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This morning’s #satchat turned to a discussion about using technology to make the school administrator’s office paperless. I have actually always been “less paperful,” if I may coin a term, than other administrators because it is a by-product of relying heavily on technology, which I always have. I won’t go into the rationale for why one would want to have a paperless office because I think the reasons for doing so are rather obvious. Instead, let me just list some of my own practices that have facilitated being paperless as an administrator. I can’t hardly remember the last time I opened my file cabinet; maybe it was sometime in July. At any rate, my file cabinet lives a lonely and neglected life these days because its utility has been reduced to simply some place to put my printer. Still, I think these 6 simple strategies will go a long way in reducing the reliance on physical documents, hence paper.

• Find some free/inexpensive Web 2.0 tools to streamline your practices. For example, I have a paid Evernote account and it is well-worth the subscription price. With this software, I take meeting notes, anecdotal notes, and  share articles/resources with staff. Evernote’s simple sharing feature means I can share the minutes from our last Professional Learning Community meeting with an email. Web 2.o tools like Diigo allow means I can share web resources I find with teachers, again, through email. My tablet’s Scanner app gives me a “scanner-on-the-go” and Dropbox gives me a virtual filling cabinet that follows me everywhere with access across devices. To go paperless requires finding Web 2.0 tools and apps that help you do many of those things you currently do on paper.
• Invest in a copier that acts as a scanner and will send scanned documents to your email as PDF files. Or, you can get copiers that will scan documents and place them in specified folders on your network server. Our copier is capable of scanning any document, and with the press of button, you can send it to your email account. When I receive a document of importance in the mail, I scan and then file it electronically. To facilitate your paperless office, find the hardware that allows cut down on your need to store paper copies. A copier that scans and then sends the document to you will do just that.
• Keep your computer file system simple; only use a handful of folders, the less the better. Many use conventional wisdom and start creating folder after folder on their desktop computers to file e-documents as they come in or are created. The problem with such file systems is two-fold. First, it takes time to ponder which folder in which you should place the created or received file. And then it takes time to remember which folder you put it when needed later. Instead multple folders, create one called “Working Docs” and another called “Docs Archive.” When working on that presentation next week, keep it in the “Working Docs” folder so you can access it quickly. If you are finished with a document or just are keeping an e-copy, dump it into your Docs Archive. One thing people seem to forget is that a computer is FULLY SEARCHABLE so finding a  file is a snap. Of course you have to put a little thought in what you name your files to begin with, but I bet you five dollars I could find my copy of last month’s principal’s meeting before you can!
• When you receive a physical document in the mail that is important, always scan and then shred it. Walk in to any administrator’s office and I bet there’s a stack somewhere. In that stack are things received in the mail that are awaiting their fate, either filing in a folder or in the trashcan. I will confess that I have one of those stacks too, but I bet mine is smaller, and I use the “scan and shred” method for physical documents I receive to keep that pile in line. While sorting the mail, I immediately make a determination: doc-to-be-archived or junk. It is that simple. I handle mail only once. Docs-to-be-archived go into to pile which goes to my copier-scanner then the shredder. This keeps the paper pile at bay in my office, and immediately gets those documents into my Docs Archive, which I described in the above bullet.
• Insist that others send you documents either as email attachments or share it with you as a Google Doc. I repeat constantly to everyone who will hear: “Just send it to me as an attachment.” Or I tell them, “Create your schedule on a Google Doc and just share it with me.” The rationale here is to get others to utilize the tools that will minimize the paper coming into my office. Most happily assist me. Those who don’t? I just keep encouraging them.
• Create a simple email sorting system and avoid using multiple email folders. Keeping a simple sorting and filing system in email will also affect the paper load coming through the office too. I use a two-folder system in my email similar to that I use for my desktop. I create two email folders in my Gmail. One is called “Follow-Up” and the other is “Hold.” By using these folders and my email processing procedure, I always have an empty “Inbox” at the end of the day. I usually conduct two or three main email processing sessions a day. The first step in this processing is to read each email and immediately decide whether a) it requires action from me, b) it is information I will need in the next several days, c) it is informational, or d) it is spam or junk. If an email  requires action from me, I put it in the “Follow-Up” folder. If it is information needed in the short term, I put it in the “Hold” folder. If it is general information I  hit the “Archive” button, which automatically places it in my archive. If it is junk or spam, I hit delete. At the end of each session, my Inbox is empty. Later, I go back through the Follow Up folder and take care of each item there or add it to my “To-Do List.” Once an item in my Follow Up folder is done, I archive it. The goal is to only handle an email once or twice.

School leaders can set the example for everyone else in efforts to cut back on paper usage by employing the technological tools and the processes/procedures that help reduce both the need for paper documents and for  the file cabinets to store them.

I have read a great deal on the web about teachers making their classrooms paperless, which brings the following question to mind: "Why can’t school administration become paperless too?" How many times in the course of my job do I use paper in the line of duty? Is it necessary to have physical copies of everything I do as a school principal? The answer to that last question is a 99% no of course. The 1% are usually district level documents that someone is just not quite comfortable yet with having a cyber-copy only. In reality it is possible to eliminate much of the paper used during the course of carrying out administrator duties, and to do so with inexpensive tools.  Here’s my suggested list of tools to make the role of principal or school administrator paperless too.

• Google Docs: Google Docs’ sharing feature makes the act of copying and distributing a document of any kind, whether wordprocessing, spreadsheet, or presentation, just plain sinful. For example, if you want to provide your faculty with agenda, why not share a a Google Document version of it with them? Then, just send them an email invite. Or, if you want them to have a copy of a professional development presentation, send them an email invite to it as well. There’s little need to provide staff with copies of documents any more. Of course, the administrator has to be willing to allow staff to use their technology during meetings, but what 21st century school leader is going to ban staff or meeting participants from using technology? Might as well have your meetings in the dark.

• Email: Of course email is considered just a bit passé by many, but there is no better tool that allows you to put directions and information in writing to your staff. For example, if you need to get procedures to your staff regarding an up-coming open house, send it to them by email. If you need to get a parent message to a teacher, send it by email too. The amazing but simple thing about email is you have a written record of what you sent so there can be no dispute about what was said. But what about the teacher who does not read his email regularly? Sorry, but he wouldn’t survive in my school, and probably not in my district. Perhaps he needs to find a job in the jungle somewhere, away from the 21st century world of technology.
• Dropbox: Dropbox is another one of those tools that can make school administration paperless. While sharing single documents through Google Docs works well, occasionally there are multiple, lengthy documents or media that I want to share more efficiently. With Dropbox, I can place all those items in a folder and share that folder with whichever staff members need access. For example, I created an accreditation folder in Dropbox that contained all of the data and documents the accreditation team needed and invited them to share that folder. There was no need to make piles of copies of data and documents and place them in folders or notebooks. They had access to everything electronically. Dropbox makes making copies of any major documents an anachronism.

• Evernote: I don’t even have a yellow legal pad in my possession any more. Evernote’s abilities to give the user a platform to take notes makes tablets (not the electronic kind) a total waste of money. For example, while sitting in a meeting, I can take notes on those proceedings. The features that make Evernote most useful for this are: 1) instant access on any of my technological devices and 2) ability to share the resulting document with anyone else. Evernote has apps for the desktop, smartphones, and all tablets, so getting to your notes is even quicker than digging them out of your briefcase. Being able to share those notes with others either through social media or through email means no trips to the copier when you want to share them. Evernote is the most versatile piece of software in a battle against using paper for adminstrative purposes.

• Diigo: I only recently began using Diigo more in my role as administrator. I have always shared resources and interesting ideas with staff, but often it was done through either a handout or by email. Email will keep you paperless, but when it comes to sharing links to web resources, Diigo does so much better. I have set up Diigo groups geared to specific staff members and invited them to join. Now, I can post links to Web resources to those groups and because Diigo sends emails when those have been updated, my staff gets updates rather quickly. Diigo is an excellent way to share resources quickly and easily with staff members and even parents.

• Skype or Google Talk:  Because our entire staff has Skype accounts and is logged in immediately in the mornings, Skype has become an excellent way to share out information even more quickly. For example, if I need to announce a procedural change for an event later in the day, I can get that out instantaneously by sending it out by Skype. Staff can just as quickly ask for clarification too. Google Talk functions in the same manner of course, except it messages individuals rather than groups. Both these tools take away the need to write short notes or memos. These are more tools to keep me away from the copier or from reaching for the notepad.
• Blogger (Or Other Blog Platform): Having a school newsletter on paper is another anachronistic habit. There are so many ways to create and distribute information in a newsletter-format, it makes no sense to print them any more. Blogging, however, is one of the easiest ways to provide newsletter-like information to staff or parents. A blog gives administrators the ability to share school news with constituent groups quickly and easily, and students can’t lose them on the way home to school. Blogs also allow for the delivery of multimedia content too. That’s something you can’t deliver through a paper copy.

Of course there are other tools out there that could contribute to making the job of school administrator as paperless as possible. These are just some of my personal, most-used tools. If we want to encourage our teachers to become paperless and use the copier less, then as school leaders we need to take the lead and engage in becoming paperless too.