The Business of Educating

This is the second installment of Operation Paperless - documenting my question go (nearly) completely digital.
Three weeks into owning an iPad, my world has been completely rocked. But, when people see me with my iPad and iPhone, the question I keep getting asked is: What is the point? Why have a tablet when you have a smart phone? Why do you need any of those if you have a laptop and a basic phone? 

My quest to go paperless has only been successful because of all three devices and the balanced roles they have in my life. This post will breakdown the roles each device plays in my life. For the record, I use the iPhone 3Gs, iPad2 and a MacBook Pro (2 1/2 years old).
Warning: This Post is Dangerous for Those Trying to Justify Not Purchasing an iPad
- iPhone (Ultra Portable & Always Connected, but small screen)
(+) Phone Calls - duh
Twitter & Texting
On Demand Searching
Maps & Directions
Checking Weather, Sports Scores, Headlines
Checking E-Mail
Picture taking
Small scale games
Alarm Clock

- iPad (Very Portable, only connects through Wifi. Great Screen size. Because Uber Awesome w/ Blue Tooth keyboard)
(+) Social Networking 
FaceTime (video calling)
Media Consumption (Netflix, Hulu, Youtube)
Checking & Writing E-mail
Books, News, Magazines
Music
Research
Note taking, to do lists, life organization 
Small scale games

- Laptop (Quasi Portable, Only Connects through Wifi. Great for storage and computing power)
(+) Video/ music/ photo editing 
Massive powerpoint/spreadsheet/document creation
File storage (especially when limited internet access)
Research
Small & big scale gaming
(Really, anything that requires heavy storage or processing power)

Side Note: The rapid evolution in technology is bridging the gaps between these platforms. The ability to do control your desktop/laptop from the tablet and the cloud storage technology are reshaping the functionality of each platform and its purpose in our life.

I love paper.

Wait, that doesn’t do it justice.

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Paper.  I use a lot of it. I use paper to:

• Make Lists (lots of lists)
• Take Notes
• Plan
• Sketch
• Read
• Give Homework/Tests/Quizzes/Writing Assignments
• and so much more…

I always have a pen behind my ear along with a notebook in my hand to be ready to quickly make a new list or capture a moment of inspiration.

I knew I used a lot of paper… but I didn’t understand exactly how much I consumed until we started to pack up our house. In the cleaning spirit, I also decided to organize my classroom. I was shocked at all of the boxes jammed with books, magazines. Then there were the notebooks filled with notes, sketches, dreams and plans. Even more so, there were many bags filled up with kids papers, past revisions of to-do lists, lesson plans on loose leaf paper that were just… waste.

As fate would have it, that same week two things were brought into my path that have rocked my world completely. The first was a video about a family living a waste free lifestyle

What impacted me the most was her perspective on the “3 R’s.” In America, we put a whole lot of emphasis on the third R - Recycle… but we easily neglect the first two - Reduce and Reuse. This got me thinking about things that I can be making better use of the things I already have in my life, while eliminating the clutter. 

Around the same time as being introduced to this video, I got an iPad. I have been amazed at all that can be done on this one device. It bridges so many of the gaps in my world that had been filled up to this point with paper products (more on this later).

It all began to make sense. Fireworks started going off in my head. This was the tool that was going to change my world for ever.

So here we go… this is it…

Dear Paper,

We have been going together for a long time. We have a lot of great memories and you have always been there for me when I have needed you… be it a blank page or a notebook or the back of a church bulletin. From grammar school through graduate school and beyond to my employment years, we have traversed many paths together, accomplishing great things along the way.

But… I have found someone new. A new path that I feel a yearning to follow for the betterment of myself along with the rest of the world… A digital path, with functions and possibilities that we are just now beginning to understand and explore. Unfortunately I can only follow it alone, without you.

Thanks for all the good times.

Michael

*Tear*

Thus begins “Operation Paperless” - How to live, learn, love… and teach with using little to no paper. This series will chronicle this quest of running an almost paper-free lifestyle: giving reviews, sharing stories, revealing struggles along with successes.

I don’t know where this new journey will take me… but I do know that there will be less of a paper trail because of it.