Hello everyone, I’m Ice (you can also call me Teng), an English and Literature teacher in Macau and a student in the Master of Educational Technology program at UBC. For this task, I have chosen and emptied the black tote bag I carry almost every day just to show you what’s actually inside.
Inside, you’ll find a MacBook and an iPad Air, which I rely on for teaching, lesson planning, grading, and coursework. I also carry chargers and cables, since my days often stretch across school and study hours and I need to stay connected. I also keep a water bottle tucked in, a small reminder to take care of myself when teaching stretches on longer than expected. I keep some stationery, including a red pen that is essential for assessment correction and a clip to hold papers together. There are also mints and lipstick, little items that help me stay refreshed and confident throughout the day. My cardholder, car key, and a charm are practical necessities because I drive to work, and I also need to swipe my card four times a day as a record of my attendance when I arrive and leave. The charm, however, carries a more personal meaning! It was a gift from a former student, and I keep it as a reminder of the relationships that make teaching meaningful. Finally, I bring along an SSD, which I use to store and transport large sets of teaching resources, research files, and projects.
Each item in my bag plays a part in my daily routine as both a teacher and a student. My MacBook, iPad, and SSD are the tools I depend on for lesson planning, research, and coursework. The red pen is a must for marking assessments, while the cardholder helps me track my attendance at work. Even the smaller things, the water bottle, mints, and lipstick, make a difference. They are what keeping me comfortable and confident through long days.
The things in my bag can also be read like ‘texts‘ that tell a story about who I am and where I spend my time. My digital devices show how closely I’m connected to education and technology in Macau, while the red pen points to the more traditional side of teaching, marking and assessment. The attendance card reflects the routines of my workplace, where clocking in and out is part of daily accountability, and is worth 20% of my work performance appraisal. And the little charm from a former student reminds me of the relationships and human connections that make teaching meaningful.
The MacBook, iPad, SSD, red pen, and even my attendance card can all be seen as forms of text technology. They allow me to access, create, and store information in different ways, whether I’m writing academic papers, preparing lesson materials, or managing student work. What’s more, the red pen, even if it’s simple, is still essential for marking, reminding me that traditional tools continue to hold an important place alongside digital ones. Together, these items show how I move across different platforms of communication: typing essays, grading online submissions, creating PPT slides, marking on paper, or swiping a card that records my attendance. Each object represents a layer of literacy in my daily routine. These items show how my bag reflects a hybrid way of working and learning.
What’s in my bag highlights the range of literacies I draw on every day. They point to my digital literacy that I’m using cloud storage, multimedia platforms, and academic tools to prepare lessons and complete coursework. They also show my continued reliance (Macau’s and my workplace’s) on print literacy, like marking with a red pen. At the same time, the attendance card reflects institutional literacy, reminding me of the systems of accountability and workplace daily routines. Beyond these, the bag also reveals elements of cultural literacy. The small charm given to me by a former student speaks to the relationships and values that shape my teaching life.
These literacies are also tied to my professional role outside the classroom. I am a member of the e-Teaching and Learning team at my school, where I work to promote the use of technology and AI in teaching, learning, and even daily administrative tasks. This role means my literacies extend beyond personal use to leadership in digital transformation, encouraging colleagues to embrace these new tools and approaches; so, my bag is more than a collection of useful items.
Outwardly, my bag looks sleek and professional, projecting efficiency and order. That’s intentional! I work in an environment where I feel it’s important to appear professional, and I place a high value on being organised and efficient in my work. Privately, though, the contents of my bag tell a softer and more personal story. The charm from a former student (the Jellycat charm) show my sentimental side and the things I love. The lipstick reflect a practical part of me. I like being ready to look presentable at any moment. The mints are a simple way to keep my breath fresh during long days, while the water bottle shows how much I enjoy drinking water and staying healthy. In short, the public image of my bag is that of a capable teacher, but the private contents reveal a more practical, human side of me.
If I think back 15 years, my bag would have looked completely different because I was still a primary or junior secondary school student at that time. Instead of a MacBook and an iPad, it would have been filled with textbooks, exercise books, and a pencil case. The red pen might not have been there, because I wouldn’t grade my own homework. That would have been in my teacher’s bag. There would have been no SSD, just stacks of worksheets and maybe a dictionary and a bible (since I studied in a Catholic school). If I go back 25 years, I would have been a toddler, so my “bag” (my parents’ bags) would probably have carried snacks, toys, or napkins rather than tools for study or teaching….
If an archaeologist were to dig up my bag centuries from now, they might see it as a time capsule of the early 21st century when paper and pens still held on, even as digital tools were taking over. The MacBook, iPad, and SSD would probably be treated like ancient relics of a society obsessed with storing and sharing information. The red pen might amuse them, as it would be a proof that even in a digital age, teachers still clung to the tradition of marking with ink. The attendance card could lead them to conclude that Asian workplaces in my era were very strict about accountability, with people literally “swiping” in and out to prove they were present. And the charm might really puzzle them since it’s pretty challenging for them to think of that as a sweet gift from a student but a childish teacher who really loves toys.
References
Bailey, N. (1731). An universal etymological English dictionary. Knapton.
Beavis, C. (2015). Multimodal literacy, digital games and curriculum. In T. Lowrie & R. Jorgensen (Zevenbergen) (Eds.), Digital games and mathematics learning: Potential, promises and pitfalls (pp. 109–122). Springer Dordrecht.
Postman, N. (2011). Technopoly: The surrender of culture to technology. Knopf Doubleday Publishing. (Original work published 1992)
Scholes, R. (1992). Canonicity and textuality. In J. Gibaldi (Ed.), Introduction to scholarship in modern languages and literatures (2nd ed., pp. 138–158). Modern Languages Association of America.
Willinsky, J. (2002). Education and democracy: The missing link may be ours.Links to an external site. Harvard Educational Review, 72(3), 367-392.
Willinsky, J. (2006). The access principle: The case for open access to research and scholarshipLinks to an external site.. MIT Press.
