[mrteacherguy]

This year my school will be implementing codes in order to ration the amount of paper that each teacher can use for photocopying.

I'm not sure how often my classroom will have access to laptop computers or iPads, but it should be at least a couple of times a week.

Any resources or suggestions for how to do more assignments online? I know I'll need to use paper for our science lab sheets and homework, so anything where I can have the assignments or worksheets online would be a tremendous help.

[Mshope]

I have access right now to no technology. It seems like a lot of teachers use Google to do everything online. I would love to try it but I have one teacher laptop in my room. I've used Edmodo and Moodle for online classes that I taught as part of a program. Both were free and you could upload handouts, but all students need a username and password.

[Singvogel]

Mshope's suggestions are good ones. Edmodo would be easier to set up without school-wide and district-wide buy-in. If you choose Google, and your district doesn't set up a domain for Google Classroom, you could go the old "+" route for student use. For instance- main email: yourclass@gmail.com. Ss- yourclass+joe@gmail.com, yourclass+mary@gmail.com. The main problem with this approach is that you would have one password for the whole class, which is not very secure. Edmodo has some new features, and it's free, too. The teacher can can set up classes, student accounts, groups, etc., without the district or school controlling a domain. They also have consent forms you can use.

You mentioned lab sheets- I wonder if you could have students set up an old-school lab notebook wherein they develop their own lab sheets? It would necessarily change the way you assess- maybe walking around with a clipboard, rather than collecting paper? We have this clamp-down on the copier, too. One thing we noticed at our school is that students have become less observant. Some of us have speculated that this is because so much is laid out for them. Developing some of the forms for themselves that have previously provided to them could help them learn the importance of detailed observation.

[pausebutton]

What about doing more of science journaling instead of worksheets? Also, for work that does not need to be graded, what about having students use whiteboards for practice work. You could just walk around to see if students are catching on to the concept.

[d_ee]

Have you thought about posting an assignment in Google Docs and having the students answer in Google Docs? Also very nice for using collaborative assignments.

[mommy9298]

My district is cutting back on paper use also. I'm looking into Google Classroom. I'm also going to have students write more in their notebooks instead of completing worksheets.

[Singvogel]

When I first looked into using Google Classroom, I found out that someone in the district IT department had already nabbed the district domain. (The name of your district is one of the questions they ask.) So, I had to wait, wait, wait for them to "allow" us to use Google Classroom. Oh, the joys of a beauracracy.

[bee40]

One technique that helps me keep the copy counts down is Pocket Pals.

Right now Target has a loose one in the Dollar Spot. However, I would think you could get bulk buy a set for cheaper than $1 each or submit to class supply list fairy and hope it gets approved and bought.

Once you have the pocket pals, you load a class set or partner set of handouts for the activity. Students either use as a "master" for work in journals or on loose paper, or they can use dry erase pens and you can take pictures with your device of the work before it's erased for the next class.

*make sure students don't photo to send to the next class

I keep my "class set" handouts from year to year so less copies as time goes on