Elementary School Students' Perceptions of Technology in their Pictorial Representations

Abstract

The current study aimed to reveal elementary school students’ perceptions of technology through their pictorial representations and their written expressions based on their pictorial representations. Content analysis based on the qualitative research method along with art-based inquiry was applied. The “coding system for the concepts revealed from the research data” was implemented. Visual language used in pictorial representations produce messages, with its specialized codes. The degree of students to understand and explain their perception on technology composes the visual codes in this research. The study carried out with fifth-grade elementary school students was applied to a class of 28 students. The elementary school students participating in the present study had diverse perceptions of today’s technology, and most of their perceptions of technology were based on computer and electronic household appliances. Some students’ perceptions of technology were based on the Internet and mobile device technologies. Their perceived future technology was observed as human-computer interaction in the area of computer technology. Findings were discussed followed by relevant implications