Creating a Paperless Classroom to Replicate the Real World

Engineering and IDS Lecturer Arun Nevader uses a Blackboard course website both to eliminate paper in his classroom and familiarize his students with the way project teams in an engineering firm communicate. In Nevader's sections of E190, students work on projects or services for the engineering industry. They choose a topic and spend the semester on the project, taking it from "initial concept, through feasibility to progress, and finally to market." During the course students also make presentations to small groups and ultimately the whole class.

"Digital delivery of information
has widened our options
for what is possible
beyond the technology
of ink on bound paper."

Better Than Paper
Although his students write four major papers in the course of the semester, none are turned in on actual paper. Instead, students submit their work by uploading documents and PowerPoint presentations to the Blackboard course website. Nevader then downloads the files and adds his comments using a combination of Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat annotation tools. He not only makes formatted comments in the papers' margins but also embeds voice notes. In essence, this technology personalizes the class. Digital communication provides another benefit – centralized access to all student work. This easy accessibility is a boon during office visits from students and for fielding requests for letters of recommendations from past students.

Nevader spent two years in e-commerce before coming to the University. As he explains, "It seemed perfectly natural to bring corporate technology into the classroom. There is now very little difference between what occurs in my class and how business proceeds in the engineering industry. I can explain to a class how information is disseminated throughout an engineering firm, but using Blackboard illustrates to students on a daily basis how in fact information operates in a purely electronic environment."

By putting course documents online such as the syllabus, class reader, assignment descriptions, sample student writing, and grades, Nevader simplifies administrative tasks and makes it easy to update materials any time during the semester. What's more, he's used Blackboard to create discussion groups for group projects, which allows students to meet online to conduct real-time meetings.

But How Do Students Like a Paperless Class?
Not surprisingly, Nevader's engineering students are open to using technology in conjunction with their class work. Nevader notes, "Students appear more interested in generating compelling work in electronic formats over ink on paper. It seems new to them." His students have written in course evaluations that they appreciate the eco-friendliness of the technology as well as the flexibility it affords in mixing text and graphics in their technical communications.

Although his course makes much use of Blackboard, Nevader is conscious of the potential pitfalls of relying too heavily on technology. "My teaching effectiveness has been strengthened. I'm careful, however, not to depend on technology to do my teaching for me. I don't use PowerPoint in lecture at all, for example. I like the conventional blackboard. It keeps students awake and it keeps us human." Although putting his twenty plus lectures into sophisticated PowerPoint presentations might be tempting, Nevader resists. "If I used PowerPoint as I could, students would end up modeling their own presentations on my lecture material. They need their own trial-by-error experiences for what works in front of an audience."

How Difficult Is It to Transition to Digital Copy?
Reading and annotating copy for the approximately 300 students Nevader teaches each semester required some adjusting. However, now he finds the process "extremely efficient." He credits ETS for helping him decide between the Blackboard and WebCT learning management systems.

Nevader offers tips for others who wish to implement a similar system: "Instructors should invest in a laptop and broadband capability at home, if they work there. There is no efficient way to manage the transmission of so many electronic files on a 56k modem and two desktops without network connectivity." Lastly, instructors should become familiar with Adobe Acrobat as a way of creating PDF documents for both annotation and archival reasons. Adobe gives instructors the capability of annotating a file type that can be read on PCs, Macs, and across all operating systems, assuming that they have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, which has been readily available for the last few years."

Even as a strong proponent of technology, Nevader maintains a balanced view. "Content remains our goal, just as technology remains its delivery mechanism. As our realities become increasingly more virtual, the challenge is to retain our human connection, which face-to-face dialogue never fails to achieve."

Technologies Used