This (to the left) is my classroom from a few years ago. I have mentioned before that my school has been one-to-one since I began teaching, six years ago. Notice all the computers being used in the picture as my wonderful students dutifully write about something I have assigned them. I have been ever so blessed by Macbooks my students are able to use on a daily basis, but I must admit I still use paper. (Insert gasp here.)

I know. The big rage is the “paper-less” classroom. This is where the teacher uses technology for every possible source. Handouts? Online. Papers? Online? Textbooks? Online. Quizzes. Online! You get the idea. I personally have never been able to take the complete jump into a paperless classroom. (Here is a good article about the pros and cons, if you’re curious!)

I think the biggest reason why I cannot take the jump is I am a traditionalist at heart. I love buying actual books. I love highlighting research I printed. I like to cross out my answers on a test and work through my ideas on paper. I like paper. It’s who I am.

I do have to admit that technology has made my teaching better and so much easier in many ways. I love using Google Classroom to inform my students of assignments, I love having students edit papers via Google Docs, and I love Turnitin’s capabilities to catch my sneaky students. There are very few negatives to technology in my classroom, in my opinion.

However, and this is the biggest negative of all the negatives, my students are so distracted by technology. It is terrible! I print copies of short stories because I know my students will be swipping their screen if allowed to read it on the computer. I make my students their their quizzes and tests on paper because I know they are smarter and techier than I am and could find a way to cheat. I also make my students take notes with a notebook and pencil because I know writing something has a connection to their memory that typing does not. (Interesting article here.) I know this all sounds a little antiquated, but I have not been able to get past these things in the past six years.

So there are my biggest issues with technology. My school is one-to-one, which I love and I utilize, but I am still a paper fan. I do not think I will ever lose my love for paper (or my trust with paper), but you never know.