Hello everyone! My name is Bobby Han and I am currently a highschool music teacher in Surrey, BC. This course was one of the most intriguing as I am deeply curious about the relation of text and music! I often define music as a universal language however I am excited and open to exploring if that definition is true or if my point of view will change. 

Link to Interactive Photo of the items in my bag

In my backpack (credit to Iris Wang for the use of Genially) there are only a few things as I am currently trying to rely on less items throughout the day. To give you some context, I use to carry tissue paper, Benadryl, screwdriver for my glasses, a snack, hand wipes, lip balm etc. in my backpack as a “just in case”. Traveling with my fiancé this past summer, I realized I often do not need these items on a daily basis. For this school year, I am practicing bringing less items to work.

• How might these items be considered “texts” and what do they say about you, the places you inhabit, the cultures with which you engage, and/or the activities you take up?

Keys: Keys are a form of communication between a system and myself. I need my car keys to communicate to my car to unlock, lock and utilize other features. As I was reflecting, on top of communication, my car is often a place where I engage with text and culture through podcasts! My drive to work this year is quite distant as I drive 45 minutes each way. Topics that I listen to throughout the week include: Korean language learning, new technology talk shows and esports. 

iPad: My iPad is a technology that I communicate with my students in class. With music, I often will put colours on the screen through my iPad to convey emotions and concepts to have an unified mindset with the ensemble. In addition, many of my learning materials that focus on rhythms, note reading and music theory are on this iPad as well. My iPad can be text in relation to: reading, displaying, input and output of text, Documents, Text-to-Speech capabilities and much more upon reflection. 

• Thinking about the title of the course, what are the “text technologies” in your bag, if any? What do these items say about how you engage with language and communication?

I think I engage language and communication more visually and aurally  on an abstract level than through standard thoughts of text  with the items in my bag. I often listen to music and podcasts rather than reading books. I display images on the projector to communicate with my students. I hear the sounds of my car keys to understand that the lock system has been initiated. I realized that text technologies can be a variety of methods to communicate that are not limited to standard text in order to engage with language and communication.

What do the items in your bag say about the literacies you have?

One item that is not in the picture is my conducting baton. As it stays at work, I did not have the opportunity to include it in the photo. My conducting baton is dear to my heart. It displays a musical literacy that ignited my passion for education. I communicate through the motion of the baton with my students and it is a unified communication. Through one movement of the baton, an entire ensemble of 70 plus students are able to play beautiful sounds together.  

What would this same bag have looked like, say, 15 or 25 years ago?

I am quite young as I journey through this MET program. If it was 25 years ago, I would have not been on this Earth haha. 15 years ago, the bag would not look similar. The technologies inside would have not been invented yet and/or mass produced. I remember in 2010, receiving my Blackberry phone and thinking that the mini physical keyboard was the future of mobile devices. I think one thing that would be there is the conducting baton. The baton has not changed in purpose and design since the beginning of its use. Hand gestures and body language will be a form of communication that lasts generations. There will not be a new smile however there may be different and new interpretations of happiness in the future. 

How do you imagine an archeologist aiming to understand this temporal period might view the contents of your bag many years in the future?

I wonder if an archeologist would understand our technology and actual usage. Seeing an iPad dug out from the first without it being able to turn on and connect to the internet will confuse them I believe. My items are connected deeply to the internet, something we can’t “see”. Without electricity and internet, the items on my bag are almost useless (they can be a door stop haha.) I imagine an archeologist may internet the iPad as an example of our modern technology but there is a chance that it may be viewed as waste as well.