When I approached this task, I used emojis to convey meaning while adding extra context to the title with more emojis. The show I chose has a long and complex synopsis, so I opted to focus on its overarching themes to see if others could gather information from them. I found myself getting frustrated when an emoji I was searching for, or even one I had selected, didn’t help me express what I wanted. For such a short show description, I spent a bit too long on it, just searching for the correct items I needed.

When reading through Kress (2005), I liked what was addressed about the use of depiction in comparison to words. Showing through images and creating an experience for the viewer, letting them be in the experience rather than being limited to the syntax of words, was something that stood out to me. The view is seeing the images and experiencing the path the images brought them down.

I showed this synopsis and title to a few people who have and have not watched the show. Those who have watched it understood some of the more abstract references, whereas those who did not were very confused and struggled more, or offered up incorrect guesses, showing how context for images,s specifically in this context, may need more learned experience from the viewer when being seen and experienced.

Sources

Here is the file link to my Twine game, well, story really (say hello to Jimmy for me ):

Jimmy the Frog.html

Reflection

When starting this task, I was unsure ofhow to do it, but quickly became aware of how the process worked. I started with a paper-and-pencil mock-up of the bare bones of my story about Jimmy the frog, showing how he would go down different paths and eventually find the correct one, or be told where to go right off the bat. During this story-drafting process, I was thinking of using choose-your-own-adventure stories and games. While I am not one who likes to dabble in coding and scripting, I kept mine very simple and bare bones. This is a tool I would love to use with my students and maybe even have them use it on something like food webs to show the stories and connections between organisms in a different space. I liked how simple it was to create the links and appreciated the ability I had to link back to starting points – this brought up for me what Bolter(2001) said about circular tasks in hyperlinks. I think that while it may be frustrating for students in a learning setting, it may also make them more willing to try other paths and experiment with options and combinations they haven’t considered before. I can see endless possibilities and creative potential in this, and I would have loved to spend more time fleshing out and developing my story into something better. Glad to have this tool in my toolbox now!

Bolter, J. D. (2001). Writing space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Below is an entry written entry of my week.

I have been writing more recently by hand. I have a journal that I use weekly to summarize my week, memorize how I have spent my time, or process my internal thoughts. I also write by hand for work when I make a plan for the week. When I write by hand in my journal, its difficulty would be none- I enjoy writing by hand and seeing my thoughts and memories written out. The same goes for work, too. I like to see all the tasks I need to complete in one place, and I like the satisfaction of crossing things off a physical list. I also love seeing my physical journals displayed on a shelf, with all the records of memories and the artifacts I’ve added.  If I make a mistake and am using a pen, I will either scratch it out or use whiteout, but if I use a pencil, I just erase. Lamb & McCormick (2020) address how written-out texts, especially ancient ones, show us how we used to live and be, and gave us laws and answers. I enjoyed the idea of seeing ancient texts and thinking about how they were valued in ancient times, and how we have become a bit complacent in our use of physical media in both creation and consumption in this digital age.

Sources

Lamb, R., & McCormick, J. (Hosts). (2020, May 26). From the vault: Invention of the book, part 1Links to an external site. [Audio podcast episode]. In Stuff to blow your mind. iHeart Radio.

At ~ [13:30], Dr. Broditsky mentioned time-based movements and how they differ across specific cultures and languages. 

I found this to be very interesting to learn about. As someone who learned American Sign Language in college, I remember having to learn the different facial movements associated with asking specific questions or making statements. This was a struggle for me when I was learning a bond, and it made me think about how difficult it must be for people trying to communicate and not receiving the appropriate and expected response in their experiences. I think this is important to remember when thinking about the students I teach who are not native to a language or culture. 

At ~ [16:10], Dr. Broditsky discusses reference points in language- sharing how some cultures/ groups use time and one Aboriginal group uses cardinal directions. 

Similar to the previous point I talked about, this was also something that struck me: how people in different cultures across the world interpret and use what we see so differently. It is amazing what the human mind can connect and how it allows us to see and interpret the world. 

At ~ [18:30], Dr. Broditsky talks about how when you teach or learn a new language, it teaches you a new way to think. 

This is something I saw in my limited language-learning attempts at very infantile levels, but I can only imagine how it could change even more if I were to continue learning a new language. It made me more keen to start, or resume, learning a language again. 

At ~ [32:20], Dr. Broditsky discusses how people who know different languages can remember different specific details when witnessing an event.

As a teacher of a forensic science class, this made me think about how I teach my unit on eyewitness statements to students. Students are always so shocked by how bad their memory is, or by why they didn’t see something their classmate did. This point about language differences made me think about how language would impact some people when giving an eyewitness statement. It made me curious whether this has been studied through a criminal justice lens. 

At ~ [50:30], Dr. Broditsky discusses how a direct translation between 2 languages is not possible. 

This statement makes me think about how, when I first encountered sign language, it was a pidgin form of ASL  in grade 7. When I entered a real ASL class at the college level, I had to unlearn some of the attempts at direct translations I had previously learned. While I still had some prior knowledge of ASL, it was not through the right lens, and I had to shift and essentially rewire how I thought about ASL as a language and communication tool in the right ways. 

At ~ [54:15], Dr. Broditsky mentions how the broader your experience in life or with reading, the more open-minded you tend to be. 

I really appreciated this quote and thought about how, when I have spoken to peers or the students I teach who abhor reading, it is so difficult for me to understand. It shifts how I communicate with them and relay information. This also shows how my inquisitive nature and the different perspectives of some individuals I have encountered have been so difficult or different. I think this is an important thing for me to remember and use to help effectively communicate with those around me. 

Hello, my name is Emily. I am a secondary science educator for a small rural district. I teach grades 7-12. This is my 5th year teaching. For my bag, I chose to use my work bag that I take to and from work with me. The items in the bag include: my computer, mouse, work weekly planner, journal, multiple post-it note sizes, and a small bag of pens and pencils. Typically, it has student work I need to grade, too, but I chose to keep that out of the photo.

Every day, I use my computer, an obvious piece of technology, to plan lessons, respond to emails, create resources, grade student work, and access curriculum for my classes I teach. My planner goes hand in hand with this and serves as a central hub for all things work-related, including Post-it notes, which I also have many in my bag. Pens, a primitive type of technology, are used in both my planner and my journal weekly, if not daily. As an individual, I find that I remember things better when I write them down, so items like my planner, post-its, and journal all help me to remember important dates, times, and information. I think this speaks to my ability to blend literacy of both technology and analog practices.

If I were to assess the person who carries this bag of items, I would say they are organized and have a plan. Now, given that you cannot see inside the journal or planner,  one would have no idea if these items are effectively used or even remotely embody the idea of organization. If I were to compare that idea with the real-life version of myself, I think there are times when I match the bag’s assumption, and times when I do not, and vice versa, as over time the bag will accumulate little random bits of trash and old or forgotten lists.

If I were to look at my bag from 15 years ago, I would have been 12 and in grade 6/7. This was fun to think about. I can imagine the old crumpled bit of notebook paper, textbooks, and a tattered binder, covered in doodles, my name in a loopy font, full of class dividers and a planner. fun to think back and compare how I have changed or stayed the same. The leather cover of my planner hides the colorful stickers on its cover and the colorful pens I use to color-code classes. It is fun to see the little pieces of my inner child still peeking through in my professional life.