I normally write personal things (journal, cards, letters, etc.) by hand, and use the laptop to write things that are for work or school (email, essays, reports, etc.). I found this task easy because I wrote a daily reflection and just let my thoughts lead me the whole time. I am used to writing down my thoughts and ideas by hand and this is what I feel comfortable doing. It would be a different story if I were asked to compose a story or something that requires more planning. It brought an interesting realization to me that I have not been writing anything formal by hand for a very long time. I think that the main reason is that institutions and workplaces have been highly digitalized and we are so well-trained to type.

When it comes to editing the writing, it really depends on what I am writing. If I am writing something in my journal or anything for myself, I just simply cross it out. If I do not like the whole page, I tear it from the notebook and throw it in the trash can. However, if I am writing to someone, I would first write a draft on a piece of paper and edit it before I write it down on the actual card/letter paper carefully with my neatest printing. If I am typing electronically, it is much easier to edit since I can just delete the words easily. I also use grammar check and proofreading applications to edit my paper after I finish typing on my laptop. They are not the best, but they are convenient to use and provide some basic support. This is something that cannot be done if I am writing manually.

The most significant difference I notice between writing by hand and using mechanized forms of writing is efficiency. Given the same amount of time, I can type way more words than writing, and editing becomes effortless. However, I do find when I write, the content feels closer to my heart since I am always writing things more personal on paper. When using mechanized forms of writing, it does not feel as genuine as handwriting. To me, typing makes me feel like I am finishing a task or getting something done because it is required (which is not always the case). It is hard to say which one I prefer because they both have their advantages and drawbacks. I actually enjoy saving handwriting for my personal reflections and typing efficiently for professional writings.

My Story:

So this is the story how I adopt my cat milky this and last year August I don’t remember the exact date, but I remember it was a hot summer day cuz I plan to play volleyball with my friends that afternoon and I was late. I wasn’t plan to adopt my cat. I got an email in the morning saying there’s a huge adopt event happening in the past Martin lonely and it totally call me I guess I didn’t know it was happening. But I decided to go because I was thinking about getting a cat for I would say probably a few months by then so I decided to go and see all the kittens and they were offering that day. So I went there and I found this little section. Set up for adoption there was a line and I waited in a line up and I could see people you know getting excited about adopting you kittens kids with their parents and they were carrying I guess new kid has they just adopted and the kids were really excited and that got me excited too. So I walked in the station and the whole Space is surrounded by cages and Aang the cages there the kid is some kittens were put together and there’s an old saying that it would be recommended to adopt them together. I walk around there was a kitten that actually caught my eye I really want take him home but the stuff work there told me that since I wasn’t approved for my adoption I need it to wait there for an interview so I went to a nearby McDonald to wait when I came back it was already 50 50 minutes later and the kitten. I initially had my eye on with already. Someone else I was deaf little bit but they brought out new kittens and I was still waiting for my interview and I started to interact with the kid as they had there. And there was a little kitchen I was just trying to snuggle his head under my hand is just basically trying to put his head through like the little gap between the cages and trying to get my attention and I found an instant found was just kitchen and you know how people say like you know the Pats choose the owner I guess that’s what happened and there I took the kid a whole I named him milky and we’ve been living together happily for almost a year i’m really grateful that I went to the shelter event that day.

Observations:

I used Speechnotes for this activity and this is the first time I used this digital tool to dictate oral storytelling. 

The first thing that I noticed from this written text of my story is that the punctuations are not where they are supposed to be compared to the standard conventions of written English, which made reading the text somewhat difficult. Even though there are clear instructions on the three ways to insert punctuation on the web page as soon as visitors get on the site, it feels weird to have to think about “period” or “comma” in the middle of telling a story. In the beginning I was trying to include them, but it soon became too distracting. That is when I decided not to think about the punctuation at all and just focused on the story. It stands out to me that when people speak the language, whether telling a story or having a conversation with someone, they do not consider using punctuation to deliver meanings or make themselves clear.  At the same time, the listeners do not rely on punctuation to understand the piece of information as much as they do when reading written text. Therefore, to me, punctuation is something unique to the writing system so human brains can process written text easier without the natural flow of speaking language. 

As I read through the text version of my storytelling, I noticed that around 90% of the words were correctly dictated. There are three main types of mistakes: dictation mistakes, grammar mistakes, and missing words. For instance, the tool dictated the word “kittens” to “kids”, “Petsmart Langley” to “Pest Martin lonely”, and “bound” to “found”. Some verbs that should have been in past tense were dictated to present tense. Some conjunctions were missing. The sentence “I was definitely a little bit disappointed” became “I was deaf little bit”. I consider them as “mistakes” because some disrupt the structure of the written text, and others leave the sentence incomplete and confusing to understand. If I had scripted the story, I believe that the grammar mistakes could have been avoided. I would also consider word choices and use different types of sentences to make the story more detailed and intriguing. 

It struck me how oral storytelling is different from written storytelling. Oral storytelling pays more attention to meaning delivery rather than the form of language. Oral storytellers also have tools, including but not limited to tone, facial expressions, and gestures, to convey feelings and emotions. It reflects the speakers’ thoughts in a more direct, non-filtered way since there is less time for them to ponder their word choices and sentences. Listeners can ask questions on the spot if the meaning is unclear.  Written storytelling, on the other hand, requires more accurate forms so readers can clearly grasp the meaning without those extra tools. Word choices, sentence structures, and punctuation become important because they affect the reader’s understanding of the text. Written storytelling is more carefully planned and articulated so the message being delivered does not get misunderstood (however, interpretation is up to individuals and it is the same with oral storytelling). Oral storytelling, if not dictated or recorded, only stays in the memory of the speakers and listeners, and the story could be altered, revised, or lost due to how human memory works. It can be told by the storyteller many times and becomes different each time. Written storytelling lasts longer on the paper/in the document and would never change unless edited, rewritten, erased, or deleted.  

My name is Trista Ding. I am an Early Literacy Teacher in the Surrey School District, mostly working with Kindergarten and Grade 1 students. I was born and raised in Shanghai, China and I moved to Canada seven years ago. This is my fifth course in the MET program and I am very excited to start this new journey. 

For this task, I picked the purse that I carry the most when I go out. It is usually this purse plus another gym bag for other things I need for different activities (e.g. dance, volleyball). All the things in this bag are essentials for me: my car key, home key, cardholder, lip balm, and lip gloss. In the cardholder, I store my debit card, credit card, driver’s license, insurance info card, and my Teacher Qualification Service(TQS) card. The only thing that is missing is my phone which I used to take this photo. I carry my phone with me wherever I go so it stays in this purse most of the time. 

The two things I did not expect to find in my bag on the day I took the picture were the receipt for grocery shopping and the care card for the purse. The receipt showed that I went to T&T Supermarket on May 16th, 2022, and picked up a few things. The care card demonstrates how to take care of the bag in seven different languages. I can read three of them. I am sure that I read the care card when I first bought the purse but I simply forgot that it has been sitting in the inside pocket all these years. 

Text Technologies:

Even though the digital technology that I use every day, my smartphone, is missing from this photo, I still want to mention it. I have an iPhone XR and I use it all the time to gain new information and to stay connected with my family and friends. I use apps like WeChat, WhatsApp, and Instagram to text and post. I watch videos and shows on YouTube and Netflix and since English is not my first language, I am used to turning the English subtitles on to help me understand. I am immersed in the world of text technologies and so deeply connected to digital writing and reading that imagining life without it seems impossible. I still enjoy reading a print book and handwriting in my journals, but it is interesting for me to realize that I am not doing these things every day anymore. Instead, I am always on my phone and this fact says a lot about how my life has been profoundly shaped by text technologies.

Despite the technology itself, the links between print and digital writing are plentiful. All the text that appears on the item in my purse was digitally generated. The grocery receipt is printed out from a self-checkout kiosk at the supermarket. The barcodes on the products were scanned for the machine to collect price information and complete the transaction. I used my credit card for the payment, which is a system designed for digital banking. My insurance info card, driver’s license, and TQS card are all linked to digital identification systems in different aspects. 

A couple of things in my bag also reflect multilingualism. The receipt of T&T Supermarket has Chinese on it to promote their digital app and loyalty system. My lipstick is produced by a Chinese makeup brand called INTO YOU (notice that it has an English name) and on the bottom, it has the Chinese name for the colour. The instruction in the care card for the purse is displayed in seven different languages. 

Text is not always needed to deliver meanings and messages as can be seen from my MINI car key. Two pictures are used to indicate that the buttons are for unlocking the vehicle and opening the trunk. 

It is eye-opening to see that almost every item in my purse has text/print on it. This task makes me realize how my normal daily life is tightly intertwined with text technologies and digital systems. It also reminds me that the influence of globalization is affecting everyone whether people are aware of it or not. This bag is just a quick snapshot of my current daily life and with ever-evolving technology breakthroughs, it is difficult to predict what might appear in my purse ten years later. I wonder what I am preparing my students for when teaching them how to read and write.

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