about the "how to" methods of going paperless. I seldom see discussions about the best use of documents, regardless of format. I believe there will always be a role for writing/reading in education and for working with documents, but is there work being done on what documents are best at and when they aren't so valuable? Or even how to use them in an e-empowered manner that exploits options unique to e-format? Failing to tackle such questions risks over-investment in inappropriate technologies, whether that is overemphasis on "all multimedia all the time" or persistent use of documents in contexts where the educational justification is weakening.
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