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Iowa College Goes Paperless
As reported in this Wired article, joelav22 writes that an "Iowa college plans to go completely paperless. There are no libraries, just work stations for e-books and online information. the article supports that 'The school plans to be an entirely paper-free campus. Last year, about 75 telecommunications students participated in a pilot program to go paperless. Each student used a Compaq iPaq handheld to access e-textbooks, syllabi and class materials, and to take notes and exams.' less time spent in a library equals more time for beer and filming amateur Girls Gone Wild digital video!"
Don't we all spend enough time before computers already?
It usually means that because everything becomes accessible via computer, everyone wants their own print-out, thus you get about 5x the paper.
What I'd rather have, instead of a paperless campus, is one that provides good mobility between the spheres of paper information and electronic.
Give me a Paperport scanner or something similar, and give me electronic versions of my course assignments on a website. But also give me the sheets of paper.
The vital thing is to be able to use paper for what paper is good at, and electronic systems for their own purposes. There is no reason to throw out what is otherwise the right tool for the job.
Removing books is an_stupid_00. That means that your ability to study is limited to the availability of computers, and the functionality of said machines. Multimonitor becomes a MUST in this case. I would not mind electronic versions to do full text searches of, but dammit I want dead tree editions- zero failure chance, save physical loss. I also do not want to be forced into a zero-ownership system for my textbooks (which seems to be the primary thrust of schemes like this.)
What we call folk wisdom is often no more than a kind of expedient stupidity.-Edward Abbey
Besides, nothing (yet) can replace a book you own, a highlighter and a pen for making notes in the margin and taking the whole thing to a study lounge to get away from your roommate's beer party (the sacrifices we make for good grades).
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
Thanks but no thanks. I would only do this if the book was mine FOREVER.
---rhad
Slashdot needs to interview Natalie Portman.
Yeah, things like Maple/Mathmatica and Tex are nice and all, but I get all of my serious thinking done on paper. I generally turn to such systems only when I need to solve hairy differential equations or when I am typing up a paper. I suppose I might be able to survive with a tablet and some sort of simple sketching program, but you still can't beat the stability and user friendliness of good old fashioned bleached wood pulp and graphite shaft.
My $.02
BlackGriffen
I can't speak for Microsoft, but it's not that unusual for tech companies to have all their information stored in softcopy on the company intranet.
The catch is that it doesn't stay there. As many others have already commented, reading large amounts of text on a screen isn't easy on the eyes. As such, the first thing I (and all my coworkers do) on starting a new project is print out all the documentation on it.
Softcopy is good for searching, but is no substitute for the annotated pages of diagrams, schemas and other quick-reference material strewn across my desk.
I find that about 2/3 of the students elect to purchase the book even though it has nothing more than the online material - indeed - the graphics aren't even animated (although there is a CD with simulators and movies).
As one student told me - the book seldom has a glare problem, never flickers, and you can read it in the bath.
It is good to have the material on-line - but there is still a place for "ink-on-pulped-wood" as a transport media. Just because you can do it solely on-line doesn't mean that you should
My eyes get sore after a certain amount of time staring at a computer screen... if I had to do all my studying/reading/working on computer screens (of various sizes/shapes) I would kill my eyesight. Especially since the iPaq's are way smaller than your average text book. I think the graduating class will all have squints.
I hope you're not pretending to be evil while secretly being good. That would be dishonest.
Now textbooks are another issue...the disadvantages most definitely out weigh any possible benefits of a paperless environment. This is especially the case for technical texts where it is common for students to add personal notes and comments into their textbooks. Therefore that $100 I spent on my aerodynamics text was not just because my class required it, but was an addition to my personal reference library.
Ideally, it would best to have everything in paper and electronic media. Look up what you want electronically and perform detailed research with both paper and electronic media
The whole idea of "paperless" is a sham... I read some statistic a while ago that since e-mail has been introduced into offices, paper use has gone UP, since a lot of people would print out their e-mails. I don't know about everyone else, but whenever I get a lengthy reading assignment online in one of my classes, first thing I do is print it up on my laser printer and find a quiet spot to read. If I'm on my computer, I generally don't have enough discipline to shut down instant messenger, my mp3 player, and all the other apps I run as distractions in the background.
Another problem with the whole iPaq thing: battery life. If you're reading a book that takes more than a few hours to finish, you've got a problem! (Especially if you've got a wireless card or some power-sucker plugged in). From my own observations, a lot of people don't read near outlets all the time.
I am an engineering student, but I love to read. Her insights (especially while reading Ulysses) are wonderfully helpful to someone who has a limited knowledge of literature. To boot, I have something that I can really associate with my mother about.
There's something intangible about picking up a 30-year old copy of your favourite novel and knowing that 5 or 6 other people have enjoyed it as well. This might seem sappy, but reading something from a monitor (or even from the screen of an iPaq) just doesn't have the same soul as reading from paper. It's the same reason why the National Post (a Canadian newspaper, eh?) will ALWAYS be better than The National Post.
Let's keep books of literature and education alive and relegate more soul-less forms of communication (like porn) to the computer world.
Windside
--------
...Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.
Churchill
Paperless good. Paperless plus good. Paper can stick around, carrying un-information. Paperless makes it easier for the Ministry of Truth to remove references to unpersons, and to change unfacts when they are no longer true.
With new paperless media like DVD-ROM and Ebook and the DMCA, it is already a federal crime to circumvent the Ministry's control over information. Once the DVD player expires, or the rights-managed usage grant expires, then it will be a crime to circumvent protections in order to access un-information. Downloaded music from PressPlay will all die when PressPlay does. It becomes un-music! You'll have to buy the next big star they want to sell you!
Paperless good! Long live Big Brother!
This is a pretty clear indication that the decision was made to go electronic before any reasonable assessment was made of whether the necessary course materials were actually available in that format.
Did the college factor in the cost of developing their own textbooks into their calculation of the overall cost of this initiative?
Did they pause to consider that maybe their students would benefit more from having the best course materials available for use, regardless of format?
The observation that "students prefer to look things up online" is irrelevant. Part of a decent post-secondary education is learning how to locate the best source of information available, which isn't always the most convenient source.
E-Books are like E-Jobs -- they don't feel "real" to most people.
Case in point -- I work for GameSpy Industries, doing writing, editing, and management. However, their offices are located in Irvine, California. This is quite a daily commute from Winnipeg, MB, Canada. The solution? Telecomutting.
However, people don't seem to quite grasp the fact that, even though I'm at home, I'm still working. My mother asks me to do housework, people say "dammit Cary, get a real job".. and I make almost 3x as much as they do at their real McJobs.
I imagine that the e-book situation is quite similar -- because there is no tactile book to hold, it isn't "real". (I've been told that, if I had to go to an office but still telecommute, then I have a real job.
Skylarov was the first to be brought up on charges for circumventing the protection for books. Expect more troubles to come if the best source for learning (books!) are primarily on digital media... The move toward highly restrictive licensing instead of outright ownership of information will likely lead to information only being retained by multi-national corporations. Just wait and see, or write your congressmen/senator and stop the loss of your rights.
In the UK about 15-ish years ago all schools in Britain took part in the new Domesday project where information was gathered about the places we live. It was stored on laser disc. Now there aren't any laser disc readers around to read the data and it's effectively useless.
Lets also not forget that there is real concern about the transitory nature of the web. Old sites go and never return, what will have to show our grandchildren about the beginnings of the web?
What will happen to the data from the University library, the students Ipaqs (or similar computers).
All these digital storage ideas are great as an addition to paper but they require another piece of equipment to read it, whereas good ole paper and ink just requires eyes!
as an aside (if they're taking notes on their ipaq I hope the lecturer is talking really slowly - inputing anything with a stylus is so monumentally slow)