I’ve decided to create an interactive image of my work bag. Please click on the pink buttons to read more about each item in my bag.

25 years ago I would have been a teenager who grew up using worksheets and 3-ring binders. Yes, laptops existed, but were large and not predominantly used. When completing projects, I used a home desktop computer, printed the documents and carried around floppy disks to store my saved work. My teacher work bag likely would have had a couple of floppy disks and a 3-ring binder of papers. Along with not carrying around a laptop or iPad, I also wouldn’t have had to lug around these chords (which are sometimes forgotten at work or home). The one thing that I feel an archaeologist might be able to identify as a specific use of technology in this time period is the use of wires to recharge electronic devices. I feel that the next wave of future technologies will be the replacement of wires to charge devices.

Because I am of a paper & pen generation, I still like to write lists and still use old-fashioned post-it notes. I likely still would have had an ‘agenda book’ or work calendar to write down important events and dates. I also would have had a lunch in my bag because life wasn’t as fast-paced back then and I would have probably had time to sit and each a proper lunch. I now have a mini fridge in my office where I keep snacks and fruits that help get me through the day (when I get a free minute to actually sit down). The introduction of email as a means of communication has now taken over my recess and lunch breaks. Replying to parents or colleagues, reading through important information and managing the countless emails on a daily basis is a technology that wouldn’t have existed 25 years ago, to the extent it does today.