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What’s In Your Bag?<\/strong><\/p>\n For this task\u00a0<\/span>I decided to focus on my work bag, which contains items that I take back and forth from work to home\u00a0<\/span>on a daily basis<\/span>.\u00a0 You will notice that I\u00a0<\/span>included a picture of my empty bag,\u00a0<\/span>as<\/span>\u00a0the current situation has meant I am now working from home\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>no longer<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>need\u00a0<\/span>this\u00a0<\/span>bag.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Reflecting on this led me to<\/span>\u00a0some interesting perspective<\/span>s<\/span>, which I will discuss later.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>T<\/span>he contents of my bag<\/span>\u00a0when I was using it<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>rev<\/span>eal quite a bit about\u00a0<\/span>who<\/span>\u00a0I am.\u00a0 As a teacher it is rare that I leave the building without some marking, which is the stack of papers in the photo.\u00a0 W<\/span>orking from home is something I am used to<\/span>, al<\/span>though the current situation clearly provides a whole other layer of complexity<\/span>!<\/span>\u00a0 The red\u00a0<\/span>jacke<\/span>t<\/span>, toque<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and socks are my essential gear for running.\u00a0 I always have these in my bag so if<\/span>\u00a0the weather\u00a0<\/span>doesn\u2019t\u00a0<\/span>cooperate,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>I can still fit in my run after school.\u00a0 I don\u2019t run every day, but if I commit to running it\u2019s usually with a couple of\u00a0<\/span>colleague<\/span>s<\/span>, and we run rain or shine!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0While I\u2019m\u00a0<\/span>usually<\/span>\u00a0wearing the<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>A<\/span>pple\u00a0<\/span>w<\/span>atch<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>I use it for tracking the pace and distance of my runs, and for music<\/span>, and if it\u2019s not on me it\u2019s in my bag<\/span>.\u00a0 The headphones allow me to escape and focus,\u00a0<\/span>and come in very handy if I\u2019m running alone, or trying to concentrate while marking.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0The last items are the two marbles, which I found in the bottom of my bag.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>These likely fell out of my\u00a0<\/span>purse and<\/span>\u00a0were part of a tic-tac-toe game that I have on-hand to entertain my youngest when we are out for dinner<\/span>\u00a0or enjoying\u00a0<\/span>a\u00a0<\/span>local brewery!\u00a0 When I think about these\u00a0<\/span>item<\/span>s<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0they show that my life revolves around family, fitness, and work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The items also connect to many ideas related to text and technology.\u00a0 One of the comments this week that I connected to\u00a0<\/span>was<\/span> the idea that language <\/span>becomes a\u00a0<\/span><\/i>technology in that it is an invitation to facilitate communication<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>(Postman, 1992)<\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i>In this sense the stack of marking is both text and technology.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>For this\u00a0<\/span>assignment<\/span>\u00a0s<\/span>tudents are<\/span>\u00a0asked to make connections between a selection of short stories.\u00a0 They are<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>required to use text to explain their\u00a0<\/span>thinking<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>but<\/span>\u00a0are\u00a0<\/span>encouraged<\/span>\u00a0to select creative visuals to represent their interpre<\/span>tations.<\/span>\u00a0 The selection of images can be digitally produced, cut out of\u00a0<\/span>magazines<\/span>, or hand-drawn, but they do \u201cfacilitate communication\u201d and thus bec<\/span>ome a form of technology.<\/span>\u00a0 Students must find a way to use both text and images to communicate their understanding.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Apple\u00a0<\/span>w<\/span>atch is the most obvious example of technology in my bag.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>It has a seemingly endless number of functions designed to make <\/span>communication<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>easier<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0allow one to access all sorts of information\u00a0<\/span>instantly<\/span>.\u00a0 What is revealing to me is that I\u00a0<\/span>find very little use for most of these functions!\u00a0 My husband gave this to me as a gift so I could run without my phone, and that is by far the\u00a0<\/span>function I use<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>most frequently<\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>My<\/span>\u00a0limited use<\/span>\u00a0of my watch<\/span>\u00a0may in part be because I\u2019m reluctant to become too committed to technology that is so easily accessible.\u00a0 I am an example of the \u201cextreme reactions\u201d t<\/span>hat are often linked to advancements in technology.\u00a0 I\u00a0<\/span>definitely<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>can<\/span>\u00a0relate to feeling<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>overwhelmed<\/span>\u00a0by the affordances of my\u00a0<\/span>A<\/span>pple\u00a0<\/span>watch<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0want to maintain the ability to disconnect!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>As technology has increased the ability to interact with texts quickly and in such a wide variety of forms there have been<\/span>\u00a0both<\/span>\u00a0positive and negative impacts.<\/span>\u00a0 How does language and communication through text fit\u00a0into this discussion?\u00a0\u00a0One way is to think about how text is more than written language and has its roots in oral traditions.\u00a0 I loved the description of text as \u201cwoven words,\u201d\u00a0<\/span>(1.5 Thinking About Technology)\u00a0<\/span>which is repres<\/span>ented by how I can speak into my Apple watch, and it will take those words and transform them into text.\u00a0 Here is a true mingling o<\/span>f text and technology.<\/span>\u00a0 So while I’m reluctant to get too committed to my watch, I do appreciate some of these benefits.<\/span><\/p>\n The\u00a0<\/span>headphones also led me to\u00a0<\/span>reflect on another aspect of\u00a0<\/span>advancements in technology\u00a0<\/span>and how they relate to text.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Bluetooth technology has changed how we interact with our technology.\u00a0 Once restricted by wires<\/span>\u00a0or signals that constantly drop, this\u00a0<\/span>technology<\/span>\u00a0has advanced to a place where devices are connected at the touch of a button<\/span>, j<\/span>ust as we are all connected thorough the internet, social media etc.\u00a0 We are a society of instant\u00a0<\/span>gratification<\/span>, which is reflected in how our technologies have evolved<\/span>\u00a0to meet these demands.<\/span>\u00a0 As a result of the desire to connect and access information instantly, h<\/span>ave we lost the\u00a0<\/span>ability<\/span>\u00a0to engage in deep conversations, to take the time to truly listen to\u00a0<\/span>each other?<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Does an emphasis on written over oral language, text<\/span>ing instead of talking, place\u00a0<\/span>limit<\/span>s on<\/span>\u00a0how we\u00a0<\/span>communicate?<\/span>\u00a0I<\/span>n some cases<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0I would say<\/span>\u00a0this is true.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>However<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0when I look at the empty bag, and reflect on\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>new learning landscape that is\u00a0<\/span>emerging<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>amidst<\/span>\u00a0a pandemic, I am reminded how much we rely on\u00a0<\/span>communication technologies<\/span>, and how\u00a0<\/span>adaptable<\/span>\u00a0we are to communicating in a\u00a0<\/span>variety<\/span>\u00a0of environments.\u00a0 For instance, I now use a Chat\u00a0<\/span>function<\/span>\u00a0on Microsoft Teams to regularly message students to check in with them, remind them about assignments, and\u00a0<\/span>answer<\/span>\u00a0questions. This\u00a0<\/span>is where text and technologies merge, and I find it\u00a0<\/span>interesting<\/span>\u00a0maintaining a somewhat formal tone in such an informal Chat environment.<\/span>\u00a0 Even<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the word Chat\u00a0<\/span>elicits<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>a different response than\u00a0<\/span>thinking about composing\u00a0<\/span>an email.\u00a0 I also\u00a0<\/span>cons<\/span>i<\/span>der<\/span>\u00a0the endless virtual meetings on\u00a0<\/span>Teams or<\/span>\u00a0think about my own children attending virtual lessons on a variety of platforms.\u00a0 This new world may lead to\u00a0<\/span>us reconnecting to our oral language in a new way.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Whether<\/span>\u00a0it\u2019s oral or written,\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0innovative ways<\/span> people are using text to communicate, and the undeniable influence of technology, are <\/span>certain to have lasting impacts on education<\/span>\u00a0and likely society in general.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What’s In Your Bag? For this task\u00a0I decided to focus on my work bag, which contains items that I take back and forth from work to home\u00a0on a daily basis.\u00a0 You will notice that I\u00a0included a picture of my empty … Continue reading