Insights into individual students’ conceptions of ‘Computers in my world’: a semiotic analysis

A detailed semiotic analysis of two of the maps is given in Mavers (2003). The following much briefer discussion of three maps is intended to illustrate the nature of the maps, the preliminary process of identifying and interpreting signs (Kress and Mavers 2005), and how the researchers’ understanding was validated and deepened through the interviews.

Key Stage 2: Paul, boy aged 10 This concept map (see Figure 10.1) has 23 nodes and 132 links with a connectivity

score of 5.7, indicating that many nodes are linked to several other nodes. The four

172 Research methods for ICT in education

Figure 10.1 ‘Computers in My World’ by Paul, aged 10

nodes which have the most links to other nodes are ‘computer’, ‘electricity’, ‘person’ and ‘wiers’. Eight Spheres of Thinking are indicated by drawings: the computer (6), technical details about computers (3), games (3), music (3), communication (2), TV (1), information (1), images (1). There is one Zone of Use – home – and one node representing a person. This may be meant to represent Paul himself as it is linked to the computer, a mouse, a gear-pad, earphones and a joystick as well as to home. This person is also linked to ‘discovery’ indicating he sees computer use as about ﬁ nding things out. The strong emphasis on technical details relating to computers was reinforced in the interview in which Paul recast the task as ‘we were asked to draw

a concept map on things which are electrical and things’, and says that he started with ‘electricity’. When drawing the map he said he then went ﬁ rst in drawing or linking to ‘the computer because I have got three in my house and I like playing on this and things’. After providing details in the interview about the way that computers link with one another, discs, keyboards and the Internet, he began to broaden out his thinking to include ‘games, downloading things, buying things, talking and sending emails and Internet chat rooms’.

The pattern of awareness that emerges from this concept map and interview is: Focal awareness of technical and electrical features of computers and how computer technologies are linked together, with ﬁ eld awareness of music, games and communications. Other SoTs are part of this boy’s fringe awareness – for example, digital images.

Mapping learning potential 173 Key Stage 3: Liz, girl aged 13 This concept map (see Figure 10.2) shows wide-ranging knowledge of computers

in today’s world, with eight SoT and nine ZoU including the Millennium Dome. The arrangement of the nodes on the page suggests that after the starting point of the computer itself in the top left-hand corner, the Internet is the focal awareness, linking to travel, home, school (indirectly), shops, workplaces and banks, as well as to the Millennium Dome via a branching link. From the number of objects in the map, there appears also to be a high level of awareness of the use of computers to control things such as services (‘controls important things’ is linked to ‘ﬁ re brigade’,

Figure 10.2 ‘Computers in My World’ by Liz, aged 13

174 Research methods for ICT in education ‘police’, ‘insurance’ and ‘trafﬁ c lights’). The interview suggests that Liz’s knowledge of

the role of computers in today’s world is extensive and that she is an experienced user. The computer and its printer attached were drawn fi rst and next came the Internet ‘because that’s the main reason that I use the computer at home’. Phone lines, on- line shopping, banking and email came next, with the locations of home and school, computer games and other entertainment. The Internet is confi rmed as the focal awareness but is defi ned to include communications: ‘Is there any part of your map that’s particularly important to you?’ asked the interviewer. ‘Probably the Internet, because I spend ages on the Internet and I’m always on it. I really like hotmail, MSN messenger and email. That’s what I usually spend my time on.’ There is a wide range of fringe awareness, which includes use of computers for control but without this having any greater prominence than many other things. The emphasis in drawing the map seems to have been on trying to think of ‘loads of different ideas’. The ‘bug’ was included because ‘there was a bug going round at the time, I think the “I love you” one that had everything going down’.

In summary, the core focal awareness is of the Internet, particularly for communications, and there is a wide range of ﬁ eld awarenesses which all seem to be of equal importance.

Key Stage 4: Heather, girl aged 15 There are 35 nodes in this map (see Figure 10.3), all represented by text labels in boxes.

The focal awareness appears to be on communication (4) and there are an unusually large number of ZoUs (home, school, workplace, banking, shopping, hospital

Figure 10.3 ‘Computers in My World’ by Heather, aged 15

Mapping learning potential 175 and government), suggesting focal awareness of the social impact of computers.

Supporting evidence for the latter are several nodes representing abstract concepts, such as ‘easy access’, ‘freedom’, ‘speed’, ‘stress’, ‘time’ and ‘unreal’. In the interview, the focal awareness on people is conﬁ rmed and the emphasis on communication is re-deﬁ ned as relating mainly to commercial transactions. Her opening statement when asked to tell the interviewer about her map was: ‘I think I sort of strayed on to the commercial use of computers because that is how I think it is going to affect us most.’ The impact on people of social changes brought about by computers was of primary importance and she expresses strong concern about the growing dependence of people on computers:

‘… like speed, stress and time (are) all linked up and I think that the speed – I don’t think it’s helping everybody in everyday situations. I think we are just going to rely too heavily on computers … I don’t think we are using computers in the right way, I think because this is a very commercialised base with the Internet and the selling and the interaction between the people, I don’t think enough time is being spent on the medical research like hospitals. I’ve written hospitals on this map and I haven’t spread off it at all, because there isn’t anything that I know about that actually comes from hospitals. It’s just stuck in that one. Money for instance has six different sprigs and hospitals has only got two.’

She is also aware of the positive potential of computers, particularly through the easy access they provide: ‘I think easy access is offering us good things like freedom and speed and communication with people and I think we need to build up on that in today’s society.’ Reﬂ ecting on one train of thought while producing the map she said: ‘The computer is my main branch and then I moved on to entertainment because that’s what I use computers mostly for, and moved on to home and games.’

In summary, this 15-year-old girl’s focal awareness is on the social impact of computers in her world, particularly in relation to growing commercialism as a negative, and increased access and communication as positives. The implication is that people need to make important choices. The ﬁ eld awarenesses revealed in the interview are of computer use for entertainment in the home.

Insights into individual students’ conceptions of ‘Computers in my world’: a semiotic analysis