Introduction
Paperless education simply refers to the full embrace of technology to administer and receive education. The use of technology rules out use of pen and paper to pass knowledge from lecturers to students.
Education World (2000) has found out that some institutions in the United States are at an advanced stage in implementing paperless education. The advancement of technology over the years has seen the invention of accessories that can eliminate writing and reading on paper. Some of these accessories are; laptops, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA’s), ipads and projectors.
Shaw (2001) is sure that the invention of the Internet is one factor that has facilitated the move to paperless education. The Internet and the World Wide Web have created an online store in which information is accessible just by the click of a button. Embracing this technology and implementing it in colleges and universities is, however, not as easy as it seems. This paper aims to illustrate some of the pros and cons of moving to a paperless system of education.
Limits to information
Time was when lack of information was the main concern of the society. Getting information from one source to another or from a source to a student was not that easy a process. There was a need for information availability in all disciplines of study and work environments. Necessity is the mother of invention.
What the inventors did not anticipate is the fact that this information will become so much available that controlling it will be a problem. Duguid and Brown (2000) noted that there is too much information available today, and a serious concern of the society is controlling it. Relay of information has come a long way. People used smoke and fire to relay information across long distances. Then there was the invention of the telegraph, the telephone, the Morse code, computers and now the Internet.
A major breakthrough in history is the invention of computers. A gentle man called Gordon Moore came up with a law that the power of computers doubles after a period of eighteen months. This implies that a computer bought today will cost half its price eighteen months from now. This law has proved to be true so far.
There is a prediction that advancement of new technology will see the end of politics, universities, mass media, newspapers, cities and states. This is because information will be so readily available that the society will not need these things. All information and most services will be available at their fingertips. For example, if the work of managers is information processing, then computer processors will replace them. Pidd (2009) argues that a time will come when advancement in information technology will take over the whole world.
Productivity paradox
Productivity is the quantity of output per unit input. Input includes work force, equipment, capital and other consumed resources. It is ironical, that with the overwhelming availability of raw materials for input, productivity is still difficult to measure.
Productivity in technology started to be taken seriously, when the steam engine and electricity came into existence. This is because these inventions gave rise to positive productivity results. Invention of the Internet was a boost to the productivity of computers. Research show that there are variations of productivity results as far as investment in IT is concerned.
While other firms have invested much in IT and have nothing much to show of it, others have benefited tremendously in this investment. An information economist known as Morgan Stanley noted that, despite the advancements in technology in America around the 80s, productivity has not changed much. He observed that this advancement in technology had little effect on the economy.
This is how Headrick (2000) perceives the productivity paradox in technology. Productivity research in IT in the 90’s has disapproved the productivity paradox. Researchers found out that each dollar invested, in IT departments of organizations, gives a significant output of about ten times. In as much as paperless education is a development, implementing it needs a lot of caution. An institution should not go paperless if its productivity will be insignificant.
Conclusion
Marshall (2000) thinks that Implementation of paperless education will be a positive move by professors in improving learning in institutions of higher learning. The costs involved in buying papers, printing and distributing them to students will no longer be there.
If students embark on using laptops for all learning purposes including doing exams, the lecturers will have an easy time marking and grading them just by the click of a button. Saving of paper also helps in going green. There will be no need for storage space, as all material will be electronic and stored as bits of information in computers.
Going paperless improve the efficiency of students and lecturers. There will be faster access to information as the students will use keywords to get what they need. Document management systems are available. These eases work for librarians and other staff members in institutions.
The use of modern technology makes excellent use of information sharing within a network. Students can access the shared information at their convenience. This makes classroom communication easy, efficient and time saving. Huang (2003) states that students find it fun learning while using technological equipment.
References
Duguid, P. and Brown, Seely J. (2000) The social life of information. New York, Harvard Business Press.
Education World, 2000. The paperless school of the future is here now!. Web.
Headrick, D. (2000) When information came of age. New York, Oxford University Press.
Huang, R.H. 2003. The theories and methods of computer-supported cooperative learning. Beijing, People’s Education Press.
Marshall, C., 2000. The Future of Annotation in a Digital (Paper) World. Urbana Campaign, University of Illinois.
Pidd, H., 2009. Paperless classroom becoming a reality. The Guardian Online. Web.
Shaw, N., 2001. Going paperless: a guide to computerization. Manchester, Radcliffe Publishers.