In The Age Of Screen Time, Is Paper Dead?

Paper … or glass?

Advances in laptops and technology are pushing screens into schools like never before. So what does this drive toward digital classrooms mean for that oldest and simplest of touch screens: a plain old sheet of paper?

It may seem a wasteful and obsolete technology, ready to follow the slate chalkboard and the ditto machine into the Smithsonian, or a flat, white invitation to creativity, just waiting for some learning magic to happen.

And when it comes to learning and retention, is there any difference between reading and writing on an electronic “tablet” or a paper one?

Not surprisingly, the good folks over at the Paper and Packaging Board aren’t ready to give up on paper just yet. They’ve sent me their new report about it, called “Paper and Productive Learning.” It’s printed on glossy paper and it arrived on my non-digital desktop via non-email, with a stamp and everything.

“Read on,” it encourages, “to discover the many ways paper remains essential for productive learning in today’s technology-fueled culture.”

As you might expect in a report from an organization aimed at promoting paper and packaging, it’s pretty full of pro-paper information. “In many ways, paper is still the most important technology for productive learning,” it says.

Read more at NPR.