The purpose of this task is not to record myself talking about the items in my bag from Task 1, but instead to redesign the original purpose of the task, more specifically, the semiotic mode.
The original purpose was to introduce ourselves to the instructor and fellow students by explaining, “What’s in your bag?”
The New London Group stated that “designing is making use of old materials,” and that the new redesigned material is something that has been “reproduced and transformed.” When thinking about text and technologies, I’ve noticed a shift in my understanding of what it means. Text is not just grammatical and of written form and meaning but rather it is expressed as multiliteracies. Text is any medium that aims to provide its user with a message. As figure 1 in the New London Groups’ article demonstrates, the mode of meaning is not just a one-way street but rather a multi-way street with avenues, sidewalks, alleys etc.
With this new understanding of what text is, I have redesigned this initial task to incorporate a multi-modal landscape that rests on audio (voice), linguistic (delivery/normalization), and gestural designs (behaviour/feelings and effect).
Click below to listen to the Task Instructions.
Now that you’ve heard what the details of the task are, click below to continue the task. Feel free to take notes as you listen, this might be helpful.
Now that you’ve listened to the instructions and hopefully made notes on the person who was speaking, can you comment below and tell me, “What’s in their bag?” Alternatively, can you tell me what bags this person might carry and what that says about them?
When you’re finished commenting, click here to find out if you’ve made any connections:
Hi Sasha,
I love how you turned this into a game by flipping the original task!
I’m going to guess:
– food/snacks to feed your hungry children
– a nurse kit containing things like tissues, wet wipes, cream, and bandages (for cleaning and tending to children)
– hair tie and/or head band (useful for yoga and keeping hair out of your face when playing with children)
– phone (I heard it twice in the background!)
Since you mentioned that you like to be clean and organized, I would imagine that your bag either has dedicated compartments for different types of items or or you have pouches to hold them.
My weaker guesses would be:
– some sort of family memento (e.g., key chain) – I’ve noticed that parents love their children and usually have mementos, but maybe with more digital technologies, these get put into digital devices instead. Alternatively, your bag could be a gift from someone and that is the familial element
– stationery and paper – perhaps I’m projecting, but I find that teachers LOVE stationery. It’s also a practical item to have
Hi Linda!
Yes, you’re definitely correct!! This was one of my favourite tasks throughout the course, so I’m glad that you played along!