Submitted by Folwell Dunbar (not verified) on January 8, 2008 - 08:48.
Over the holidays I bought a Chuckit ball launcher for my dog. The red plastic gizmo allows you to hurl a tennis ball over a hundred yards! It’s actually a throwback to an earlier, much, much earlier technology. It’s basically an atlatl, a primitive weapon used by our ancient ancestors to bring down wooly mammoths and other large beasts. I brought it to my class to demonstrate the effectiveness of this relatively simple, no-nonsense tool. This led to a discussion about the appropriateness of various technologies: interactive white boards vs. chalk, laptops vs. notebooks (the kind filled with paper and not hard drives), automobiles vs. horses, etc. We also looked at other modern applications for “old school” innovations: windmills to generate power, shutters for storm protection (I live in New Orleans where my 170 year-old house survived the wrath of Katrina.), the “new” urbanism, etc.
Sometimes the best lessons are found in new uses for old technologies…
Old School Technology
Submitted by Folwell Dunbar (not verified) on January 8, 2008 - 08:48.
Over the holidays I bought a Chuckit ball launcher for my dog. The red plastic gizmo allows you to hurl a tennis ball over a hundred yards! It’s actually a throwback to an earlier, much, much earlier technology. It’s basically an atlatl, a primitive weapon used by our ancient ancestors to bring down wooly mammoths and other large beasts. I brought it to my class to demonstrate the effectiveness of this relatively simple, no-nonsense tool. This led to a discussion about the appropriateness of various technologies: interactive white boards vs. chalk, laptops vs. notebooks (the kind filled with paper and not hard drives), automobiles vs. horses, etc. We also looked at other modern applications for “old school” innovations: windmills to generate power, shutters for storm protection (I live in New Orleans where my 170 year-old house survived the wrath of Katrina.), the “new” urbanism, etc.
Sometimes the best lessons are found in new uses for old technologies…