Going Paperless: You’ve got to be kidding

This post sees me reflect on the need to cut down on paper without committing to going paperless.

So, it’s the time of year when I invoke the Roman God Janus for help in my office to clear out the old and bring in the new. At least, I would if I believed any of that old claptrap. In ancient Roman mythology, Janus was the God of beginnings and transitions, of gates and doorways, of endings and time. You’ll be familiar with the image of Janus, having two faces, each facing in the opposite direction: one face looks Eastward while the other Westward. In symbolic terms, these two heads gaze simultaneously into the future and the past, back at the last year and forward to the next. With one academic year finally in its death throes, it’s time to begin looking forward to what awaits in the month of September. Where better to start than with the desk I sit at every day.

I’m intrigued by people who advocate the paperless office. What on Earth are they thinking? I’m even more intrigued by teachers who advocate the paperless classroom. There is one reason for my interest: why? Why would you enforce such a policy in this aspect of your lives when you couldn’t or wouldn’t try to live up to such an ideal elsewhere? Of course, I’m not alone in having spent too long in my teaching career being something of a slave to the photocopier, so let me just take this opportunity to apologize to my students, especially those from about ten years ago, who had to suffer from my handout driven shenanigans. Let me set things straight before you come after me with one of those paper guillotines: I’m all for the minimizing of the amount of paper we take into the classroom (and store in the office), especially if we’re already clobbering them with a course book. I’m going to actively try to cut down on paper but I’m not going to go paperless. Here’s why.

Why it’s a good idea

To reiterate, I’m not saying there aren’t benefits; of course there are. The biggies are space and money. Welcome to the twenty-first century, boys and girls. While you may well still wish to use handouts in the classroom – I still do, a lot – there’s no longer a need to print out and store large numbers of documents because they can now be simply stored on your hard drive*. Also, there’s no need to spend so much money on paper, ink cartridges and toners. These things are a major expense: just because they may not come directly out of your pocket doesn’t mean that the expense isn’t there.

In addition to saving space and money, a paperless work environment is simpler to navigate and is more accessible. I’m fairly happy with the appearance of my desk in the picture above. I wish I’d taken a picture of it a couple of weeks ago: the feng shuiists nightmare! The paperless office might therefore serve a time saving function, as I won’t be searching through stacks of paper looking for that excellent worksheet that I know is hidden away somewhere. I even store copies for my students in an online resource that both they and I can access at any point. I recently threw out about half a tree’s worth of worksheets I hadn’t even looked at for at least seven years. Document and file sharing is significantly simplified, as documents and files can be sent to other recipients with a single mouse click.

Don’t forget that your efforts will also help to save planet Earth. All that paper and ink is helping to drain the world’s resources, ink especially because of the harmful chemicals used in manufacture. Quite simply, stationery products pollute the environment. If you’re not part of the solution…

So, my desk is clear, my shelves are neat, what’s holding me back? I’ve created a ‘less paper’ situation in my office, why shouldn’t I go paperless?

Hang on a minute…

Have I really thought this through? No, have I, really?

I’m telling you right now, there are many things that you’ll regret if you make your classroom or your office a totally paperless one. Here’s why.

1. Does everyone have the software?

If you’re planning on developing a communication channel with other teachers or your students, both the sender and the recipient must have access to the same software. Don’t take it for granted that everyone uses Microsoft word.

2. Is it safe?

At some point you will be dealing with sensitive information or at very least sharing stuff that you don’t want a mass audience to be privy to. Concerns about confidentiality are valid, as there is the genuine possibility of information being viewed – and collected – by outside parties.

3. Is it cost effective?

Buying new packs of A4 on a regular basis costs more than you might think, but so does maintenance of equipment. Things such as anti-virus programs and upgrades to software ain’t cheap. If you’re going paperless for economic reasons, think about how much you’re really saving. Oh yeah, and don’t skimp on the anti-virus! I don’t pay for any of these things, but that doesn’t mean I choose to ignore their costs.

4. Will you be able to find what you’re looking for?

Have you honestly never lost any vitally important data? If not, then I’m glad you’ve finally been rescued from that desert island that you’ve been stuck on for the past 20 years. Files can disappear surprisingly easily, not because of ‘accidental’ deletions, but also because hard drives suddenly die. And they do, believe me.

5. Will your colleagues like the change?

Never mind the children, won’t somebody think of the teachers? If it helps, think of technology as your religion. Getting people to ‘convert’ should be handled with extreme sensitivity. The fact is, some teachers may not be as comfortable with information technology as you are. Telling such people that their way is old fashioned or wrong or has been usurped by technology is only going to exacerbate the problem.

Bearing this all in mind, how should I proceed in my quest to cut down?

My three steps to making my life better in the coming year

I shall be trying to employ feng shui, the Chinese practice of positioning objects to create harmony, in your office. Quite simply, coming back to a desk full of clutter is bumming me out and I don’t like it. I also aim to make better use of my freestanding bookcases, which currently resemble long-term prison facilities for unwanted and forgotten coursebooks*. The top shelf of the bookcase in that picture hold folder which I haven’t touched since at least 2006. I still like a paper copy of materials I’m working on at present, however, so a printer and a handout in tray / out tray remain necessities.

I need to be more careful in backing up my hard drive regularly and storing those backups away from your computer. I have external hard drives in my office and at home. I aim to back up all my files to both on a regular basis (does weekly sound a bit ambitious?). In doing this, I hope to avoid the Luddites who hopefully await a hard drive meltdown to remind me that their paper copies never crash.

I don’t intend to go paperless, I merely plan to use technology to reduce or eliminate much of the paper we I today. What is more, I plan to introduce my students to the increased portability and accessibility of digitized ideas and to a greener way of going about learning.

If you think all this sounds like rubbish, please let me know by commenting.

Further reading…

Starve a Bookworm, Save a Tree: The Pros and Cons of Going Paperless

Greener Billing: Between Perks and Perils

* Please note the carefully cropped picture that no longer displays the shelves of folders storing ancient, unused handouts!