I immediately connected to Thomas's reflection of his fourth task. His thoughts echoed mine, as I read about his love for the lost art of paper and pencil (which I also share) and realized we have a lot in common! I actually did the same thing as Thomas- tried documenting my daughter's life (development and milestones) from birth onwards... eventually it fell to the way side after my mat leaves (for both of my girls), but going back and re-reading, I wish I would have continued, as those entries are very powerful. As Thomas stated, "written text is described in From the Vault: Invention of the Book, Part 1 (2020), as the “freezing of thoughts”. With time moving at such a rapid pace, it’s easy to forget the little treasures." I don't want to forget. It is in reading these notes that I was reminded of when my youngest went through a phase between the ages of 9 and 12 months where she would smile and wave at strangers, but never for familiar faces of family and friends! LOL!

I too was surprised by the fact that I had never previously considered books 'technology'. Listening to Thomas describe "books as a technology, an extension of the mind, to help extend our mind’s capabilities" - allows us to better appreciate their underrated value as a learning tool.

Similar to Thomas, I find writing by hand to be liberating. I actually write furiously when having disputes with my oldest daughter or my husband- I find it to be cathartic. I began incorporating what I call, Free-Writes in my class weekly, for exactly the reason he mentions, to " allow [students] not to worry about the editing process, and just write what [is] on [their] mind[s]." Students can easily get caught up second guessing themselves or wanting their first draft to be error free- when their first drafts should be solely for getting ideas down- and focused on the content.

I applaud Thomas' decision to use a pen and I actually encourage my students to complete their Free-Writes with one as well, as it doesn't allow them "the opportunity to make any major revisions to [their] writing." As one writes, most people "naturally second guess [themselves], and... often edit and revise [their] work and school work numerous times before finalizing," so encouraging this laissez-faire approach is a way to make students comfortable and at ease.

Like Thomas I was probably one of the last generations to spend high school focused on writing by hand over mechanized forms of writing- which is likely why I still favour paper and pencil over digital forms of writing. I definitely also agree that there is an "element of creativity and artistry to writing by hand," and due to the limitations of the computer, which "doesn’t allow for much self expression," much of that gets lost when mechanized.

I have wanted to dive into this program for the longest time and I loved his final product! My only hesitation in using Adobe Premier Pro has been that it is no longer offered for free for educators in my district :(

"When attempting to present material in a way that is relevant and reflective of our current society, I think film is the most effective medium". I wholeheartedly agree with this statement by Thomas! Because of the versatility of film and its ability to reach multiple audiences and thus be more accessible to learners, I also chose it as my medium of choice for this task!

As the New London Group (1996) describes, “pedagogy now must account for the burgeoning variety of text forms associated with information and multimedia technologies.”

One of my favourite parts of this video was the audio: Thomas' voice (in the elven accent) and the background music. I definitely agree with him that it put his movie "over the top". It really helped set the tone for the video and give it the 'Lord of the Rings' feel he was looking for, great addition! This is a huge limitation in the platform I chose to use (Flip), however because Adobe Premier Pro is a paid subscription, Flip was my free platform of choice :) This represents another huge frustration when working with students and trying to incorporate new technologies- the paid licenses and subscriptions. Last year I paid for a subscription to PowToon for one year (how silly!) and I only ended up using it for one class, and one assignment!. Yes the assignment was awesome- highly motivating and it allowed the incorporation of students' voices (which as a french teacher is a huge bonus- but absolutely not worth the price)!

Great decision to include captions in the video! I am someone who always watches shows and movies with closed captions on- even when I don't need it. I started doing this and now my daughter does the same- I never realized how often I misunderstood what was being said due to me not hearing it properly. I agree with Thomas that it reinforces a connection to the content. It also is great when watching shows in a busy household, as it doesn't matter who's loud or may be yelling, I can still 'watch' my show.

My next favourite part was the parody! OMG I literally laughed out loud when I was reading the script- as I was too impatient to wait for the video to load! I am not a Lord of the Rings fan, yet the video script was so funny that I couldn't wait for it to load so I can watch it with all the audio/ visual effects. I agree with Thomas that humour is a great way to engage our students. I use humour as often as I can!