Reflexive Blog 3- Literacy Dig

Last week we were assigned to write a literacy dig.  The assignment was to find five literacy artifacts around our home, apartment, dorm room, or car. We were supposed to write thick descriptions of the five items after looking at them in detail, thinking of how they might be able to tell stories in other ways. I looked through a few of the examples and after looking around my dorm room here's what I came up with:

 Item 1: Envelope on my desk

In this envelope was my credit card that came I picked up from my mailbox right before I started doing this assignment.  I had been waiting for it to come in the mail for about two weeks and it took a few applications before I was accepted for the card. I read over everything that was sent with it and I know it will be important for me to pay attention to all of the details in the letter.

Item 2: Moodle grades window

I took my first test earlier in the day that I had started working on this assignment. I remember that the grades for it were supposed to go up at 3:00 and I was checking this window constantly because the grades still weren't up that night. I find it extremely helpful how easily you can check your own grades to know how you're doing in a class, but it stressful sometimes waiting to see how you did on a test or exam.

Item 3: E-Mail

I noticed that I also had my E-mail open while doing this assignment.  Although only really use my E-mail to communicate with teachers and sometimes my parents, it's a useful tool to find important information.  I also get updates through my E-mail to find out what's going on around the school.

Item 4: Keys

On my key chain I have the key to my dorm room, my car, my mailbox, and the key to my house back home. They kind of serve as a reminder for me to keep up with my life here and at home at the same time.

Item 5: Cell Phone

The last item I wrote about in my daybook was my cell phone. I don't have a picture of it because it's what I was taking the pictures with, but I'm sure you can picture a black iPhone in a red Otterbox. I chose my phone because it's a form of communication like my E-mail, but it's a lot quicker and I use it more often. I use my phone to text constantly and I'm able to reach people no matter what I'm doing or where I am.



While doing this assignment and really paying attention to the details of these five things, I made some interesting realizations about the items. I noticed that certain features of an item become noticeable only when you look at them in certain ways. I found it interesting how my gradebook online could distract and worry me so easily even when I felt confident that I did well on my test. I also realized that I sometimes connect items to certain things or ideas subconsciously, like how I connected my keys to keeping in touch with people back home.  I think it's important to notice what meaning some things have to you while looking at them in different ways.