Thought-Provoking Software: Juxtaposing Symbol Systems

Abstract

An existing class of software meets the following criteria. It is deliberately designed to juxtapose two or more symbol systems in a way that encourages users to consciously move back and forth between the systems with a view to promoting insight and understanding. The symbol systems and the content must allow for translation with some degree of correspondence between the systems (as in graphs and equations). This software is deliberately designed to create rich, social encounters in which symbol systems are used and discussed. These encounters can take place in small groups in the presence of the computer or be created through more distal effects on larger social units such as the classroom. The content ought to be deliberately chosen so as to provide the broadest possible utility and value within the social system. Finally, this software should be designed to encourage users to generate new forms of knowledge and translate these forms from one symbol to another. This kind of software currently exists; additional software of this kind is being developed. The use of microcomputers to enrich metacognitive awareness, social awareness, and competence in culturally valued productive symbol systems ought to have the highest claim on this precious resource in schools and homes.