Title III Grant Proposal: Creating a (Mostly) Paperless Classroom for English 101C Author: Jennifer Hurley 1. Project Description Ever since I heard that Sheldon Helms had moved to a completely “paperless” classroom, I’ve felt a little guilty about my use (and frankly, abuse) of the copier. As I become more environmentally aware, I feel increasingly uncomfortable about the amount of paper exchanged in my classes each semester. However, it really possible for an English class, which depends so much upon the written word, to be paperless? Part of my Xeroxing addiction is due to the fact that I typically create my own reading materials (in the form of large paper packets) as opposed to using standard textbooks. These packets typically contain newspaper/journal articles about an issue in the news. I like being able to engage with my students on current issues, and I know they appreciate reading about topics that have “real-world” relevance. Also, when we are discussing an issue that I feel has importance, I am more engaged and enthusiastic. I think that selecting my own reading materials has a direct relationship to my success in achieving SLOs. When I deal with current issues, I find that students demonstrate better reading comprehension, participate more actively in discussions, and actually write better (most likely because they are engaged about what they are writing about). I also have witnessed students making connections between my packets and newspaper articles/You-Tube videos they have found themselves. The other aspect of my paper-heavy English classroom is … well, writing. A writing class demands that students write a lot. Thus, written homework is required for every class session. Much of this written work is ungraded work, but nonetheless, it is still critical practice work. I keep this written homework in my office, and I am alarmed every semester by the tremendous stacks of paper I find myself recycling. How can I preserve these positive aspects of my classroom (personalized readings and lots of student writing) and still go paperless? Also, how can I use the paperless classroom to create even more opportunities for student learning? My goal for this project is to use technology to create a mostly paperless classroom for English 101C that preserves the positive aspects of my paper-heavy classroom and adds new possibilities for success in achieving SLOs. I wish to do two things: 1) find a student-friendly and teacher-friendly way to distribute readings and other resources electronically in English 101C; and 2) use this new electronic environment to improve success in achieving the SLOs for English 101C. If this project is a success, I hope to break my paper addiction for all of my classes in the near future. 2. Project Outcomes (Student Centered) The SLOs for ENGL-10IC are as follows: Students will: 1. understand what critical thinking is; 2. apply critical thinking skills to images, problems, and college-level readings; and 3. utilize critical thinking skills to create formal written arguments.This project will focus on the second SLO, the students’ ability to apply critical thinking skills to readings, and the third SLO, the students’ ability to use critical thinking skills in their writing. I plan to use the upcoming presidential election as a focal point for English 101C in Fall 2008. Clearly, this topic requires using the most current materials available. The paperless classroom will allow me to send out new articles more quickly than if I had had to Xerox them. I can email students or post links to articles on WebCT. The availability of and easy access to the most up-to-date readings will certainly improve the quality of the discussions, which will have a direct impact on students' ability to apply critical thinking skills to readings (the second SLO). My initial fear, of course, was that students would not print the necessary readings, and as a result, we would be unable to look closely at specific passages. Also, if students were planning to print out all of the articles, I worried that I would not be saving paper after all. But what if I required students to print out the article they liked the most and asked them to present their ideas on that article? This strategy might allow students to focus their attention on one specific article, rather that wading through a large stack of material and absorbing little of it. And what if I turned to technology as a way to examine passages from a reading? I could project the reading on the overhead screen and use the smart pen to mark important phrases. As I began to envision my paperless classroom, I started to realize how many new paperless resources I could draw on. Some of the assignments I envision for Fall 2008 require asking students to listen to National Public Radio election coverage, subscribe to the New York Times daily email, and watch You-Tube videos of the presidential debates. Clearly, these are all ways to improve student engagement, which is linked to success in all SLOs. Another aspect of the paperless classroom is a greater focus on student-centered learning. Instead of the instructor “owning” the choice of reading material, I plan to offer students some responsibility for selecting readings and posting relevant links. Students will have an opportunity to practice key critical thinking skills (SLO #2) by making decisions about what readings/links are appropriate for our discussion and why. Furthermore, going paperless can mean greater opportunities for writing instruction. I realized that the problem of those ever-growing stacks of homework in my office could be resolved fairly easily. I could ask students to email me their homework, which would have the added benefit of allowing me to see how they'd done before starting class. I could also easily cut and paste excerpts of their homework to a Word file to display for the class as models or for critique. I could email an exemplary homework out to the entire class, or I could email out a thought-provoking passage and ask students to respond to it. Another option would be to have students post their homework to the WebCT discussion page. This would allow students to see their homework assignments as part of a dialogue. Students would have an opportunity to "discuss" an issue before class even began. I could ask students to exchange drafts of an essay with another student and give a formal critique. All of these