Work Less By Going Paperless: A Scanner Review

Work Less By Going Paperless

Are your file cabinets full of worksheets, ideas, and other miscellaneous goodies that you just can't let go of?  I’m constantly on the lookout for new and fresh ideas for my classroom and grew tired of looking at my cluttered file cabinet.  Organizing paperwork can be time consuming.  I usually end up having stacks of paperwork at the end of the year that I have to organize because I didn’t have time to put them away after I used them.  Well, if you are anything like me and have a tough time purging through your paper clutter I have a solution for you!  Go paperless! 

My secret to going paperless is my new gadget called the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300iScanner.  By the way this post isn’t sponsored in anyway.  When I received this device in the mail I was surprised at how compact this scanner was.  They even have a smaller version for on the go.  This device can scan up to 10 pages at a time and you can even sneak in a few more pages in afterwards or configure the program to ask if you would like to add more pages to the document.  The ScanSnap also scans double sided sheets so it saves you time.  It can scan up to 12 double-sided color or black & white pages per minute.  It scans your documents into PDF files, Jpegs, Word documents, Excel, or PowerPoint. 

(Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300iScanner)

(It is about the size of two 3 hole punchers.)

It literally took me a few hours to get all of my file folders packed with worksheets, paperwork, pictures, etc. in to digital files.  Now I just keep one copy of the worksheets that I need in my file cabinet and the rest on my hard drive.  The best part is that I don’t have to worry about losing my hardcopy. 

Another option that this scanner offers is that it allows me to scan my documents into Word.  Let’s pretend you have a paper copy of a handout that you would like to edit, but you lost your digital file.  Instead of retyping the whole thing over again, all you have to do is scan your document to word and edit the areas you need.

(This is what it looks like when you open it up.)

There are also many other practical uses for this device.  You can scan receipts, photos, cards, etc.   Its price tag is a bit hefty, but I consider it money well spent.  It can easily become a teacher’s best friend.  On Amazon, it currently costs about $260. 

If you use this device or another gadget that helps you with paper clutter, I’d love to hear from you.  I’m pretty new to this so if you have any tips you’ve discovered along the way please feel free to share with me your ideas.