Paper or Plastic?

While paper is still the medium of choice and I don't think it will ever disappear, the benefits of going digital in the classroom cannot be overstated. I've always been a fan of Dropbox and had wanted to use it to share with my students. When Dropbox finally created a feature that allowed me to share files with students without requiring them to join Dropbox, I jumped on it right away. As well, in this configuration, when I shared a link with someone, they could only view or download the file but couldn't modify the original in my Dropbox. Perfect for syllabus, outlines, and any other educational materials I wanted my students to have. 

In all  of my courses, I have a folder in my Dropbox called "Student Shared Folder" and I take that URL and embed it in a QR code. That way, students can simply scan it with their smartphone and have everything in their pocket. I also convert the URL into a tiny URL for students with lackluster phones, which in the past few years has become less and less. Now my students have everything that I deem important with them all of the time. If I update the files or add new material, they simply need to refresh the QR code within the app or visit the URL again and the new material is there. 

Making materials available to students in this manner has made my life a lot easier and I would think, the lives of my students, too. I don't need to spend a lot of time printing and photocopying, wasting paper if I made too many or wasting time when I needed to run out to make a few more copies. Or worse yet, if I made an error in the original. My students can't claim to have lost important documents, either, and I can share PowerPoint files, videos, and other materials that are impractical as handouts. We have practicum visits with all of our class students in my university, so this allows me to keep an Excel file that shows everyone's visitation time and I update it whenever a student makes a reservation. That way, I don't have double-bookings or students emailing me if they forgot their scheduled appointment time. They can see it for themselves.

I've used the QR codes for doing graded reading in class by linking the QR codes with Google Docs that contain various stories I wanted the students to read. I could put students in pairs and have them each read a different story. Afterward, they would do a retelling of the story to their partner. The same can be done with videos, although it's a bit noisy. The QR codes can also be used for polling and I particularly like using it for getting mass amounts of data from students via a Google Doc. 

Digitizing my materials has been successful for me in large part due to the prevalence of smartphones these days. However, paper is still needed for some worksheets and particular lessons. I wish that more tablets were in student hands so that I could expand my digital classroom and eliminate the use of paper altogether.