Piles of paper
When a group at Apple Computer studied piling behavior several years ago, they found that even the most disorderly pile usually make perfect sense to the piler, and that office workers could hold forth in great detail about the precise history and meaning of their piles. Malcolm Gladwell, The Social Life of Paper , New York Times, March 18th, 2002.
It turns out that paper may have many ‘affordances’ that make it useful in negotiation and collaborative activities. Turn the coin over, and ILT in the classroom – and specifically the use of computer aided learning materials where students interact directly with the screen – may have value in focussing students onto certain ideas and concepts for short periods.
I’ll be exploring that one soon. See also…