so, then, what

I was thinking (during a recent ESOL practitioner learning community meeting) about an exercise I appropriated from Jane Yedlin a long time ago. Jane had asked people at a workshop to write down everything they'd read from the time they'd woken that morning until they'd gotten to that workshop.

I've since asked people to do this exercise, thinking of what they'd read or written, in different workshops over the years. The other day I was wondering about how people use/rub up against, engage in numerate behavior/numeracy in much the same way.

so

for example. thinking about how I've used technology:
It's 12:35 on this Saturday afternoon. I've looked at clocks a bunch of times, counted followers and posts on various blogs, looked at calendars, bought a pair of boots that were marked down by 60% (60 per cent! that's MORE THAN HALF); bought some coffee and food and undertipped (sort of) by placing my coin change in the dish at the deli, have considered how much I might pay for something else I might keep, thought about how much longer the days are starting to be, blah blah blah

SO

why not the same sets of questions about technology?

today I've set up a new landline phone (plugged it in. actually)
used my cell phone - made a call, got voicemail
have been on line, updating blogs, responding to email
havae used my iPod touch to play words with friends, check weather
have used a credit card that a clerk ran through a machine
and..
hmm

chewing on the possibilities of this sort of informal listing/on the spot survey for our work with adult learning, teaching and technology.