Visual Analysis of Smart Classrooms Graphic Metaphor - 'The Rocket Ship' Text

Abstract

The presentation provides a visual analysis of 'The Rocket Ship metaphor' used in Education Queensland's Smart Classrooms strategy aimed at enhancing and transforming learning with ICT in Queensland's state schooling system. The importance of the 'The Rocket Ship' is that it was designed "to help communicate to the various groups that they actually all need to pull together in order to pull off what it is that we are after under Smart Classrooms" (Eden, 2007). The visual analysis investigated: What is the purpose of the text and who is the intended audience? Who should be the major audience and how does this affect the purpose of the text? In terms of visual design does the text achieve this purpose in relation to the major audience? What discourses have been made transparent within this process of interpretation and consequently production? From this analysis, implications surrounding visual design are identified, in order to influence and inform future graphic metaphors which might be produced by Education Queensland to promote ICT initiatives in schools.