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[amiens]

I've been thinking about this myself.  I'm trying to convince myself to go paperless, but I tend to crack and photocopy/physically distribute documents that I consider important, like the syllabus.  Not that it makes a lot of difference--all the available evidence points to them losing/not reading the things I hand out in paper!  (I also have problems with students not printing things out, so...)  I think I do it because in the back of my mind I'm not sure if I'll get support from the higher-ups should a student ever want to challenge something by claiming that they weren't properly informed about it.  The solidity of a paper syllabus is comforting in that regard.

[concordancia]

I've been thinking about this myself.  I'm trying to convince myself to go paperless, but I tend to crack and photocopy/physically distribute documents that I consider important, like the syllabus.  Not that it makes a lot of difference--all the available evidence points to them losing/not reading the things I hand out in paper!  (I also have problems with students not printing things out, so...)  I think I do it because in the back of my mind I'm not sure if I'll get support from the higher-ups should a student ever want to challenge something by claiming that they weren't properly informed about it.  The solidity of a paper syllabus is comforting in that regard.

See, I think using the university approved CMS or sending it to the students' university email would serve this purpose more thoroughly, as it can be solidly documented. I can't prove that I handed something out or said it in class, that the student was there when I did, etc. But I can say, "See, Dean, right there on the CMS that you keep telling us to use more!"

[amiens]

I've been thinking about this myself.  I'm trying to convince myself to go paperless, but I tend to crack and photocopy/physically distribute documents that I consider important, like the syllabus.  Not that it makes a lot of difference--all the available evidence points to them losing/not reading the things I hand out in paper!  (I also have problems with students not printing things out, so...)  I think I do it because in the back of my mind I'm not sure if I'll get support from the higher-ups should a student ever want to challenge something by claiming that they weren't properly informed about it.  The solidity of a paper syllabus is comforting in that regard.

See, I think using the university approved CMS or sending it to the students' university email would serve this purpose more thoroughly, as it can be solidly documented. I can't prove that I handed something out or said it in class, that the student was there when I did, etc. But I can say, "See, Dean, right there on the CMS that you keep telling us to use more!"

This really is probably the way I should be looking at it; I know that my preference for paper is sort of odd.  I think it's rooted in some things I observed while a young grad student: I saw a number of undergraduates successfully plead technological ignorance to get themselves out of trouble.  However, that was a long time ago (in terms of technology and what we expect people to understand) and I'm sure that times and attitudes have changed.  Thanks for stating it for me in this way--I think this will help me in the future.

[archman]

I had to go with paperless syllabi for a lab course once. Our supervisor (who hadn't actually TAUGHT the class for quite some time) thought it was an excellent idea...

Oh god what a nightmare that first day of class was. Almost NOBODY had a copy of the syllabus. The ENTIRE POINT of the first class meeting was to review the syllabus. What was the typical student response when asked where there syllabus was?

A. "I haven't checked my email." WHERE ON EARTH (or *off* it) HAVE YOU BEEN FOR THE LAST TWO WEEKS?
B. "Were we supposed to print that out?" YES, AS STATED IN THE EMAIL. AND IN LECTURE.
C. "I don't have a printer." GO TO THE COMPUTER LAB
D. " The computer lab printer was broken". Okay, *this* one I'll accept from a couple students.

I taught the same class (different section) later that week. I made personal photocopies for those students. Class proceeded normally.

I'm never going paperless for laboratory syllabi again.

[csguy]

That's an advantage to teaching CS, generally in a computer lab. Students can't say they haven't seen the syllabus (plus I throw it up on the projector when I talk about it on day one).