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A high school in one of the neighboring schools districts has developed a research program using iPads and completely paperless classrooms.  The textbooks are preloaded with the textbooks needed for the school year.  My perfect classroom would be completely paperless.  The situation made me think about how our world is changing and how the everyday real-lives of our students are at odds with the educational system.  I asked one of my high school students yesterday how often she hand wrote anything.  She admitted that beyond school, she did not write by hand very often.   Communication is largely done over the Internet or through cell phones. How often are we asked to hand write information outside of the k-12 classroom?  Personally, I do not hand write information very often.  Everything is digital.  I make my shopping list in the Notes application on my cell phone.  The previously handwritten post-it note reminders have been replaced with Stickies on my computer screen.  All communication through the workplace is done via email.  It is odd considering how important the practice of handwriting was during my own schooling.  I remember coming home with my report card in first grade.  It was full of satisfactory grades in all areas except handwriting.  I still remember my dad lecturing me on improving my handwriting.  (I was six so I am sure my memory is etched with the magnifying glass of a child’s psyche.)  However, I struggled through elementary school in the area of penmanship and neatness.  To this day, I still have terrible handwriting.  I can read my own writing just fine but no one else can.  Even my husband cannot read my handwriting.  I am so glad that I can type everything.  I can type faster than I can write by hand and correct any mistakes easily without rewriting everything again. 

How does this relate to my students? Slowly but surely, students are doing more and more assignments using technology.   I will one day have my ideal classroom where paper is not a commodity.  No more piles of paper on my desk to be graded. It will be a beautiful thing…

Photo courtesy of Microsoft Clip Art

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/academic-CM079001901.aspx#ai:MP900401133|

Today is August 10, 2011.  I just found an article about the dying art of handwriting on CNN.  The comments after the article are an interesting read.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/08/10/handwriting.horror/index.html?hpt=hp_t2