Abstract
Trends in digital technologies and new social practices are calling for innovative models of learning in education. A recent development in the learning sciences, which conceptualises learning activity as networked learning, can offer deeper insight into how digital learning spaces influence the ensuing activity of learners. The networked approach coupled with social semiotics is applied in the analysis of Peep – a computer-based platform with social networking features that supports an undergraduate design course. This article illustrates how the networked learning approach and social semiotics reveal elements of the platform that enable design learning and foster social connections amongst students and lecturers. The article also examines the distribution of students’ activity and changes in their patterns of interaction over time. Published : 3 April 2018 Citation : Research in Learning Technology 2018, 26 : 2006 - http://dx.doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v26.2006
Highlights
Design programmes of study often involve students’ engagement with different modes of representation, such as visual, verbal and kinaesthetic (D’Souza, Yoon, and Islam 2011) as well as interactions with peers, teachers and professionals
Before introducing key concepts of social semiotics that grounded our analysis, we offer an overview of the web-based platform of Peep and the background context of this research
Compositional meanings relate to how information is distributed, and the relative emphasis placed on different elements in a text or image. These concepts are often used to interpret already produced semiotic texts, but we find them useful to theorise about the types of structures, resources and meanings that design students are dealing with – learning about – as they interact with the code editor and use programming as a tool to design
Summary
Design programmes of study often involve students’ engagement with different modes of representation, such as visual, verbal and kinaesthetic (D’Souza, Yoon, and Islam 2011) as well as interactions with peers, teachers and professionals. Teaching and learning practices in design education often adopt the design studio model as a way to offer students a space for creative exploration. Design studios shape future designers’ practices through face-to-face encounters with instructors and peers, encouraging master–apprentice type of interaction (Cennamo and Brandt 2012; Schön 1987). Design studios are a social space, where the academic and professional cultures meet, and where students are nurtured in the realities of a profession – a protected space for community-oriented design practices (Barab and Duffy 2000; Cennamo and Brandt 2012). Students’ skills and knowledge, their social connections and their perceptions of legitimate design practices (Carvalho, Dong, and Maton 2009) will together form the basis for their own future knowledge creations as designers
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
