Thursday, February 7, 2013

A Student Again: Paperless in Grad School

I am offically a student again. This time around I am trying to lessen the paper load and keep as much as I can digitally. I read my articles online or in Dropbox, take notes in notepad, and only carry my iPAD to class.
The thing is, I am such a paper person. I begrudgingly made the switch from paperbacks to a Kindle due to the lure of sometimes-free books. I still receive the NYTimes Weekender on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, though I read the paper online during the week when I have time.  I enjoy the feel and look of paper. And thank goodness for my tablet because reading the paper on my basic Kindle is not the same. Fewer photos, and I've come to appreciate the interactiveness of reading online.

Yet, yesterday as I sat down to do a good two hours of reading and note taking-- ah the joys of being a graduate student who this time around is literally watching the money go from her account to the bursar's for tuition-- I initially longed for a print out and my colorful highlighters and sticky notes. I love me some school supplies!  But then I thought about paper cluttering my already not-as-neat-as-I'd like apartment that I had managed to tidy up between the gym and studying after a long day at work, and I refocused.  The last thing I need is a bulging notebook to lug around along with my change of shoes, lunch bag, water bottle and what ever else is in my tote bag.

With that said, I do have a few textbooks to read, so I will be getting some colorful bold ink pens and sticky notes with lines on them. But I will continue to type notes because I certainly will not lug any books uptown from Brooklyn along with my work gear. Unless it's Waging Peace in Our Schools which I started last night and have decided would make for good subway reading.

And since my professor gave the option of downloading our handouts instead of printing them, I will be doing that as well.

I'm excited to be in school again, and as I alluded before since I am paying out of pocket this time around, I want to fully commit to being a student despite my busy schedule. We'll see how that goes.

Love,
Miss M

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