Considering a 'paperless' class like the one described in the General studies program Columbia University is intriguing.
I already work to make much of my class paperless: I use the network to distribute lessons and materials, and also to collect assignments; however currently students save their work to a shared drive where all users have full read and write access. There have been problems with inadvertent deletions, and occasionally plagiarism. We are looking at a solution like saywire to provide drop-box like features for each student to securely submit their work.
Marc Meyer at Columbia says that the paperless classroom he's got going helps students "develop an emotional attachment to the work." I see similar things in my classroom, but am wary; I think the technology could also work to decrease emotional attachment to what is being studied if not employed in a thoughtful, student-centered manner. The technology alone does not foster emotional attachment to any given material - a well-crafted lesson (using technology or not) does.
