How to go paperless in ESL schools, and why.

Learn how to make the transition from paper to digital in your school, and how the switch can benefit students, parents, and teachers.

Many schools score high marks when it comes to paper use, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. Aside from the environmental impact, relying on physical paperwork can result in lag-time, missing forms, incomplete information, insufficient storage, and a whole lot of unnecessary stress. When your ESL school goes digital — whether that’s through online teaching platforms, software management systems, or simply digitizing paperwork — the switch can offer a lot more than efficiency. Let’s explore some ways to go paperless in your school.

Paperless administration.

From student records to finances, administrators are saddled with mounds of paperwork every school year. Here are some easy ways to dig your staff out from underneath the mounds and go digital.

• Switch to online registration/enrollment for students, including student profiles, pertinent medical information such as allergies or medications, emergency contacts, academic transcripts, and more.
• Replace paper forms with fillable PDF forms.
• Do away with signing print documents by accepting digital signatures.
• Digitize common internal documents that can be easily shared via email.
• Offer online payment options for tuition, as well as paperless statements.

Paperless classroom.

Whether your ESL school is taught in person or through a virtual teaching platform, there are also numerous areas where you can hand over paper tasks to technology. Some of these include:

• Create a class website with the course syllabus, notes, assignments, and schedule.
• Digitize notes and/or offer digital note-taking options.
• Create online flashcards.
• Use an online gradebook.
• Create and use a school social media site for periodic updates or announcements.

Benefit of going paperless in education, including ESL.

The drive toward paperless education doesn’t just cut back on trees and promote environmentalism. It also saves time and money for schools, including those devoted to ESL. In addition, it keeps critical documents and records in a centralized location and frees up physical space in offices and classrooms.

Discover what more you can do with Acrobat Sign to collect e-signatures, keep documents moving, and free up physical space.