Gone are the days of standing in line for hours at the copy machine. Gone are the days of collecting worksheet after worksheet and risking the chance of losing one or two. For me, going paperless has changed my classroom, my teaching, and my life. But why? Why do you want change up what teachers have been doing for years and years before? What do you wish to accomplish by making this major change to your teaching? You need to know WHY you want to do this. If you’re reading this article, you probably are seriously considering going paperless in your classroom. If you know your students’ needs and abilities, you will be able to provide them exactly what they need in order to be successful with this transition. You might be thinking, “That sounds great! But what if my students aren’t all using the same exact technology?” Do not fear, Google provides assistance to both the Android and Apple platforms, on both phones and tablets. What are assistive technologies? Some of the useful assistance that Google provides within their apps include voice-typing, keyboard shortcuts, screen-reading help, voice-search when using a search engine, and braille support. I am a Special Education teacher, so I know some of my students will require assistive technology everyday. You need to KNOW their abilities and their needs both academically and technologically. We experience this enough we don’t need to fail at this too. As a teacher, the last thing I want to happen is to introduce this awesome new concept to my students and have it fail miserably. Going paperless can go one of two ways: really good or really bad. And trust me, your students can be a great asset in understanding technology! You just need to be knowledgeable and aware of all the different types of technology available. Will you and your students be using desktop computers or laptop computers? What about Chromebooks? (They’re different from regular laptops, did you know that?) Will you be using SmartBoard technology and if so, are your students familiar with its usage? How about iPads? Do you know how to download and use the apps? Will you be projecting apps and websites from your own iPad with the use of AppleTV in your classroom? If something goes wrong, and we know it always does, can you troubleshoot? If your students are able to use their own devices, are you aware of the different brands (Apple, Samsung, LG, etc.) and how each brand operates slightly different than each other? You don’t need to be a technology wizard or expert by any means. Technology comes in a variety of ways and you need to be fully aware of each format. The first and most important step to ease into this paperless transition is to be knowledgeable and familiar with the actual devices that you will be using in your classroom.
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