WITHIN ten to 15 years, learning and teaching environments will be completely paperless, leading lecturers at the University of Nottingham have predicted.
Professor Roger Murphy, of the School of Education, said he had seen a trend towards digital note-taking over the last ten years.
"What's noticeable," he said, "is that the students use handwriting for all their exams, but there are reports of students getting pain in their arms because they're not used to writing any more.
"It's a phenomenon that has increased over the last ten years.
"I think we will move away from handwritten exams. And I would say in about 15 years, there won't be any paper in schools and universities.
"We should be careful not to go so fast that people who can't afford a laptop or a tablet are not at a serious disadvantage. But on the whole I am very positive about this, because we can save a lot of money by downloading information electronically."
Steven Fielding, professor of political history at the university's Faculty of Social Sciences, said: "At least half of my students bring in their laptops or tablets routinely to lectures.
"I reckon it'll be no more than ten years before we will be a nearly paperless society.
"Maybe soon people will no longer hold pens. But, 300 years ago, everyone used quills and I can't use a quill now. So, I don't think this is anything to get hung up on."
Mr Fielding is embracing the current online trend by posting useful links on Twitter by using "#" with a module number to encourage a discussion and also to share information.
The university's School of Veterinary Medicine and Science sees its students through the course without using a single print-out.
Deputy head of the school Professor Malcolm Cobb said that since it opened in 2006, students had been given laptops on lease, with lecture material available online.
Jon Huxley, associate professor of farm animal production medicine at the school, said: "We took the decision to go paperless, because this is the way things are going to go and it seemed odd to start with paper when eventually everything is going to be paper-free."
Digital note-taking is also proving popular in the catering industry.
The waiters at city centre restaurant Le Bistrot Pierre, in Milton Street, take customer orders on a handheld computer.
Restaurant manager Paul Warner said the computerised system saved staff half the time.
"It's also really useful because often our chefs can't read the waiters' handwriting," he added.
Wagamama, in the Cornerhouse, uses a similar system.
More and more councillors are also using digital means to do business.
Bassetlaw District Council expects to save more than £71,000 per year with the introduction of paperless meetings and iPads.
The council's paperless-meetings pilot began in September 2011, initially with a core of six councillors and four officers – and in the first six months saved £20,000.
The pilot was originally planned to last for six months, but was extended at last month's cabinet meeting.
Out of 48 councillors, 33 have registered an interest in using iPads for paperless meetings, six have rejected the idea and nine will make a decision by tomorrow. Councillor Ian Campbell, chairman of the IT and access sub-committee, said iPads were also useful for accessing maps when considering planning issues.
What's your view? Tweet me @WinniePonderosa using #paperless or call me on 0115 905 1963.
