In Task One, What’s in your Bag?, both Brian and Helen discuss their smart watches and appear to lead active lifestyles with the aid of this technology. This is something that I strongly connect with as I wear mine from the moment I get up until I go to bed. I chose to post about this commonality because I find it interesting that Apple Watch can be used/seen as both text and technology. There is evidence of it as a text, such as using it for communication and announcing information on the screen in written/semiotics. Obviously, it is well-recognized as a technology versatile and diverse in function and capacities. Although Brian, Helen and I have a smart watch and use them daily for leisure and fitness, we all use them for different processes and purposes.
Task One identifies Brian as an avid bike rider and an active, safety-first person. He uses his smart watch to: check the time, speed of biking, heart rate, location (shares with his wife), listen to music or podcasts, contactless purchases, connect with emergency services if he crashes his bike (fall detection), as well as to communicate with others through texting (both typing & talk-to-text) or phone calls.
Helen has the exact same Apple Watch model and strap as me. She uses it for tracking the pace and distance for her runs and for music. The items in her bag reflect that her life, “revolves around family, fitness, and work”…couldn’t have said it better myself, Helen!
Although my two peers both use their watches for fitness, Brian commented on the ‘always-on, always-there connectivity’ while Helen uses few functions, such as running, and says she is reluctant to get too dependent on the technologies and wants to maintain the ability to disconnect. I relate with both of these statements as a dichotomy push-pull that I find myself engaged in. The functions of my watch are convenient, such as glancing at a text on-the-fly and getting notifications, but I can also relate to what Helen seems to describe as a slippery slope in getting too dedicated to its use and disconnecting.
I use my watch daily for telling time (surprise!), but in reflection for this post (I am a bit ashamed to admit), I probably use it as a way to stay connected to my phone without having my phone out. For example, if I am at the grocery store and my phone is in my purse, then I can get alerted to a text and quickly glance at it. Often I get texts from home telling me to buy candy! I do the same with SnapChat or phone calls that I ignore. I have come to the awful realization that my Apple Watch could be my iPhone’s surrogate. Yikes!
Mostly, I use my watch for the Apple activity app to track workouts, movement, and to keep me accountable for keeping me active. I like it because it uses GPS to trace my routes, which is especially to see where I have been in the woods or mark routes for further journeys. I wear it to bike, hike, snowboard, play golf, basketball, lift weights, swim, etc. I enjoy many active pursuits and my watch covers them all. My son and I had a debate over which was more accurate and better; his FitBit or my Apple Watch. He took it so seriously that he wore both (one on each wrist) to measure movements and workouts and did his science fair project on his results. Having this device as a technology is practical and it also provides ‘text’ to communicate information and results, such as steps, heart rate, distance, time.
Backtracking for a My son’s grade 6 Example of ‘technology’
hard-to-find geocache science fair project as ‘text’
I use my Apple Watch in different ways outside school than when I am teaching PE. In the gym and for outdoor recreation with students, I use my Apple Watch in the following ways: tell time, stopwatch, timer, control music for games and activities using Bluetooth speaker, and to use remotely use the camera/video function. For example, if I have my phone set up at a station, I can remotely document activities for FreshGrade and portfolios (digital documentation). At our school, staff and students are not allowed to have phones out during school hours (school issued iPads are acceptable!) so I have found creative ways to use my watch to accomplish the same thing but in a portable device.
Overall, this was an insightful assignment because I examined the use of the same technology for myself and two peers and conclude that although we use different functions, have various desires and activities, the smart watch can be recognized as both text and technology in all three scenarios.