Task 1: What’s in My Bag?
I have a couple of bags on the go, but I thought I would choose to share my “play” bag over my “work” bag. This bag is always ready to go and easy to grab for after school and weekend adventures with my family. I am lucky to live in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Alberta and my family and I try to take advantage of the adventures to be had right in our backyard as often as we can.
Let’s take a closer look at what I currently have got in my 42L Gregory backpack:
- Strava app on my iphone
- Bear Spray
- Extra carabiners
- Stormproof fire starter
- Medical kit
- Hand warmers
- Dog bowl
- Dog treats
- GoPro
- Hiking poles
- Sunglasses (with case and glass cleaner)
- Hair scrunchie
- Toilet paper
- Kleenex
- Hand sanitizer
Need for the items:
The current items in the bag will do in a pinch and are some of the basic items that are always in the bag when I head out, however, what is not in the bag is fresh water and snacks for the family. These are usually added just before my family and I go out on our little adventures. The items do vary from season to season and the activity that we are going on and can increase in quantity if I need to carry my children’s hiking poles or other items that they may get tired of. Not to worry, as the bag has quite a bit of room and the ergonomic supports help when the weight increases.
All the items have their purpose and need for whatever may come up. Hiking poles to use on that difficult terrain, sunglasses to block the sun, hand warmers to stuff in mittens or winter boots when the temperature drops. Of course, what hiking bag would be complete without a medical kit to aid in any injuries that occur. So far so good, as I have had the kit in the bag for a year and have yet to crack the seal. Then of course, a roll of toilet paper for the obvious and some tissue for that runny nose. Hand sanitizer for helping to clean your hands and a fire starter kit to get the campfire going. Extra carabiners for dangling the bear spray from and any other items that can be dangled. Oh, and let’s not forget the dog bowl and treats for our little buddy that joins us for all our excursions.
Text Technologies:
As you can see from the image, there is an iPhone open with the Strava app on it. I use Strava to document our hikes and keep track of how far we are walking and the elevation gain as I wander along on our family hikes. I document these hikes with a text description of where we are hiking as well as adding pictures along the way. Also on my phone is access to our “Shacks On The Road” Facebook Page that I use to post pictures to when I travel and go on our family adventures. I again document our adventures with text and photos. Added to this I have a GoPro to take pictures and videos of our family outings so that I can later create a fun montage of the adventure. The GoPro does not always get used, however it is ready when I want to document something. These videos would then go on our YouTube channel with text descriptions of where we were in these adventures. When we think about technology we always reference it as something that is digitized. One thing that I find interesting is how text by itself is seen as technology and how it has evolved over time as the world is rapidly changing. Much of the other gear has basic text technology on it that would be applied in the manufacturing process through technology of some sort and describes what the items are such as the firestarter.
Literacies:
I think the items in my bag portray two main literacies that come to mind. One is that I am quite digitally literate in being able to communicate with my online community of friends and family as well as being literate in the skills of mountain living and adventure. I am a family first person and full time educator, so we can’t always get out and adventure as much as we’d like during the school year, but we do our best. When summer hits we are outside daily either here in the mountains in Alberta, or on the beaches of Pacific Rim National Park.
In The Past:
Interesting enough, these are similar items that I have always carried around in my backpack over the last 15-20 years. The difference of course is that the items, although they serve the same purpose, have now been updated to its current form. Therefore not much has changed other than appearance and perhaps better functionality. I also don’t think I would have had quite that small of a video camera and the phone technology has obviously improved.
