My daily need for the items in my bag is to allow me to be prepared for anything going on in my day as a teacher. I need the calculator for tallying up student marks when marking. The highlighters are important when I am noting work that students have/have not completed and generally to help me keep myself organized with some colour coordinating! Below those is my school device carrying case which I use daily to ensure I am safely transporting my school computer to and from work. My dell pen case has the instructions for the dell computer I take to work, I may need it if the pen decides not to work for me. On one side of the pen case is my adapter that allows my computer to project through the LCD projector in my classroom. On the other side is my water bottle, I can’t teach if I’m not well hydrated! Next to the water bottle is my USB stick that I load my daily teaching activities onto for ease of use and to have a backup in case the school computer doesn’t work properly. Below that, is 3 separate piles. On the left is a pile of sheets with information particular to my school, daily calendar, class schedule, block rotations, etc. In the middle is my notebook that I use to note down anything from an average day that will make future lessons more effective, it also doubles as a daily planner. On the right is a pile of sheets with great information I have collected from various Professional Development days. The top sheet is very useful on any day I plan assessment as it is information from Tom Schimmer, someone the school board is turning to for information about assessment practices.

These items may be considered text since some literally have written or printed information. What these items say about me is that I like to keep a lot of information “for a rainy day”. Much of what I keep is to ensure that I will be able to operate successfully on a day when something goes wrong. What they say about where I inhabit, is that it is an English speaking place with access to electricity (the language of the sheets and the projector adapter). In terms of the activities I take up, it shows that I have to try and process a lot of information and maintain organization (sheets, notebook, highlighters).

Some “text technologies” in my backpack are the pen, highlighters, notebook, and the printed sheets. The pen says that I write language to communicate. The highlighters say I differentiate and interpret language in a way that I will can communicate with others. The notebook matches the pen in saying that I write language to communicate. The printed sheets are printed language with lots of information communicated.

What the items in my bag say about my literacies are that I am literate in the traditional sense in that I can read and write (pen, notebook, sheets). I am also numerically literate (calculator). Lastly, it shows digital literacy since I have items relating the use of digital items like a computer.

The outward image of the backpack is not one that would necessarily lead someone to assume I am a teacher, since it is often students who are associated with backpacks. What this can lead to is someone thinking I am a student rather than a teacher. I am also a relatively young teacher (I will be 25 in August) so that too can lead to some confusion. I outwardly present as very calm and laid back, though that is true, the constant carrying of highlighters and a notebook may lead to a different narrative of someone who is uptight and controlling.

15 years ago this backpack would have contained a pair of shoes (one for outside and one for inside), an array of snacks, an agenda, and maybe one textbook. It would not have contained the laptop carrying case, projector adapter, dell pen case, the professional development information sheets, or really any school sheets. I still would have carried a calculator (the same one from 15 years ago functions for me today!), the highlighters or writing utensils, and a water bottle.

An archeologist aiming to understand this temporal period would view the contents of my bag as being indicative of this period’s use of technology, yet would also see some remnants of a previous period as well. This temporal period still very much uses handwriting and printing which may slowly phase out into the future. For example, the printed sheets of paper may be a thing of the past for this future archeologist if everything is instead sent to people digitally. The only things that would not be “dated” in the future is likely the dell pen case and laptop carrying case since even future generations will need storage for their devices.