My name is Sam Charles, and this is my fourth term in the MET program. I am currently enrolled in my seventh and eighth courses (ETEC 511 and ETEC 540). I am in the process of transitioning to a new role at the University of Waterloo after nearly ten years in video and communications at UBC.

There are two items not shown in the above photo. I have some scrap paper and a pen included in the laptop slip. The scrap paper contains a list of “to-do” items that I have to look after this week including this assignment.

List of items:

• Bag of cloth masks and KN95 masks
• fruit and granola bars
• glass case (contains sunglasses and reading glasses)
• Hard drive
• cord bag (contains watch charger and assorted cords)
• HDMI cable
• phone charger
• Sony a7 iii
• 70-200 F2.8 lens
• 28-70 F.2 lens
• laptop and AC charger
• Headphones
• multi-USB and mac dongle
• camera batteries and charger

Other than my “to-do” list everything else in the bag relates to digital technologies. By connecting to wifi, I can sent photos from the camera to my phone or laptop for editing or sharing. I store the images on my hard drive after sharing.

My son created some vinyl stickers that I display on my laptop. The stickers are logos that say or reference my name. They also differentiate and identify my laptop.

The imagery (a form of visual text) on my cable bag helps differentiate it from the leather pouch where I keep my noise-cancelling headphones.

What is your daily need for the items in your bag? 

Working from home these days, I don’t actually take a bag with me very often; as I rarely leave the house. Fortunately, this week I am attending Volleyball Canada’s Nationals in Edmonton and I am lugging my camera bag.

How might these items be considered “texts” and what do they say about you, the places you inhabit, the cultures with which you engage, and/or the activities you take up?

I work hard to live in the moment and be mindful, but I also love to document the world around (which sometimes have opposing outcomes). More often than not that includes shooting videos, but when my kids are involved I prefer to take photographs.

The items in my bag allow me to tell stories – and get my work done while on the road. The items clearly tell my story as well as a former journalist and someone who embraces technology.

Thinking about the title of the course, what are the “text technologies” in your bag, if any? What do these items say about how you engage with language and communication?

Cameras, lens, headphones and the laptop are all technologies that allow for text to be articulated and amplified. Photography and videography have their own language, so for those that are interested… the camera is a full-frame camera and the lenses are a 28-70 F2.8 and a 70-200 F2.8. The camera can shoot 4k video at 60 frames per second.

What do the items in your bag say about the literacies you have?

Literally, these items talk about a literacy in technology. As referenced above, they also tell a story about how technologies interconnect from the camera (and its media cards) to the laptop and the hard-drive, these items all connect in one way or another to enable stories to be told.

How does the narrative of the (private) contents of your bag compare with the narrative produced by image you have of yourself or the image you outwardly project?

My passion is storytelling, and these tools enable me to tell stories.

What would this same bag have looked like, say, 15 or 25 years ago?

The bag would have been similar 15 or 25 years ago. Mind you, the laptop would have been larger and the camera analogue but otherwise pretty much the same (fewer cords and no masks). My bag would probably have also included more junk food?!

How do you imagine an archeologist aiming to understand this temporal period might view the contents of your bag many years in the future?

The contents would probably give the impression of work more than leisure activities, but I like to connect my work with my leisure activities so I am fine with that view point should an archeologist come to that conclusion.

Consider the course title, “Text technologies: The changing spaces of reading and writing.” What is text? What is technology? How would you define these terms? Without consulting any resources, record your initial thoughts on these questions.

Initial thoughts – Text is the message while technology is the way that message is delivered.