Task 1: What's in Your Bag?

What's in Your Bag?

Full disclosure... this photo was not staged. I previously thought that I did a pretty good job of cleaning my backpack out every so often... however, I was surprised at some of the contents that I had been carrying around for weeks, maybe even months! I use my backpack to go between home and school, or when I'm travelling.

The Daily Essentials

This was the golden question! There ISN'T a daily need for the majority of items in my backpack. Daily use items that I would hate to forget include: water bottle, MacBook, key fob for school, car keys, chapstick, sunglasses and wallet.... These are items that I use daily, maybe even multiple times per day. I need them to survive, essentially. Items that I do not use daily that have been hitching along for the ride: a parking receipt, a gas receipt, a stack of my husband's business cards, paint swatch for our current house reno, loose change/money/visa that I'm too lazy to put back in my wallet, raffle ticket for my friend's daughter's swim team that happened months ago, hand sanitizer, peppermint halo headache relief oil, post it notes, hair brush, deluxe crossword that is probably expired, "Kids These Days" book which I have been carrying around with the full intention of reading during my "down time", and the "Art of Coaching" handout that I received at a Pro D event - 3 weeks ago.

Me and These Texts

These items say a lot about me. They certainly show that I'm a dedicated educator, passionate about my own learning and professional development. The book titled "Kids These Days", the Pro D handout about coaching educators, my school keys/fob, and my MacBook are all contributors to the lifelong learner that I am. The raffle ticket and my husband's business cards showcase that I'm a dedicated friend and family member, ready to support those around me. The paint swatch dictates that I need time to think through my decisions - I left Benjamin Moore with a swatch to mull over, as opposed to a can of paint. The hairbrush is because I hate when my hair is tangled - it's a big pet peeve of mine, also showing that I care about my image. The crossword shows that I'll take a chance or "roll the dice" so to speak. I was also surprised by the amount of major name brand items in my bag, including the bag itself (Lululemon), my wallet (also Lululemon), the water cup (Starbucks), my sunglasses (Raybans) the iPhone and MacBook (both Apple products). I suppose I could see this in two different ways... The first being that I'm willing to pay a higher dollar for quality items, with longer lifespans, in which I can rely on. The second being that I'm vein, and have these items because they are "in" and paint me as having a higher social status. This would be the difference in narrative of the contents of this bag compared to the image I'm outwardly portraying.

Text Technologies

There are many digital items in my bag which allow me to communicate with the world in various ways. The most obvious items being my MacBook and iPhone. I will admit that I cannot go anywhere without my phone - it's not even that I'm constantly checking it or using it.... I suppose I just feel the need to be "connected" at all times, if need be. My MacBook is my lifeline - for masters, for work, for everything. Some of the less obvious "text technologies" located in my bag could be the digital receipts, which I received through electronic transactions between my visa card shown here, and machines. One receipt is from filling up my car with fuel, the other is a parking receipt from a parkade. Neither transaction involved a second person in order to complete, as they were solely digital. My keys and fob for work allow me access to my school when the doors are locked, using an identification number linked to my employee number. The fob swipe tracks all entries into the building after hours. On the same key chain is my school district ID, which communicates that I am a safe and trusted adult in any school building in our district. On a less "tech" based scale, the book and booklet that I'm reading are communicating information with me, and the pen and post it notes allow me to communicate in a non-digital way as well.

Literacies

The literacies that I have are largely represented in this photo. Digital literacy would be at the front and foremost of those. Having the ability to connect digitally in various ways is an important literacy to have access to in the 21st Century. Every aspect of my life is connected to digital devices, and being able to use these devices helps to achieve a variety of goals. I also use these devices to access media literacy - which would be the tools that I use to communicate with those in both my real and digital worlds - instant messaging, social media, online communities, etc. I could even go as far as saying that these electronic devices link me to a world of game literacy. I'm not necessarily into any games right now, but I have been known to dabble in a bit of Candy Crush and Angry Birds back in my day. News literacy is another connection I could make because of my devices. Being constantly connected with the world, means knowing what's happening in the world at all times. Finally, a sense of foundational literacy is also present in my bag, as there is reading materials, as well as tools for writing located there.

The Past, Present and Future of my Bag

15-25 years ago, this bag would not have existed, nor would the majority of the contents. Keys would not have fobs, laptops and iPhones certainly didn't exist, and neither did any of the name brand or cosmetic items found in my bag. There would have been a simple set of keys, a simple wallet, sunglasses that would not have costed more than $100, and more cash and coins than credit cards. There may have been more papers, binders or files, to replace the MacBook which contains all of my teaching and learning digitally. In the future, I would imagine that fobs would be even more complex and credit cards and ID may be obsolete as they are already starting to appear more as apps on our phones. Computers may be smaller and more complex, and the iPhone will certainly develop several times over in the next few years. I imagine that some items, such as my chapstick, sunglasses, and a good old fashioned hairbrush will remain the same.

Reflection

Now that I've taken about half of these items out of my bag after this photo was taken... I've been reflecting on what's really important - what couldn't I live without? The answer, which isn't surprising at all.... is that my phone and my MacBook are the two most essential items in my bag when it comes to communication and language. They are the connection that I feel lost without. So although I rely heavily on my water bottle, my hair brush and my chapstick, on a daily basis... I wouldn't be that upset if I left one of those items at home by accident. This reflection both scares me (because of my reliance on technology), and excites me at the same time.