A SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF YOUNG CHILDRENS SYMBOL MAKING IN A CLASSROOM COMPUTER-CENTER

USING SEMIOTIC analysis, the author investigated the production and us e of young children's symbol making on the computer in a kindergarten classroom. The following questions were addressed: What types of compu ter-generated symbols do kindergartners use? What do tile symbols mean to the children? How do the children assign meaning to symbols within the cultural context of the computer center? How do kindergartners le arn to use the various media tools available in a word anti art proces sing program to produce symbols? Data for the ethnographic study inclu ded field notes, video- and audiotapes of whole-class computer activit ies and child!en's computer center activities, interviews with childre n and the reacher about their computer-related activities, and printou ts of children's work on the computer. A semiotic analysis of data led the author to use the metaphor of screenland to describe children's s tances toward their work. From this perspective, children viewed the c omputer as a land to be entered for various purposes that included pla ying in screenland, creating art in screenland, anti writing in screen land. These stances were shaped by children's emerging understanding o f the purposes and forms of language, arts, and multimedia and influen ced the types of symbols they generated. Furthermore, findings suggest that as these children emerged as users of symbols they also learned how to discover and express meaning. Support is given for a continued expansion of the definition of young children's literacy and literacy development to include multiple modes.