…And a Reusable New Year.
by David Porcaro
This is Seward’s the last blog post of 2011, and as the holiday season fast approaches us, there is one thing on my mind: packaging. You know, those rolls of wrapping paper ripped and torn, tossed aside as worthless so that the true treasure can be reached underneath. But even after the carefully folded and taped paper joins the growing mountain of wads and scraps in the corner, another barrier stands in the way of delight: plastic and cardboard, and those really annoying zip-ties. Next week’s garbage service will carry away overfilled bins, and loads of holiday cheer will find its way into our landfills.
So this got me thinking about reusability: Is there a way to design gift packaging so that it can be used again? After all, one of my kids’ most played with “gifts” of 2011 was the 5 foot-tall box that came with our new water heater. Surely all that paper and all those boxes can find a use before they get cast aside.
In international development, “gift” (aka aid) packaging often creates a large amount of waste.But can those packing boxes be repurposed before their usefulness expires?
One designer, inspired by Lego bricks, has created a container for UNICEF food and water that can be used to build temporary shelters as well as provide reusable storage containers. Another organization call IVUHAP or Increased Value for UN Humanitarian Aid Packaging was a finalist in the INDEX: Design to Improve Life competition. They re-used UN aid boxes for furniture in homes and schools, and printed games, learning materials, etc. on the packages (think of the back of the kids’ cereal box).
But what about digital educational content? Is it possible to create a truly repurposable and reusable learning object, one that can be adapted to local content, local languages, and teachers’ unique needs? Can it be done easily without a lot of technical knowledge on the part of the teacher? Can Creative Commons licenses provide enough protection to intellectual property? How do the original authors/designers get compensated for their time and work? Do they need to be funded by foundations or created by volunteer or student contributions (i.e., lower quality and less support for the end user)? Will reusable learning objects decrease the gap between the rich and the poor?
I suppose the answers to these questions are not simple, and any repurposable or reusable learning object may seem as flimsy as a cardboard shelf sitting on plastic bottle legs. But often disruptive technologies start out low quality and are quickly adopted because there is no better option. For some people, a flimsy cardboard bookshelf or a reusable learning object may be better than what they have (e.g., nothing). Furthermore, I suppose just shifting our thinking ever so slightly will create less waste, be it digital or material, and will serve more people.
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Tags: Add new tag, International development, lifecycle of e-learning product, open educational resources
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