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Spatial Issues
Spatial Issues 2
Substance & Form
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Spatial Issues
Spatial issues arise in relation to many aspects of ICT
- increasing quantities of visual information and products in classrooms
- the size of computer generated products such as projected presentation and
poster sized PowerPoint print outs
- increasingly visual workspaces (screens...)
- the location of ICT devices within/near classrooms
- the orientation of activity that follows the location and orientation of
the devices
Visual experience and learning preferences
- the screen, keyboard and mouse mat are all spaces in which things have to
be manipulated, that is, the multimedia 'workspace' provided for users is
increasing spatial
- the incorporation of ICT into class programs is changing the balance
between visual and auditory information processing, almost certainly
favouring visual learners who were once less favoured in the more text,
language based classrooms of the past
Location and orientation
And then there are the issues of locating and orienting the technology within
the room. Technology is embedded in devices and the devices need to be located
where students can have access. Thus the use of ICT relocates activities in
order to use the devices: this relocation tends to be towards the periphery of
the classroom (or beyond). Similarly the orientation of the devices tend
to 'take the users away' from the class and classroom.
Thus locations and orientations have implications
- devices consume space that could be used for other purposes: an issue for
larger classes in smaller rooms
- devices are often located so that they can be to be related to the
services they require (power supply, connections...) forcing compromises in
working arrangements
- devices have their own orientation which in turn may orient the users, eg,
computers facing into a room orient the users to face away from the room
leading to potential benefits and difficulties in terms of
- there may be less distraction for the users (+) but
- attention to the class is restricted (-) which can lead to uncertainty
and communication difficulties (-)
- the relationship between the student (using a computer) and the class
is often ambiguous (-)
- teachers can monitor the computer use while working with the
class (+)
- teachers are less able to monitor the class while providing assistance
to students using the computer (-)
- the outputs (visual and or auditory) of devices may compete with purposes
of other people in adjacent locations
- computers in classrooms are often aligned (along a wall) because students
using computers frequently need assistance that may well be provided by the
student using the next machine
- alignment of computers along a classroom wall (often because of services,
or available space) may lead to difficulties with reflection from windows in
the opposite wall
Consider the following 'similar' arrangements of computers in the same
classroom:
Alignment of adjacent screens and users' orientation
facilitates collaboration but introduces problems with reflection... |
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...while lack of alignment of adjacent screens and users'
orientation reduces the potential for collaboration but solves the
reflection problem |
Many of the difficulties faced by teachers and their classes have their
origins in decisions made in previous times for other purposes.
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