Affordances of nature and not technology

Nature gets it right when it comes to affordances. Things work for a reason the way they were designed to and pretty much only fail when man attempts to alter that inherent intention. This thought re-surfaced when I attended Margaret Bamberger's lovely birthday party and then read her most recent blog post. We (and I use we collectively because we all make choices about what we do) use technology in teaching and learning for reasons that may or may not relate to an intrinsic affordance. In higher education little if any technology is designed for learning.. ok, simulatons, games, and tutorials, but really most are tools for processing, recording or processing information. I don't suggest that technologies be re-designed, but I do recommend that we think about the affordance of a technology before we jump on a popular bandwagon and use a tool for its novelty. Let's follow in an expert's footsteps and provide fertile conditions for seeds to germinate.