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Narrative:

The wind whistled through the abandoned library, creating a cloud of dust as Alex approached. She squinted, the sun was speaking through one of the broken windows right into her eye. As she looked away,  a faint glimmer caught their eye—a folded brochure wedged between two broken tiles. Curious, they pulled it out, brushing off the dirt to reveal: “A Future Without Limits – The New Era of Progress!”

Flipping it open, Alex’s eyes widened. The images showed sleek, floating cities, suspended effortlessly above lush, restored landscapes. Towers covered in gardens powered with solar energy, while streets—completely car-free—were alive with pedestrians and cyclists enjoying the clean, pollution-free air.

The government section detailed something almost unimaginable: a system run by The Collective Council, a blend of AI-driven decision-making and community-led discussions. Every citizen had a say, with policies decided in real time based on transparent, ethical algorithms.

Another page read, The Universal Learning Hub, a global network where education was lifelong, personalized, and completely free. Students learned at their own pace, guided by interactive AI mentors who adapted to individual needs. Students learned skills through immersive, hands-on experiences, making education an accessible, ever-evolving journey.

The final section was “A Society Where Well-Being Comes First.” People were provided with free mental health support and flexible work-life balance that prioritized happiness over productivity.

A note at the bottom read:

“Progress has no finish line. Welcome to a world built on wisdom, kindness, and innovation. A world built for you.”

Alex exhaled, gripping the fragile paper. Was this vision lost to time—or was it still possible? The thought filled her with an unexpected warmth. Maybe, just maybe, the future wasn’t lost. Maybe it was waiting to be built.

Moments into completing the survey I realized the website’s GUI was intentionally designed to manipulate my responses, making even simple tasks frustrating and counterintuitive. As someone with ADHD, this was extremely difficult for me. It played on common user expectations by reversing familiar conventions, such as swapping the usual order of email and password fields – forcing me to second-guess my instincts. The misleading colour scheme was another major obstacle; green, typically associated with “yes” or “go,” instead indicated the opposite, leading to unnecessary errors.

When inputting my personal information, having to backspace existing characters only added to the confusion, forcing me to repeatedly correct mistakes I hadn’t intended to make. The flashing numbers further distracted me, pulling my attention away from the task I needed to complete. The countdown timer amplified the pressure, making me feel rushed and increasing the likelihood of mistakes. Every time I hesitated or got something wrong, I was locked out, creating a cycle of frustration and anxiety. When I finally managed to complete the login process, I was met with an error message telling me my password was “not unsafe,” preventing me from proceeding. Seeking assistance, I turned to the AI help chat, only for it to start moving erratically across the screen before disappearing entirely.

At this point, I gave up because it became too difficult for me to focus on what was being asked of me. The constant distractions and confusing design overwhelmed my ability to engage with the task. According to Brignull, “deception is evident in various guises in user interfaces on the web today” (2011), and this site certainly fit that description. Furthermore, the website manipulated me into making mistakes, wasting time, and experiencing unnecessary stress. Given my attention challenges, this experience felt less like a simple survey process and more like an escape room! haha

Brignull, H., (2011). Dark Patterns: Deception vs. Honesty in UI Design. Retrieved from: https://alistapart.com/article/dark-patterns-deception-vs-honesty-in-ui-design/

Through this podcast, I wanted my listeners to be able to interpret the objects in my bag to help them understand me on a personal and professional level. I chose to use this mode of communication as podcasts and ebooks are becoming more popular lately. I also wanted to challenge myself to create a mode of communication that I have not tried before.

In my classroom, I have a student who just discovered they have a significant hearing impairment, and using audio as a form of communication has made me more aware of how I approach teaching and how I deliver information. I’ve had to adjust my teaching lens to ensure that my lessons are accessible to him. For example, I provide written transcripts when I use podcasts for our novel study unit  This ensures that my student can follow along with the content and doesn’t miss out on important information.

There are many benefits to using audio as a form of communication. Firstly, I think that it keeps the listener engaged and interested. I tried to achieve this by using different tone of voice and sound effects. I did so by accompanying my voice with sound effects from the BBC Sound Effect Archive -a great resource if you are ever teaching descriptive writing. This approach not only aids in comprehension but also  encourages listeners to think critically about how sound influences perception and storytelling.

Some potential challenges of using audio as a mode of communication is that it can cause confusion rather than connection. For example, there were a few times where I started talking and then found myself rambling or struggling to describe something clearly. Unlike writing, where I can pause, edit, and refine my message, audio doesn’t offer that flexibility. This can make it harder for listeners to follow along. Therefore, listening to audio might not be as easy to understand as text for some individuals. According to Dobson and Willinsky (2009), it is essential to consider this when designing appropriate learning spaces for all.

This assignment has shed light onto how I should consider a variety of media when teaching my diverse students. Mode bending is a beneficial way educators can strive to meet the needs of their students. As the New London Group (1996) emphasizes, altering our learning spaces for the students and not the other way around, we can improve student engagement, enjoyment, connection and communication because they will have a deeper understanding of the content.

References:

Dobson, T., & Willinsky, J. (2009). Digital literacy Download Digital literacy. In D. R. Olson & N. Torrance (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of literacy (pp. 286-312). Cambridge University Press.

New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. (Links to an external site.) Harvard Educational Review 66(1), 60-92.

Unscripted Anecdote: Hi everyone, so for task three I wanted to share a story of this past year and how it’s been raising salmon in my grade 5 and 6 classroom so I’ve decided to do this and kinda do like a cross curricular unit with social studies and science to talk about natural resources, as well as salmon within our ecosystem and connected to indigenous education as well so I thought this would be a great opportunity for my intermediate class to really understand how salmon play I really keep part in our ecosystem as well as teaching them some really essential skills of how to care for another living thing however, I didn’t realize how difficult this would be and the problems that might come up when I went to the orientation to learn about how to care for salmon and teach it in my classroom the woman organizing this program kind of gave us a warning she said if you don’t change the water enough, the salmon will die. If you change the water too much the salmon will die. If you over feed them the salmon will die. If you don’t have the filter on the salmon will die. Basically I was scared so you could imagine how I felt when I actually went to to teach salmon in my class and the fish kept dying I had no idea what I was doing wrong. I had my class changed the filter. I had my class changed the water in the tank and they kept dying. I then had the organizer come in and help us figure out what the issue was but she even couldn’t figure out what it was and she said maybe we just had like a bad batch of salmon this year. I then realized one day that I accidentally told my students the wrong measurement for how much chlorine they needed to put in the tank when I realize this, and that I was the one to blame, I felt so awful. I decided that I needed to have a conversation with my students and take accountability of what I had done. I was really afraid of what my students would say because they grew really attached to the salmon and we’re always devastated when they found out one had died when I had this conversation with my students instead of them being upset, they started laughing at the situation and said oh Miss Veltri, you do have the memory of a goldfish. This was something I would often joke about with my class as I’m quite a forgetful person. I was so surprised by my class understanding and kindness. I think this experience show that even teachers make mistakes and it really helped create an even better classroom community

Analysis:

1. How does the text deviate from conventions of written English? Reading over my text to speech story made me cringe. I am embarrassed to see how many run-on sentences there are. There are many long, unbroken sentences that would typically be separated by periods, commas, or other punctuation in formal writing. My story also uses conversational phrases like “kinda,” “you could imagine how I felt,” and “oh Miss Veltri,” which are typical in oral storytelling but not in formal written English. I also noticed I repeated myself a lot throughout the story using phrases like “the salmon will die” to add humour, a technique common in speech but less so in writing. The story also lacks formal paragraph breaks and organization. It flows as one continuous thought, similar to how someone might speak.
2. What is “wrong” in the text? What is “right”? /What are the most common “mistakes” in the text and why do you consider them “mistakes”?Some things that I would consider “wrong” in the story is the missing punctuation. I did not dictate “period” or “comma” when speaking, therefore there are missing commas, periods, and proper sentence breaks. The lack of punctuation throughout my story made the story unclear at times. There were also “mistakes” in grammar because it misheard me when speaking. For example, we’re always devastated when they found out one had died.” The story also lacked in transition words making the story harder to follow for the listener.I would consider the authenticity of my story “right” because it had a conversational tone which made the story feel more genuine and relatable. I also think that trying to add in humour and vulnerability made my story more engaging as readers could emotionally connect to my experience. In terms of oral story telling I think the repetition and casual tone work well to mimic the rhythm of speech and draw the listener in.
3. What if you had “scripted” the story? What difference might that have made?I would have loved to been able to create a script for the story. I sometimes struggle with keeping ideas organized when using voice to text tools, so having a script would have made me feel more comfortable when telling my story. I think this would have helped me organized my story better because I would have been able to create clear topic sentences to help the listener follow along easier. I would have also created a theme in my story like learning from mistakes or classroom community to create a stronger emotional impact. Finally, a scripted version might have created a more professional tone, although it would have lost some authenticity in the process.
4. In what ways does oral storytelling differ from written storytelling? I think that oral storytelling differs from written storytelling in many ways. Oral conversations and stories are often less formal, using natural pauses, gestures, body language and vocal inflections(Gnanadesikan, 2011).  In comparison, written storytelling uses clear and detailed paragraphs with proper grammar and punctuation. When reflecting back on my story, I notice the tone and style is very informal as I use slang and informal expressions. Written storytelling does not do this as it typically has a more formal tone that has been edited for these “mistakes”. Oral storytelling also relies on the interaction of the listeners. The people being told the story give the storyteller immediate feedback with their facial reactions and body language. This then can help the storyteller pivot to engage the listener back in. Whereas in written storytelling, the author cannot judge the readers reaction in the moment, therefore they use word choice for impact.

References

Gnanadesikan, A. E., & Wiley Online Library. (2011). The writing revolution: Cuneiform to the internet (1. Aufl.; 1 ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.

Please view the attached picture to see what is in my work bag that I use five days a week.

The items in my bag include:

1. Laptop and charger
2. Keys
3. Water bottle
4. Coffee cup
5. Lunch bag
6. Wallet (ID, bank cards, gift cards, ski lift pass)
7. Cellphone
8. Work lanyard (ID card and scan card, whistle)

As an elementary school teacher, the items in my bag reflect both my professional and personal needs. My laptop and charger are important for lesson planning, accessing educational resources, and maintaining communication with colleagues and parents. My keys, water bottle, coffee cup, and lunch bag highlight the practical needs of a busy school day, ensuring I stay hydrated, make healthy eating choices, and energized for my day.

These items can be considered “texts” as they represent my identity as an educator and community member. My work lanyard, with its ID card and whistle, directly ties to my role as a classroom teacher and sports coach, which shows my passion for maintaining a safe and inclusive learning environment. My wallet (ID, ski lift card, etc) and cellphone show my personal interests and roles beyond the classroom, including financial management and recreational interests, such as skiing.

The “text technologies” in my bag, specifically my laptop and cellphone, demonstrate my engagement with digital literacy, crucial for both teaching and administrative tasks. For example, I use “Remind”, which is an application to send quick updates, announcements, and reminders to parents, ensuring parents stay informed and engaged in their child’s education. I also create all my units through the “OneDrive” application. I share these folders with my colleague at my school who teaches the same grade level so that we can collaborate and exchange resources throughout the year. These devices show how I integrate modern communication tools into my daily routine, aligning with traditional educational practices.

When looking at the items in my bag, one can notice a range of literacies. The items included can portray me as a prepared/organized teacher who incorporates technology into their personal and professional life. This image connects to who I try to be when working –  I strive to be a leader at my community school by being dedicated, reliable and adaptable.

Fifteen or twenty-five years ago, my bag might have included more traditional teaching methods, such as printed resources or unit plans, highlighting a change towards digitalization in education. As well, looking at my wallet, I do not have any cash or coins. This can suggest that this time period’s currency used more contactless payment options. An archaeologist examining my bag in the future might recognize this era as a time where technology played a crucial role in education and was utilized to complete personal and professional communication and daily tasks.

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