Why Semiotics is Important in Edusoft Design
Toward the end of "Semiotics as a basis for educational software design," the authors write:
The development of cognitive theories on human computer interaction brought us a vision of the computer as a cognitive tool enabling people to enlarge their under-standing, memorisation and decision-making capacities. Recently semiotic approaches to software design have led us to take into account not only the immediate aspects of human computer interaction but also the underlying aspects of the cultural and social context in which the interaction happens. The semiotic approaches facilitate an inter-personal, social, cultural perspective, focusing on the expression and interpretation of the elements at the software interface.
As a follow-up to our discussion last week, I wanted to elaborate on the rationale for thinking that semiotic concerns can help with the design of our programs. The passage suggests that cognitive science, while certainly useful in the design process, under-determines the design of the interface, and so a first question is "How?" Can cognitive science provide "context-free" principles for instructional design? Can cognitive science explain why characters like Sesame Street's Cookie Monster or J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter are as engaging as they seem to be?
Clearly there are some aspects of interface and interaction design that are underdetermined by cognitive theories of teaching and learning, and yet we must decide how to design these features nonetheless. The way semiotics can help is to call our attention to the fact that substantive interactions between humans and their environment involves the interpretation and creation of meaning over and above the transmission and reception of information. As a study of how meaning is made by "signs" (e.g. words, gestures, images, colors, juxtapositions, etc.), semiotics helps call our attention to everything in the interface and suggests ways to make these elements cohere and reenforce the messages and meanings we want the user to find and/or create.
To see how semiotic analysis does this, we'll consider two examples, both excerpts from texts by Umberto Eco, one of great figures in the development of literary semiotics. The first text is Eco's essay about Casablanca, and the second is an excerpt from Eco's provocative essay "How Culture Conditions the Colours We See." These texts show how a concern with semiotics can help you:
Teaching with Technology: Creating Student-Centered Classrooms, by Sandholtz, Ringstaff and Dwyer
We'll begin our discussion of the ACOT study, led by Xander's comments and questions (which were sent to the list last Friday).
For next time: Read Sandholtz, Ringstaff and Dwyer 1997, chapters 6-11.