Blog reflection on wiki activity

There will on certain levels be elements of all of these learning theories involved in this activity.

Behaviourism is really looking at conditioning training. We use it to train animals all the time, as a horse rider we call it pressure/release training. Dressage training is really looks like we teach a horse to dance but is also more than that as it is abit like yoga for horses.

All of the movements are natural but they are refined. Pavlov was not the first animal trainer to have reflected upon the use of classical conditioning techniques  as this type of training had been refined in equestrian training since the days of the Greek philosopher Xenophon in the 4th Century BC when he wrote "the Art of Horsemanship". 

There were even earlier examples of Hittite texts dating back to 1360BC  translation of Kikkuli,  a master horse trainer and author of a  chariot horse training text written in the Hittite language, dating to the Hittite New Kingdom, (Bedřich (Friedrich) Hrozn,1931). Pavlov may has been the first to consider conditioning training from a purely psychological perspective relating to people because essentially we are simply, an animal, but he certainly did not invent conditioned responses he merely continued to refine it.

Horses are essentially a prey animal therefore to teach a horse to run into battle with people screaming, trying to kill them and attacking them was a 'conditioned' response and through the centuries, cavalry trainers have been aware of this fact. Some examples of this were Antoine de Pluvinel (1552–1620) and later François Robichon de La Guérinière (1688–1751) (Karl, 2009). The modern sport of dressage is essentially derived from the movements that were trained in the cavalry to allow a horse and rider to work as an absolute team but to assume that there is not substantial training that goes into this is naive. However a purely behaviorist model does not account for the aspects of the training that go outside the model. An example of this is horse that are trained for combat in the cavalry, there is conditioning training that controls the response that the horses give so that they do not go purely on fear, but also there are responses that go outside this:

As students by following the sequential elements of this designed working structure we were conditioned to follow the course, to go to the wiki and hopefully meander their way around until they worked out how it all worked or in my case initially did not work it out. But as indicated some of the problems with a purely behaviorist approach is that it does not really allow for expression and experimentation outside of the ambit of the structured behaviour. So what happened when we just worked it out. This is what happened for me after being pointed in the right direction by Kris, so therefore it does not really follow that this engagement is behaviorist as it only leads you part of the way to the desired response.

I would reflect that Congnitivist behaviour really assumes that the fundamentals of knowledge are already present by the age of 12. After that, we are really simply apply the knowledge that we have already acquired during that earlier time period to throw us off our equilibrium until we reach a new equilibrium. I can see aspects of this here however it was the assistance of the adult who was familiar with the design and use of the program who was able to instruct be into the correct areas so that I did not make the same errors as before.

Clearly under my own level of knowledge, in 1982, when I was 12 years old, computers themselves were only in their infancy and the idea of a blog or a wiki were barely even considered in science fiction writing. Therefore I cannot see how this learning theory  would apply to this example. The structure of the wiki did give some indications as to what to do and perhaps if I was the younger generation then this would apply but clearly this was not the case for me. With the greatest respect of Piaget this idea really does not apply to generational change especially in a modern society where technology changes the tools that we can use to such a dramatic extent.

Therefore in my opinion Constructivism is probably more applicable to this engagement as it was with the assistance of Kris, that I was able to negotiate the wiki where I had failed in the past. Obviously the engagement was bound up in our existing knowledge but it was the expansion of that and construction of having us essentially 'get lost' and then have to seek help that we were able to construct our knowledge into a new manner. I will reflect that this is similar to my first experiences with learning to use emails back in the late 1980's at university, it was frightening and occasionally embarrassing especially when we sent multiple emails to unintended recipients but we certainly made sure we never made that mistake again. 

So why use Wiki's? They are a really useful tool for on-line collaboration and now that I have been introduced to them I would consider using them in a number of formats. I have even considered how they could be used from a legal professional perspective in the drafting of contracts, agreements and orders.  

There are many times in many aspects of professional and educational life that effectively 'drafts' are used, adjusted and perfected prior to the finalised version being used. 

From the perspective of a law firm this is an issue that comes up again and again and clients become continually frustrated at delays. Like everyone these days they want things to happen at breakneck speed and get annoyed when this does not happen. This is law is really par for the course or does it not have to be !!!

Now that I have considered the various aspects of Wiki's there is really much greater ability for collaboration than is actually being used. Perhaps it is time for law firms to embrace this technology and make use of this skill.

From a classroom perspective as Solomon and Scrum, 2010 state, "Wiki's are effective tools for collaborative learning". But they can be more than that. As I have raised in my wiki in the Legal Studies Curriculum there has previously been the strong ability and indeed encouragement of the Queensland Studies Authority to use role playing as an assessment tool (QSA, 2007 Syllabus). Unfortunately there does not seem to be an overwhelming take up of this aspect of assessment. 

Alternative Dispute Resolution, as an assessment or teaching tool would be useful on a number of levels. The ways that it could be incorporated into a school are essentially endless. The courts have recognized the benefits of ADR and it has become a crucial aspects of all court institutions.  I have included into my wiki a number of pages detailing the use of ADR, what is involved and methods of using it as a teaching tool in schools. I have also included pages detailing exactly what an ADR is: - So what is an ADR? and importantly  What happens at an ADR? Hopefully these can be examined and perhaps be useful to teachers. I have also created a project page in my wiki about teaching ADR in schools and would welcome comments elaborations and discussions of this issue. There is also added into this space some ideas as to Mediation in Schools and Mediation competitions that exist in Australia. At the very least it might give teachers some ideas and directions to go in with respect of this area.

With the collaborative abilities of a Wiki, a teacher could track what work a student is actually doing and the Wiki group could just be the student and the teacher. This would give the teacher the power to see and make notes on the 'Drafts' of a students work, because previous versions of the documents are able to be viewed and considered by the teacher (Solomon and Scrum, 2010, pp139-140). As I have also detailed above it give also the ability to disperse knowledge to members whilst also allowing collaboration. 

Teachers know that collaborative learning is a valuable tool both inside the classroom environment but also in the setting of tasks to be completed as part of homework and assignments. Teachers feel for students who have the misfortune to have to collaborate with a student who simply does not hold up their end of the workload. The revision aspects of a Wiki allows teachers to clearly see who has actually contributed and who has not (Solomon and Scrum, 2010, p140). This is itself also makes a wonderful assessment task. 

Again though as discussed the editing abilities of a Wiki like those of a Blog are limited. I have as previously discussed found the editing abilities of the Blog itself to be frustrating. I have however now discovered that Microsoft Office actually has a template when you create a new Word document called 'blog post'. It is likely that future versions of Microsoft Office will also include variations upon this for things like Wiki's so that we can use the word processing abilities of Word but the collaborative elements of a Wiki. 

I can actually state that the more that I used this tool the more I enjoyed it. It allowed me to explore creative elements that I had neglected for years.

Bibliography:

Bedřich Hrozný: Re-Discovery of the Hittite Language: http://www.radio.cz/en/section/czechs/bedrich-hrozny-re-discoverer-of-the-hittite-language

Karl, P: The Art of Riding; 2010, 2nd Edition, Cadmos Books. 

Russell, Eleanor."The Truth in Teaching of Nuno Oliveira". Referenced 5/16/08.

Solomon, G and Scrum, L: Web 2.0: How to for Educators;2010 Hawker Brownlow Education;