end of 2001 99 percent of secondary schools, 96 percent of primary schools, and 97
percent of special schools were connected to the internet (Somekh, 2001a). There is,
however, plenty of evidence that schools find it problematic to incorporate ICT into
the curriculum. For instance, OFSTED reports indicate that Information Technology
is the weakest national curriculum subject. The most frequent use of new technology
in both primary and secondary schools is for word processing, producing ‘smart-
looking’ copies of writing - often for display (Harrison et. al, 2001).
The initial enthusiasm for the use of information and communication technology to
enhance student learning has been moderated by the effects of the complex issues that
have arisen for the effective use of this technology in schools. The usual approach of
transposing existing pedagogic practices into a context where new technologies are
used has (once again) proved to be inadequate. Research into the attitude and skills of
teachers to the integration of ICT has found that some teachers have little confidence,
skills, and limited access to resources in relation to new technologies (e.g. Cox 1997).
Against this backdrop new technologies are usually fitted into old frameworks for
learning in the classroom, they are confined to the relatively superficial, and they are
bolted-on to lessons (Becta, 1998; Crook, 1999). Amongst teachers there appears to
be a level of uncertainty about their role in the classroom in relation to technology-
mediated learning and the majority adopt the role of classroom manager or withdraw
(Noss, 1991). Beyond accessing 'information' there appears to be no real sense of
how new technologies transform (or might transform) schooled knowledge and
learning.
In this thesis I argue that there is a need to understand better how the multimodal
semiotic potentials of information and communication technologies mediate learning
in general and how these can transform the condition of school learning. This thesis
will contribute to developing answers to this question by providing a clearer sense of
how the multimodal resources of new technologies reshape curriculum knowledge
and practices, as well as the issues that this raises for learning.
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