Affordances and The Ecological Turn

The important point about affordances is simply that the term ‘affordances’ (which is based on Gibson) gives us a framework to analyse the interaction between the learner and the resources they interact with (people, materials, media), as a ‘micro-ecology’.  These micro-ecologies in turn interact with larger social, cultural and professional ecologies (or ‘discourses’, a la Foucault).  Put all this together, and you have a fairly comprehensive framework for analysing the ongoing dynamic of the way in which the learner creates, manages and presents their own identity/identities.  There is a full paper available on request on this topic, and the Abstract and Conclusion might provide some idea as to what it is all about…  

Abstract

New media and new uses of media in teaching and learning inevitably develop into new practices.  So we need to find new words, concepts and theories to describe and analyse them.  The notion of ‘affordances’ has been borrowed from evolutionary psychology, and many authors have used it to engage with new practices involving new media.  The result has been interesting but somewhat unsystematic.  This  ‘borrowing’ is part of an increasing trend to work across disciplines, particularly disciplines in ecology and evolution, as both have been brought to the fore by the urgency that faces us to find solutions to ecological crises.  Gibson’s work on affordances is quite radical, which makes it both interesting and controversial.  In this paper the key issues in his work will be revisited, partly as a response to Derry’s recent article on the subject.  This paper will try to consolidate the value of the ‘ecological turn’ that Gibson’s work has stimulated, while resolving some of the apparent contradictions that the idea of ‘direct perception’ (of affordances) has raised. …………..

Conclusion

We need, as always,  to build on and to progress beyond the insights of our intellectual heritage, and Derry has usefully identified some of the seemingly unresolved issues in Gibson’s writing, as well as some of the current uses of the term ‘affordance’ which amount to little more than the now discredited ‘technological determinism’ of ‘media effects’ debates of the 60’s and 70’s.  We need to keep the ecological thrust of Gibson’s work, namely the idea of an affordance as the product of an interaction between the organism and the environment. We can then link this to a rigorous semiotic epistemology, including an understanding of science and formalised knowledge as an exceptional semiotic, to arrive at a more nuanced, richer concept of an affordance as the product of the interaction between the person and the environment, in which each interaction potentially alters the knowledge, capacity and identity of the person, as well as the (micro-) environment.   Within a rigorous semiotic epistemology, as well as a rigorous ecological epistemology within the framework of complexity theory, these interactions will, of course, be seen to be social, normative and ecological, and will be informed by, and even ‘infused’ in part by, all the most powerful semiotics, including science, the arts, religion and globalised finance, some of which are based on ‘reason’.  

Narratives and Biographies

There are a number of different ways to use narratives for researching and exploring affordances in learning.

In the Affordances project, we are focusing on ‘retrospective coherence’, in line with complexity theory, which states that ’complex’ events  are best described retrospectively, as you dont know, and cant know, exactly how they will pan out – they just arent that ’predictable’.

However, there is some interesting research that does work more ‘prospectively’, and here is a useful resource to explore just that, and to focus in more on biographies rather than on learning per se….

From Margaret Volante, at Surrey:

If you are interested in using narrative interviews in social research, you can get a sense of it by asking for a free electronic copy of the updated version of the ‘Guide to Biographic Narrative Interpretive Method’ . Write directly to Tom Wengraf, indicating your institutional affiliation and what you might use such narrative interviews for.  He will then send you the updated current version right back. With a full bibliography, it complements and takes further his 2001 textbook ‘Qualitative research interviewing: biographic narrative and semi-structured method’ (Sage). His address for a free copy is   tom@tomwengraf.com.  

Affordances, not!

There is a joke going the rounds about email and tomatoes, which is quite interesting.

Its amusing, which is always a good thing, but is also a useful example of the fact that many, if not most affordances are double edged swords: they can enhance or impede your ‘knowledge, capacity and identity’.  It can go either way, and particularly with the rate of techological change, and the agressive marketing of the ‘next’ gadget for all you early adopters out there, one just has to be a bit wary.  

The punch line in this story is that you can exploit some affordances by shutting down others.  

Jobless Man  A jobless man applied for the position of “office boy” at Microsoft.The HR manager interviewed him then watched him cleaning the floorAs a test. “You are employed” he said. “Give me your e‑mail address andI’ll  send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you maystart”. The man replied “But I don’t have a computer, neither an email.”

“I’m sorry”, said the HR manager, “If you don’t have an email, that means you do not exist. And who doesn’t exist, cannot have the job.”

 The man left with no hope at all. He didn’t know what to do, with only $10 in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket andbuy a 10Kg tomato crate. He then sold the tomatoes in a door to doorround. In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his capital. Herepeated the operation three times, and returned home with $60. The man realized that he can survive by this way, and started to go everyday earlier, and return late. Thus, his money doubled ortripled everyday. 

Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, then he had his own fleet of  delivery vehicles. 5 years later, the man is one of the biggest food retailers in the US. He started to plan his family’s future, and decided to have a life insurance. He called an insurance broker, and chose a  protection plan. When the conversation was concluded, the broker asked him. The man replied, “I don’t have an email “. The broker answered curiously, “You don’t have an email, and yet have succeeded to build an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an email?!!”  

The man thought for a while and replied, ” Yes, I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!” 

Moral of the story

M1‑ Internet /email is not the solution to your life.

M2 ‑ If you don’t have internet / email , and work hard, you can be a millionaire.

M3 ‑ If you received this message by email, you are probably already an office boy/girl, and not any close to being a Billionaire… 

Have a great day !!! P.S ‑ Do not forward this email back to me, I’ m closing my email &Going to sell tomatoes!!! _______________________________________