I got my own Boppy pillow for my birthday!
Boppy specializes in products for infants, and this one is meant to support them while they are nursing, so you may be wondering what the heck I’m going to DO with my Boppy pillow.
I am going to SIT on Boppy. I fell down the stairs at work a few years ago and my tailbone hurts when I sit too long. The shape of the Boppy pillow is absolutely perfect to help me protect my tailbone from the pressure of sitting. I’ve tried other types of pillows, but nothing has ever fit my purpose as well as the Boppy.
My brother and his family use the pillow for the intended purpose — caring for their 3-month-old daughter — and they showed me how to let Boppy help me care for the baby too. That’s how I figured out that Boppy could work for me too.
We make things for one purpose, but they are often good for many things. Recognizing a creative use of a tool for an unintended purpose can make life more pleasant.
What are some creative uses you make of tools or products intended for another purpose? Post a creative repurposing in the comments by next Wednesday (January 31) and get a little surprise!
by GadgetGrl
25 Jan 2012 at 18:37
Dearest UPL, well I am excited to report that in my job as a college professor, we have been given a tool to help us spot plagiarism in papers turned in by students. It is a very valuable tool when students take a paper that was submitted previously and put THEIR name on it and turn it in to my class. Last semester several people were referred to Honor Council for this behavior.
Well, as you know, (because UPL edited the paper I wrote about what I’m about to tell you) I have figured out how to do OTHER things with this software BESIDES detect plagiarism. The main idea is that the software detects “similarity” with other papers and articles in their (extensive) database.
I have boiled down my “repurposing” of the plagiarism software into three OTHER purposes: grade case studies that everyone is working on “rapid assessment of assignments”, allow students to “screen” their written work for the types of missing attributions and citations that they are supposed to be doing but may not be doing (called the PLAGIARISM CHECKER), and finally, I use the dropboxes for revision of assignments to show ME what has “changed” from the original draft. In this way, I have been able to help students learn proper attribution/citation, grade case studies rapidly and quickly assess revised assignments.
I am presenting this information for the MAKER of the software in Austin in February. The software people are eager to see my presentation and I’m excited that I will be able to present. Thank you UPL for helping me see the value in this work. GG
by GadgetGrl
07 Feb 2012 at 20:15
Thank you UPL for my prize for my idea about how to re-purpose something. I received a beautiful Valentine card with two Siamese kitties, tails intertwined on a soft pink background. It is a Robin original. I will cherish it along with my ginger plant original.
by UPLives
18 Feb 2012 at 23:24
Thanks for putting your creativity to work for those young nurses!