A Multimodal Framework for Computer Mediated Learning: The Reshaping of Curriculum Knowledge and Learning



people who share a common object and purpose over time, the tools they share to act
on an object and realise that purpose (Russell, 2002).

The activity system is a flexible unit of analysis (theoretical lens),
which allows us to train our gaze in different directions and with
different levels of ‘magnification’ to help us answer the questions that
puzzle us.

(Russell, 2002: 67)

As shown in figure 2.1 activity systems have a subject engaged in activity.

Figure 2.1 An activity system (Engestrom, 1987)

In this thesis the subjects are school students and teachers, each of who is located
differently within the classroom. The object refers to the material for study or the
problem space that the students are working with and which they bring the tools to
bear on. In the example of computer mediated learning analysed in Chapter Four, for
example, the object is the construction of ‘character’ in the school English classroom.
The students (subjects) use the tools (the modal resources of the CD-ROM) to act on

53



More intriguing information

1. Human Resource Management Practices and Wage Dispersion in U.S. Establishments
2. Short report "About a rare cause of primary hyperparathyroidism"
3. ISSUES AND PROBLEMS OF IMMEDIATE CONCERN
4. Les freins culturels à l'adoption des IFRS en Europe : une analyse du cas français
5. The name is absent
6. El impacto espacial de las economías de aglomeración y su efecto sobre la estructura urbana.El caso de la industria en Barcelona, 1986-1996
7. The name is absent
8. American trade policy towards Sub Saharan Africa –- a meta analysis of AGOA
9. Behaviour-based Knowledge Systems: An Epigenetic Path from Behaviour to Knowledge
10. Studying How E-Markets Evaluation Can Enhance Trust in Virtual Business Communities