• 5 years ago
• Posted in:Task
• 5
• Author: heidi dyck

Welcome to my UBC Blog. This is my personal space for the ETEC 540 class. I would like to share with you a little about me…

This is my work bag – I’m a middle school teacher. The contents of my bag include many pens/pencils/whiteboard markers, deodorant, instant coffee, socks, screen cleaning cloth, scrunchie, headphones, batteries, lotion, lip balm, toothpaste (usually there is a toothbrush),  sticky notes (often of varying size, colour and style), a mask (recent COVID addition). Something not pictured is a snack! Never do I go anywhere without a snack – clearly, it hasn’t been replaced yet.

I could go through each item in my bag, however, I feel as though most are self-explanatory. Most of you can probably imagine yourself using almost all of these items on a given day. Maybe not the batteries….unless your SMART Board remote dies, then the situation may call for a Lithium battery.

If we think about the idea of ‘text’ as something – an idea, a thought, an understanding – that we want to be conveyed to an audience then we can glean a lot from simply looking at the items of my bag. For example, this is an everyday bag that I take to and from work, and yet there is not a substantial amount of items presented. I try to be a minimalist. However, you may note the plethora of pens, pencils, dry erase markers and highlighter pile – I lose writing utensils often, and I hate being stuck with only one option, especially if it suddenly doesn’t work – therefore more is better. These items, in my life, are essential – socks, deodorant, toothpaste, scrunchie – I like to be organized and prepared – you never know when an impromptu dodgeball game could occur at lunch and you need a pair of socks and shoes to play. Always carrying the essentials allows me to be prepared even on the mornings that I run out of the house and forget half of the things I needed for the day – my bag has me covered.

Furthermore, if the idea that text is what we aim to communicate with others, it can be thought that technologies are the platform for such communication. Over the decades, obviously, the platforms we use have changed and evolved. In my bag, I have communicated a focus on carrying the essentials, in order to be organized and prepared. I believe I also show that simplicity is acceptable – I communicate through a basic platform, uncomplicated and timeless.

My teaching bag has not changed much over the years if anything I have streamlined the contents ever so slightly in order to make packing and carrying more efficient and easier. However, the other ‘bags’ in my life have changed dramatically sharing a much bigger picture into my life. For example, my everyday purse has been replaced with a diaper bag – still carrying the necessities of my former desired lightweight purse, but with the added weight of all essentials for a toddler. This diaper bag, if pictured, would communicate a lot more chaos, and disorder but would share into a much deeper part of my literacies as a mom, wife, teacher and messy human.

This is why I share with you my work bag. It is what I strive for. It is often what I crave; especially in a time of unknown such as COVID. Order, Preparedness, and Comfort in the essentials.