Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Fit the Tool to the Job, Not the Job to the Tool

4 comments:

  1. Jeff, great digital comic! I would add that we need to respect the fact that different people might choose different tools for the job and that must be respected. Additionally, other people shouldn't decide the tool that might be best for someone else lest the tool may never come out of the shed.

    I write half my blog posts on my cell phone and much of my upcoming book. I take notes on my cell phone too, but sometimes my laptop. As I wrote recently, I was disappointed when a colleague reprimanded me for the tools I choose to collect, retrieve, engage, focus and make meaning.

    The other thing we have to remember is that a tool can have more than just one use and we mustn't make assumptions, that everyone is using the tool in the way someone else might think. As it relates to my previous example...being on a Blackberry or laptop to my colleague meant I was checking my email and not paying attention. That is only one of the things I do with my tools. For me they also are a notebook and indeed an extension of my brain.

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  2. Love this Jeff! I think this comic really helps us to capture one of the great challenges we face today....helping teachers and schools select the right tool for the job.
    I do agree with Lisa as well. There are many factors that go into selecting the right tool and we must respect individual preferences. This is what makes purchasing technology equipment for an entire school, or deciding what web 2.0 tool teachers should use to organize their digital content, so difficult.
    With that being said, I do think that this comic helps begin the dialogue and I am definitely going to use this visual with the teachers, principals and district leaders that I work with!

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  3. Glad people like it! Thanks.

    Jeff

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  4. This perfectly summarises a point I made in a talk last Monday! if I could only go back and use this then..... :)

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