In one of his stand-up acts"" Chris Rock advocates not gun control but rather bullet control. ""'Cause if a bullet costs $5"0" there'd be no more innocent bystanders.""
Today we are in a situation where printers are shooting off ream after ream of their cheap ammunition - paper.
As technology developed during the past few decades in the ""digital revolution"" the need for paper was supposed to diminish.
A single hard drive can be used to store ream after ream's worth of paper. E-mails can take the place of snail mail and permit quicker communication with better record keeping. The find"" function can pick out specific words and phrases instantly.
The transition to at least a nearly paperless world never fully happened. It got about halfway there" then stalled. Yes technology can go awry and it's a lot more likely to happen than a fire destroying an archive of paper documents. Plus the consequences of tearing up paper are a lot less expensive than those of putting your fist through a computer screen.
Still the Carolina Computing Initiative was supposed to make us a frontrunner riding the digital revolution wave. But like the revolution the CCI has stalled in its mission leaving too many good opportunities not utilized.
UNC has been successful in many aspects. It has used computers and the Internet to reach more people bring them together and add a world of convenience in the process. But gaps still exist.
Blackboard software provides a great interface for submitting and retrieving documents from readings and homework to syllabi and schedules. Yet despite online availability professors often print a copy of the course syllabus and schedule for every student. Information like syllabi need only made available online and students can choose to print. Nor do many professors use other features such as digital paper submissions in the online dropbox. It's nice not to have to go to the printing lab" worry about lines and worry about some girl who just starting printing off ""War and Peace.""
Most semesters" I've had one professor opt for digital submissions" and it's a great system. Some mark up the papers with ""track changes"" while others make comments at various points in all caps. The best professors are those who teach off materials posted on Blackboard - no paying for textbooks! Plus" the variety of articles is a nice change a pace. It's all especially interesting in concert with Blackboard's discussion threads.
While software has been used too little printing has been used too much. The printing quota implemented in fall 2006 was desperately needed for budgetary reasons among all the others. Printing had been out of control in the labs and those recycle bins were filling up quickly. The original printing quota was 500 pages - an accurate reflection of cost at 5 cents a page (the total per-page cost of paper ink printer and maintenance) given the $25 printing fee students pay. However even that has taken a step back.
About 20 percent of students had less than $5 on their printing account by the end of the first semester the printing quota was in place. So the quota jumped to 800 pages and today people are still taking it to the brink.
A 500-page coverage was more than reasonable (not to mention an accurate reflection of student contribution). People will go to the edge of a limit with any quota. It's like a plate full of food - bigger portions mean you'll eat more than you would have otherwise needed to be satisfied.
No one said that letting go of paper would be easy. Paper is like crack. It's white cheap harmful and on the street and people often use it without giving it a smidgen of thought. But it wouldn't hurt to start weening at some point.
