Hello Eunice Tressa Dlamini,

I have personally tried to be completely paperless since about 2012 including my Masters degree which was completed almost entirely without paper (except for material provided by the university). The articles below will provide you with a better gauge of the current state of paperless (one workplace example) education.

Note: most of these studies have been published in technical rather than education journals.

Daryn

PS:

I am in the last stages of completing my graduate thesis and was wondering if you would be willing to participate in my study regarding ethics/intentions and behaviour in the workplace. If you are unable, I understand.

The following link will take you to the questionnaire which takes about 3-4 minutes:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GZ8KR79

Thank you in advance

Dear Daryn,

Wow!  Thanks for giving me a good start in exploring paperless education. I appreciate your assistance.

Eunice, I believe that every country has had some success or the other of using paperless education systems.  I would like to inquire if by success you mean, adopted and continued to use and grow the system or just adoption of the method is some format or the other?

I think the first thing we must address here is what constitutes education. If we agree that education is not necessarily the traditional thing that is anchored to school, then I would argue that virtually all societies / countries have been successful with paperless education. Anywhere where any kind of work-based practical learning, practical apprenticeship etc have taken place   should qualify to the claim of successful delivery of paperless education. If, however, we were to hold on to the traditional view of education, I suspect we would be getting into a potentially unending debate

Hi Eunice

Books ,pens and papers have been there for centuries and centuries.An " overnight overhaul" might not be very possible.From the studies i am currently undertaking  (electronic mobile learning in marginalised communities) , most countries are running this technology to support teaching and learning.Majority of current teachers (worldwide) have been trained the traditional way and as such the skill of implementing a "completely " paperless classroom  is still in its infancy. They are getting the training (if they are) while at work and supposed to integrate it with the curriculum , which in my opinion might require time.

I have not yet come across an example of a country that has completely gone paperless but the above are my views.

Hi Eunice

You have a very interesting study. However, I keep asking myself, is paperless even the way to go in education? Maybe that is another angle that you could also consider in your research.

A distance learning education such as the research doctorate study I'm pursuing at the University of Birmingham (Forest Livelihood and Management) is an example of a paperless education. 

It is not one of the most easy way of studying, as it can be isolating with only you and the supervisor interacting all the time. Advantageously, with the advent of modern means of technology, it is proving popular, particularly so for people with busy work and family schedule. I recently carried out a study on how M-Learning means of technology lik iPad and other forms of tablets can help support collaboration in the current age of paperless education. 

Hello all,

Two questions I would like to inject:

Daryn

Dear Eunice,

I belive in paperless education and training, I work as a teacher trainer in Finland. We use PLE (personal learning environment) approach and students are creating their own learning environments. For PLE`s they can choice to use cloud services ( Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox..), Facebook, blogs, wikis or what ever they wish. that working model supports paperless training for me :-)   Sanna

In my mind the answer to Eunice's question is based on the conceptualization of what paperless education really is. One needs to perceive that "paperless" is a "means" whereas "education" is an "end goal" and it is vital that one differentiates between the "means" and the "end goal". It is necessary to understand that the "end goal" of education is to transfer knowledge, culture and values, from one generation to the next. This "end goal" is eternal and does not change as time moves forward. However the "means" may change as progress is made in the development of teaching and learning methods, development of teaching and learning accessories and the development of technology. At first people wrote with quills, then with pencils, then with nib pens and ink, then with fountain pens, then with ball pens. Writing was first done on clay tablets, then on parchment scrolls, then on reed paper and then in books. Today the keyboard is the "means" which has replaced quills, nib pens, fountain pens and ball pens, and the electronic computer, tablet or smartphone screen has become the "means" has replaced clay tablets, parchment scrolls, paper and books. Of course, computing power adds to the potency of the "means" that can facilitate the realization of the "end goal", thus can be used to further the potential to achieve the "end goal". Therefore paperless education can certainly be used sensibly as the "means" to achieve the "end goal". Ongoing follow up research regarding the potency of the "means" needs to accompany the implementation of paperless education in order to verify that the "means" (paperless education) contribute positively to the furthering of the "end goals", i.e. quality education.    

In India here at Symbiosis International University also, there are few experiments with Paperless Evaluation using Moodle platform, but governing authorities like UGC wants Paper proof rather than soft copy. Governing bodies should first get that attitude of changing the ways which would change the World by reducing harm to the nature earth.

Here are some of my works that can give you ideas, and point you to literature.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259362312_How_can_education_through_One_Laptop_Per_Child_empower_scholars_siblings_parents_and_teachers?ev=prf_pub

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/3906649_Why_not_use_digital_media_exclusively?ev=prf_pub

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/3964770_Modern_software_engineering_methods_for_developing_courseware?ev=prf_pub

http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=232611

Conference Paper How can education through One Laptop Per Child empower schol...

Conference Paper Why not use digital media exclusively?

Conference Paper Modern software engineering methods for developing courseware

Several countries have been successful in online education including the US, China, the UK, Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, South Korea and India. You may want to see: http://monitor.icef.com/2012/06/8-countries-leading-the-way-in-online-education/

Hello Elaine Bontempi,

Online education could possibly be paperless, I have completed a certificate online as recently as 2010. However, that does not necessarily mean the courses are officially paperless, some schools still send textbooks and other materials to their online students. Several of the courses I took, required mail-in hard copy documents or hand written calculations. Though you do raise a good point, what does paperless mean (definition)? Does paperless include a textbook?

Daryn

Responding specific to your question, I know experiences in Uruguay (you can contact Dr. Christopher Cobo by Twitter) with the Ceibal project. There is working to overcome the conflicts generated by the digital gaps and policy that is linked to the use of an ambitious plan promoted by the Government.

Thanks very much Jairo, I found your source of information very useful.

Eunice:

This conference paper on "smart' initiatives in schools can provide some tried and proven strategies for paperless teaching:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263088734_Smart_Schools_and_the_effectiveness_of_Interactive_Whiteboards

Best regards,

Debra

Conference Paper Smart Schools and the effectiveness of Interactive Whiteboards

The best education is in Finland

Good question. Finland