mtribone design

Wrong Tool, Right Reasons

What would make a person ride a retro cruiser with one gear from the HUB on Penn State’s main campus to their home in Boalsburg in 81 degree weather with 65% humidity? Why would you do it in jeans? There are several reasons and it all makes sense when you think of the human race and our ability to push boundaries and use tools in innovative ways.

The first reason that I rode a bike with one gear "around the mountain" is because I could ride a bike with one gear and a set of handlebars made for cruising from work to my home. I could do it and I wanted to do it. It’s just that simple.

Secondly, I have spent too many years staring at more than one monitor creating and fixing HTML code, CSS, display issues on multiple devices, timing and export issues for animations, email, etc., day in and day out. It’s about balance. It’s about focusing in on the things that matter to you and keep you grounded. I love my bikes and I love my skateboards. Plural. These things keep me connected to the outside world. Yes, there is an outside world. I’ve been reminded of it from several people—co-workers, spouse, family, and even my mother. Yes, me mum, too.

Third. I’m old and fat. I feel like Jabba the Hut. We’re all thinking about that scene from Star Wars with Jabba the Hut and Carrie Fischer right now. OK. Maybe not all of you are thinking about Princess Leia in a bikini, but you understand where I’m coming from when I talk about inner feeling versus outer feeling. I must do other things other than click and type and challenge myself both mentally and physically.

And lastly it makes a tall, cold mojito taste even better after you peel off your clothes and sweat through your other clothes after you get home. It just does.

So let’s take the title of this post and apply it to the things that we do for a living. For example, using technology with education. It isn’t necessarily in replace of education, but rather a partnership. We still have the outside world and we still need to make those human connections in the pursuit of education. We still need to keep those things and activities that keep us grounded—those things that keep us human.

How do you use, explore, and/or modify everyday things in the pursuit of education? Do you have instances of using the wrong tool for the right reasons? What do you do about it?

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