Teaching Paperless with Freely Available Resources

The world is increasingly going digital. Many universities have one-to-one computing and campus Wi-Fi networks that allow teachers and students to interact digitally more than ever before, although the situation does vary from country to country. Teachers at one Japanese university are rapidly moving toward teaching paperless using various information and communication technology (ICT) tools. The article addresses how paperless teaching was applied in classes with first-year university students having low levels of computer skills, using specific tools such as Google Docs, Facebook, and Dropbox. It then provides general ideas of how to implement paperless teaching in classrooms, specific recommendations on tools and activities to use, and specific ways that students can be prepared before they enter university. Across Asia, there is a huge variety of information technology (IT) situations in universities, ranging from low-tech classrooms with only a whiteboard to classrooms with a full array of audio / visual materials available. Some universities have high speed Wi-Fi throughout their campuses. Some students have access to well-equipped computer labs outside of class. Additionally, schools in various areas around the world are moving to a one-to-one computing model (Trucano, 2010). With this transition toward more technologically-focused classrooms, teachers are finding ways to integrate new methods into their practices. This paper targets instructors with access to IT and highlights teaching practices attempting to make the technologies more useful for the teacher and students. It is designed as a basic outline for teaching paperless. Inspiration for this article came from the blog TeachPaperless (Blake-Plock, 2012), which aims not only to remove the paperwork from teaching, but to meet students’ technology needs. The article relates the challenges of employing various online media websites in class for academic purposes and aims to share how a paperless classroom was accomplished, what online tools and references were utilized, which skills the students needed to perform the tasks, and finally, what advantages and disadvantages were discovered during the process. The questions fostering this exploration were: 1Language Education in Asia, 2012, 3(2), 204-217. http://dx.doi.org/10.5746/LEiA/12/V3/I2/A09/Butler_Wilkins Language Education in Asia, Volume 3, Issue 2, 2012 Butler and Wilkins Page 205 1) What are the benefits or drawbacks of a paperless system for teachers and students? 2) What are the limitations and difficulties of teaching a paperless course? 3) What computer programs can be used in a face-to-face class so that it can be taught entirely paperless? While many e-Learning platforms exist, the authors’ university did not subscribe to any, requiring teachers to find other means of integrating technology into the classroom. One goal of this exploration was to discover technologies to use in the absence of these platforms. Further, this article reflects what the authors found worked best in their teaching situation; it is not meant to be a comprehensive review of all digital tools. It is about trial and error for two teachers attempting to find methods to make their workloads lighter while addressing the needs of students entering a technology-driven world. No formal research was conducted; rather, a problem was addressed with a practical approach. The teachers conferred with each other about which platforms to use, how they were using them, and what other programs could be implemented to make a course paperless. Literature Review Teaching paperless relies on technology that did not exist a few years ago, so most of the literature related to this topic is relatively recent. Computers in language-learning classrooms are primarily used to enhance students’ skills in terms of language input and output (Winke & Goertler, 2008); however, students often feel anxious about using computers for academic purposes (Ushida, 2005). Students may use computers and social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook, Twitter, or Mixi (specific to Japan) for personal reasons; however, the skills needed to use these websites do not always overlap with academic language learning goals. In fact, students have said using these specific SNS can be problematic. For example, Japanese students have reported that Facebook is not “Japanese friendly” in regard to Japanese cultural constraints; also, they deem the user-interface too complicated and the real name policy uncomfortable (Acar, 2011). However, recently, Facebook use in Japan has increased faster than in any other nation except Brazil, going from 200,000 users in 2008 to over 6 million currently (Morales, 2012). In the United States, 100% of universities polled in one study stated they were using SNS sites (with Facebook being reported as one of the most used), meaning that students, whether using these sites for personal reasons or not, could be required to use such sites for academic purposes (James, 2011). In another survey, 80% of American university educators report using social media for a course they are teaching and two-thirds have used social media during class (Daily Statistic, 2011). Barnes and Lescault reported an increase from 2007 in all areas of university social media use, including blogs, podcasts, Facebook, video blogs, and YouTube (2011). American universities have a high success rate with technology because many students are already using the technology (Walsh, 2010). This is not always the case in other countries, yet educators are eager to integrate technology into language teaching for several reasons. One of the most important is student motivation. A well-implemented computer-assisted language learning (CALL) program may strengthen students’ motivation when learning a second language (Ushida, 2005). Another concept in CALL is a technology-enhanced language learning (TELL) environment. (Adair-Hauck, Willingham-McLain, & Youngs, 1999). This notion extends from not only online learning programs, but also hybrid learning and face-to-face learning situations. TELL