Paperless Powerhouse: 5 Tools that can Help Your Classroom go Paperless

Many things have changed over the past twenty years.  We used to listen to music on our shiny new CD's, now we listen to music with a digital device and some children don't even know what a CD is.  Twenty years ago we went to the video store to rent a VHS (or Beta) video so we could go home and watch it on our awesome 24" screen.  Now we just rent movies through our Apple TV, Roku or Netflix to watch in on many different devices.  Twenty years ago, when kids wanted to go out, they went home to ask permission or went to a friends house to make a phone call, now kids just send a txt.  Twenty years ago teachers would carry home all of these pieces of paper to grade.  Now...teachers carry home all of these pieces of paper to grade.  What happened?  How did the world move forward while we in education seem to be in some sort of time warp (not the fun one with the dance moves)?  This article will help those who want to break free of the time warp and move toward a paperless classroom.  It will also be useful to those who like to keep current on some great tools that can be helpful in maintaining a modern learning environment.

First, let's define a paperless classroom.  When I talk about a paperless classroom, I am not talking turing paper assignments into pdf files so kids can fill them out on a screen.  I am talking about a learning environment where students and teachers use technology in order to communicate, investigate, theorize, test, collaborate, create and I think you get the idea.  I am talking about a truly modern classroom, and guess what...sometimes that does include paper.  Use paper when necessary and appropriate and not an instance more.  Okay, enough rambling, let's look at some great paperless tools.

Hardware

The first thing you need is something to work on.  A laptop or desktop will do nicely, or you can use any one of the mobile devices available today.  Personally, I tend to go for the mobile device, they are smaller, easier to carry around and are just plain fun to work with.   Outside of the iPad (my personal favorite) some other tablets are: Google Nexus, Asus Transformer Pad, Samsung Tablet and the new kid on the block the Amplify Tablet.  Don't just pick any tablet that can use online collaboration tools such as Google Drive or Zoho.  Can the device record audio, video and still images?  Can it annotate pdf files?  Can you edit video?  A modern classroom is more than research and writing papers, it's about passion and exploration.  It's about critical and creative thinking and making new things. Pick the right hardware for reaching your goals.

Software/Apps

Yes....there's an app for that.  One very important thing to consider when selecting hardware is the software that will work with it.  Is there software (or apps) that will allow the user to  do what needs to be done.  Maybe the device is powerful enough to edit video, but the software is cumbersome and difficult to use.  If the software isn't user friendly, you have a hugh problem on your hands.   Let's not forget about the more mundane projects that are really important in the life of a student.  A good pdf annotator or journaling app can make a world of difference in the classroom.  There's no point in finding free apps if they aren't user friendly or don't accomplish your goals.  You will find some of my favorite educational iPad apps listed on the mobile apps page of my website.

Online Services

There are a lot of ways for students to share digital files with educators.  One way is through an online application system such as Google Apps or Zoho.  Both of these services are great and allow for file sharing.  In my experience though, it is sometimes better to use a Learning Management System (LMS) instead.  A LMS will not only allow students to share files back and forth with the educators, a good LMS will streamline a lot of the tedious work for the educator, leaving him/her more time to create quality learning experiences for students.  (See my recent post on this topic here)   It will also allow an educator (and students) to organize information and share a wide variety of resources under one "roof".  For example, several Google Documents, YouTube videos, websites and audio files can all be stored in folders organized by topic, date or type. All the necessary files for a lesson or unit can be stored in a single folder or "collection".  A similar result can be accomplished using Google Apps (including Google Sites), but I find a LMS to be easier to use in that type of situation.

Digital Quizzes/Tests

Giving quizzes and tests online can be a great way to remove paper from a classroom.  Online quizzes can be at least partially graded by the computer (non essay questions) leaving the educator with the results and data without the work ofgrading.  Some online quizzes will export to excel (can we say grade book integration?) and some give students instant feedback so they don't have to wait for the educator to take the papers home and grade them.  Many online quizzes can have times when they are visible to the students and can shuffle the questions and answer options.  If you like the idea of online quizzes and grade book integration, you should check out Schoology.  It has a nice quizzing module that talks directly to the grade book. Other nice online quiz options include: Quizlet, Quiz Star and Quiz Egg.

Video

Any truly modern classroom is going to include video of some sort from somewhere.  There are video sources for schools such as Khan Academy or IXL.  Educators that are so inclined to make their own videos, have a variety of tools available to them that varies according to the hardware available (see how some things go back to hardware?).  Let's not overlook the YouTube option.  Some people get nervous when you talk about putting videos on YouTube or students putting videos on YouTube, but there are things you can do to keep videos out of the "public eye".  If you are interested in using video or doing a flip classroom concept, you can find more information about flip and videos (including flip classroom apps for the iPad) on the Mobile Learning - Flip Classroom  page of my website.

And a pinch to grow an inch....

Vision

I am not talking about the superhero (don't worry if you don't know him, he's not that popular). I am talking about a vision for your classroom.  A classroom without a vision is like a sailing ship without a sail or a kite without a string.  You can get lost and/or things can get away from you very quickly.  Like with any environment, there needs to be direction.  People like direction (that's why we have GPS and cool looking maps).  Before embarking on a modern 21st century classroom, stop, breathe and make a plan.  A flexible plan, but it should still be a plan.  Below are a list of sites that may help you with your paperless classroom plan.  If you have any questions or would like some advice about implementing a paperless classroom, feel free to contact me through the Contact Randy page of my website.

Inside the Classroom, Outside the Box
Using Google Docs to go Paperless
Flipped Learning

Digital Classroom Environments

Over the past several years digital classrooms have grown at a tremendous rate.  Ten years ago it was not very common for anyone to take an online course and now there are millions of people across our planet taking online courses every day.  The pedagogy of online courses has evolved from a course where a student listens to a lecture and completes assignments to courses that have students interacting with instructors and each other in a wide variety of ways.  We have gone from live classes only, to choosing between live and online classes and today we even have a third option.  We can take classes live, online or in an blended environment.  The tools educators and schools use in order to provide online and blended courses have expanded and there are several different options for providing a online or blended class.

As I have explored different digital classroom environments over the past few years, I have noticed a fundamental shift between digital course software that has been around for many years (such as BlackBoard and Moodle) and newer digital environments (Edmodo and Schoology).  The software that has been around for many years seems to have a connection with a more traditional style of education.  They are simply digital versions of a traditional classroom.  The educators control what is going on in the room, share documents with students, hold discussion with students and provide a space for students to turn in home work and check their grades.  I am not stating that these programs are bad or inappropriate, I am simply stating that they are traditional.  Personally I believe we need non-traditional online options for classes to fit our modern day non-tradtional classroom.  This is why I have turned to Schoology.

If you haven't seen Schoology, you should...it's just plain cool.  Schoology was built in a fashion similar to Facebook and is very easy for anyone to navigate.  It allows for students or teachers to form groups, connect their learning to Google Docs, hold a wide variety of discussions (including adding audio and video in the enterprise version) as well as a great quizzing module.  More impressive than all of this is the fact that my teachers can be introduced to Schoology and in less than an hour they are experts.  (ok, they aren't experts in using Schoology, but they feel like they are). My educators have not gone through the stressful process of trying to understand how to navigate through an online classroom system such as BlackBoard or Moodle.  They are using an environment that seems, at least, vaguely familiar and comfortable.  Schoologys interface is laid out in a way that makes sense in our modern world.

As our students have been introduced to Schoology, there have been very few cries for help.  Students have enjoyed the discussion board and love the idea of making their own social groups within Schoology.  Educators love the ease and versatility of the discussion boards and the quiz module.  My IT person loves how easy it is to adjust the settings to allow everyone to do everything for their classrooms.  Overall, it's a win win situation.

Let's look at it from this point of view.  My spanish teachers have been searching for a way to use audio more within their classrooms. We have tried, with varying degrees of success, VoiceThread.  This has helped, but was just different enough from everything else they do, that my spanish teachers would get lost or confused.  They needed a SIMPLE solution.  The Schoology discussion board is just what the Education Technology person ordered.  It is easy enough for the adults and provides the authentic learning experiences students need.  The fact that this discussion board ties directly to the student calendar and grade book is simply icing on the cake, and I love icing.

Although I tout about Schoology, it is not the only game on the block with this more modern look at the classroom environment.  One comparable, and popular, program is Edmodo.  Other programs worth checking out are: EduOnGo and Udutu.

If you know of any other modern digital classroom environment, I'd love to hear about them.  You can contact me through my website at technologyskills.net