For this task, I used my daily work bag that I carry with me. I am a high school teacher and the items in my bag are used almost every day. I have my work laptop that I teach from and my work keys to the school and classroom. These are the items I use the most from my bag. I have a few electronic items such as chargers, headphones, and storage devices. I use the chargers to power my electronic devices, the headphones to use during my prep time, and storage devices for keeping copies of work files. I also have different coloured Sharpie pens in my bag. This allows for me to write things down wherever I am or do markings on the go. I have a few personal hygiene items such as tissues, disinfectant wipes, and hand sanitizer. When I don’t have access to a sink, I can use these items to keep germs away. Lastly, I found some papers that I forgot about from the last school year when I coached basketball at my school. These were plays and practice plans that I received during a basketball coach conference that I forgot about.

The item that relates mostly to “texts” is my laptop. I use it to not only consume texts from articles, websites, and blogs but I also use it to create my original texts such as lessons plans, presentations, and assignments for my students. Another item that relates to “texts” in my bag is my headphones. Texts are used to convey information, I often use my headphones to listen to podcasts and watch educational videos online. Lastly, the sharpies and pencils in my bag are used to edit text when I assess my students’ work.

I use technology heavily in my everyday life and I believe that is reflected from my bag. Over half of the items in my bag are related to technology such as charging wires, headphones, storage devices, and my laptop. These technology items display my technology literacies. Some people might also assume that I have great physical literacy based on the coaching documents. I also like to be prepared for messes and disinfecting high touch surfaces as apparent by the disinfectant wipes, tissues, and hand sanitizer I bring in my bag.

As a teacher who is still relatively young and early in their career. An issue I have had in the past was looking professional and being able to differentiate myself from my students. When I first started teaching, I made sure to wear semi-formal attire as to stand out from high school students. The image I want to outwardly project of myself is a well put together teacher. The contents of my bag doesn’t explicitly communicate that, but it does enable me to do my job as a teacher.

The bag of a teacher 15 or 25 years ago would contain a lot less technology. Although computers were around, they were not as portable as today. Computers and digital devices were also not accessible to average consumers due to high costs. A teacher 15 or 25 years ago would have more stationaries and textbooks that would help them teach everyday.