What’s in your bag? By Julia Jaschke

You know how they say, “A picture’s worth 1000 words”?  I want to one-up that a bit and say, “Pictures and words are no match for the contents of a purse”.

I met Julia this past summer while taking ETEC 565S, as part of the Summer Institute. We met on the first day, had lunch together and then spent the rest of the week sharing a learning experience focused on digital games and learning. Although we didn’t end up in a group together, we spent roughly 40 hours in the same room. By the end of the course, I knew little more about Julia than I did by the end of our lunch together on the first day.

Within the context of Task One however, I have had the privilege to be provided with a window into her current location and teaching assignment. I’ve come to understand and appreciate her need for back-ups and options. I wish I’d engaged her in a conversation about her coin purse…had I only known the significance. Just imagine the connections we could have made, had we just emptied our bags in front of each other, rather than saying hello.

Reflections on Text Technologies

Going back to Task One has really provided an opportunity to reflect on ETEC 540 as a whole. I didn’t know when I began this journey, that each Task would contribute to an understanding of the vast ways in which human beings communicate, as well as the various forms through which “language” is used. Items, emojis, predictive text, musical representations, printing… Has syntax become irrelevant, or has it just continued to transform. Has language become so dynamic that it actually takes away from meaning? Have generalizations become so pervasive that they have reduced the value of specifics?  [Insert eye-roll emoji, insert shrug emoji, insert thinking emoji.]