Week Two...

Mobile Phone Wiki Activity

Social constructivism was the learning theory behind this weeks activity. Students were asked to participate and address an authentic debate 'What do you think about mobile phones in the classroom?'. Wiki was selected as the platform for the deliberation, using De Bono's Hats scaffolding. Each learner was asked to select one of the directions used in this teaching strategy.

De Bono's scaffold proved to be a successful method to maximise the problem-based learning in the activity. Challenging students to look at the topic in the 6 different categories enhanced our higher order of thinking skills. It gave an insight of diverse opinions which I had not considered. Contemplating other solutions and perspectives was beneficial in this dialogue. Comparing our thought process to Bloom's Taxonomy, as a collective we were able to achieve HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills).

Having not been familiar with Wiki classrooms before this activity, I was able to apply the new knowledge I have gained, cooperatively we were able to analyse and compare opinions, synthesis and combine viewpoints, then later reflect and evaluate through our blog. Alternatively, considering the levels of thinking to the SOLO Taxonomy the group were able to reach an extended abstract level of comprehension. 

Collaboration of learning was achieved through the platform of Wikispaces. Additionally as a collective group we were able to creatively source and invent solutions to a genuine topic. The Wiki classroom designed for this activity achieved a favourable outcome. All students participated and a multitude of opinions/strategies were compiled. So much so, that we were running out of room!

"According to Vygotsky, this type of social interaction involving co-operative or collaborative dialogue promotes cognitive development."

"...learners move beyond what is already known through the support of others, to construct new knowledge."

Terry Anderson suggests;

"...without a range of perspectives, analysis was neither feasible nor robust."

The result of this discussion was learner generated content in an online forum. The learning process was made easier as a result of the design and concepts of the activity. Thoughts were shared effectively without judgement or criticism. An excerpt I read this week from the Productive Pedagogies reading I found to be inspiring and encouraging;

This exercise reflected these points. Using Wikispaces when teaching would be an affective tool. It aids virtual teamwork and opinions in an encouraging format. Active learning is promoted in this platform and teachers can view changes and participation. Personally my experience with Wikispaces was positive. The technology was user-friendly and clear to navigate and De Bono's scaffolding is a fantastic instrument to view a range of perspectives. Students developed an open communication, which was enhanced by the Thinking Hats technique. Overall I found the task to be best summed up using an extract from this weeks reading material;

"After all, good pedagogy is good pedagogy. The principles are all the same - authentic context, problem-based learning, deep understanding and higher order thinking, collaboration for learning, and the creative and inventive solution to the problem that addresses real-world problem posed."

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=7957
http://www.angelamaiers.com/2009/03/it-was-1956-when-benjamin-bloom-created-this-taxonomy-for-categorizing-levels-of-learning-and-understanding-it-has-provided.html
http://teaching.unsw.edu.au/aligning-assessment-learning-outcomes
http://www.slideshare.net/GerryC/productive-pedagogies