School adopts paperless classrooms

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Lothrop Magnet Elementary in Omaha, Neb., has set a shining example for other schools, affording teachers just on ream of printer paper a year and pushing the paperless movement to its extremes within classrooms. And while the school hasn't gone 100 percent paperless throughout the year, it has drastically reduced its usage.

"I just remember throwing away things and just really not giving it a second thought," principal Gary Westbrook told WOWT, and NBC affiliate. "It goes somewhere, but you know, just [kind of] thinking about that we've come a long way of making kids aware."

The school has implemented a sort of leadership system, wherein fourth graders teach the younger classes how to separate compost, plastics and actual trash, while promoting green efforts during class as well, such as shutting off unnecessary lights.

Of course, any paperless movement requires an investment in technology. For other centers of education, improving these efforts can be accomplished with document conversion servic​es to move school records and board meetings to paperless as well. The right support will allow any school to migrate away from paper into the digital age.

Conversion services provide the necessary solutions to eliminate paperwork from basic operations, such as updating student records or access board meeting minutes. By taking these "minor" process digital, schools can better support larger movements, such as the reduction of paper use in the classroom or even the elimination of paper-based textbooks.

Paperless operations are a commitment that school can benefit from significantly as long as they are properly prepared for the demands these efforts will place on their technology infrastructure, and the way these processes will change operations both in administrative offices and the classroom.

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