Reflections on Working in a Wiki

Well I really mucked this up the first time, see there is that ICT beginner stuff coming up again. The interesting thing was that after working with a friend who showed me where I had gone wrong the first time I had to put my answers to all the questions again as they were lost from my first effort, typical!.

This (essential) activity asks you to participate in the mobile phones wiki, using a thinking routine called De Bono's Six Thinking Hats. This is a very useful routine for both individual and group work that scaffolds a way to examine a range of perspectives on a contentious issue.

DeBono's hats, I came to understand is really an exercise in getting us as students to think from multiple or different perspectives:

Essentially as discussed because I did not understand really anything that I was doing I ended up in some respects doing this exercise  twice.  Not very clever of me I know, but it does show that whole ICT beginner stuff at its very best.

I have included both of my initial responses it is interesting how our responses to things change over a week! The Black Hat section asked the dangers that the use of mobile phones can present in a learning environment -

Entry (14/3/2013)

This would be a classic example of technology being a 'wicked' problem (Mischra and Kohler, 2010) . There are always dangers in introducing any new technology to a classroom particularly one that has the potential to be as interactive and difficult to control as mobile phones. It would be fine if you were able to constantly monitor what the student was doing but this may not always be practical in a classroom situation. Then there is always the problem of cyberbullying in the classroom and how it can be managed. The role of the teacher is to be a facilitator of the learning and to put in place structures in the learning process to minimize these problems but I would fear that for as many solutions that you would find there would no doubt be others that arise.

Entry (9/3/2013)

There are the obvious advantages of being able to access information freely and easily from a variety of sources. Then there is also the distraction factor.

I would agree with the statements that Nikki has made in respect of mobile phone usage in a classroom. Whilst others have stated that use of a mobile phone in the classroom would be a utilization of the TPACK model there are inherent problems in it. 

1.  As indicated by Katherine, the majority  of schools have a no mobile phone policy such that if the phones are used they will be confiscated or they have to be handed to the office at the beginning of the class or day etc.
2.  We always keep our mobile phones with us which kind of creates as double standard;
3.  There is now substantial research relating to the medical effects of mobile phone or other technology usage on children of a variety of ages. 

There is evidence of from Occupational Therapists to Pediatricians detailing concerns over the overuse of technology and studies indicating that it is affecting gross motor and fine motor development in children of multiple ages (KE Hatch - 2011) There is also evidence that video games which can be installed on mobile phones may increase aggressive behavior because violent acts are continually repeated throughout the video game (Gentile & Anderson, 2003) and this has been backed up by further studies and research as published by (Bushman & Anderson, 2002). As stated by the American Psychological Association daily overuse of media and technology has a negative effect on the health of all children, preteens and teenagers by making them more prone to anxiety, depression, and other psychological disorders, as well as by making them more susceptible to future health problems.

I guess the question is really does the good outweigh the bad particularly when there will be a variety of monitoring of usage happening outside the school environment. If co-ordination could happen to ensure that there was not overuse outside then perhaps the usage if correctly monitored could have advantages.

I guess the reality is that I have come to the same conclusions as before but from a slightly different angle.  I really stick with what I said on my most recent notes, this really is a 'wicked' problem and for every question we answer a multitude of others will then arise (Mishra & Koehler, 2008). 

In respect of our conclusions on the Blue Hat section we were really asked to look at where the technology is now and how it can be used in a beneficial manner. The absolute key that I found in this whole exercise was to look at the technology even though it sometimes frightens me was to look at what positives can it bring to my experience. Where I work we recently had the introduction of a new computer program that was supposed to be the best thing ever. Naturally enough it was not quite all that it was cracked up to be and I have experienced the good and bad of it because I have taken to using it more than the other professionals. I have been able to 'mentor' some of my colleagues not to make some of my mistakes in being too trusting of the program and still remember that the fundamentals will still apply.

I reflected back to my own school days of bags that were too heavy and some students were potentially left with back problems as a result. The previous week this idea had not occurred to me. It is amazing how when posed with different ideas like this De Bonos hats model to make us structure our thoughts but obviously as we construct our ideas we then deconstruct the ideas we had and begin to structure them in a different way. Is this not what Social Constructivism is really about? 

Obviously I will get onto in the later blog on Engagement Activity 4!!

 As teachers there is always information out there that can be frightening or indeed dangerous to students at times. Our job will be to facilitate learning in that safe environment. As you can see that at this time I really hated working in this Wiki. 

I found the scaffolding cumbersome and lacking in any type of explanation. This resulted in sheer frustration and I can say a great deal of self-contemplation about what on earth was I doing this all for. I can say that at the end whilst I still am not a fan I can see the purpose. This whole exercise has forced me, on an extreme level outside my comfort zone.

The thing is though is that not part of Social Constructivist learning in itself?

Bibliography:

Mishra and Koehler, 2008 quoted in Borko, H, Whitcomb, J & Liston, D: Wicked Problems and Other Thoughts on Issues of Technology and Teacher Learning;2009, Journal of Teacher Education, Vol 60, No 1, p4;
Bushman, C.A. and Anderson, B.J.:  Human Aggression: 2002, Annual Rev Psychol 2002, 53:27-51;

Anderson, C.A., Gentile, D. A and Buckley: Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents: Theory, Research and Policy (Book Review): Journal Youth Adolescense, 2009, 38: 483-485

 
Gentile, D. A  & Anderson, C.A., Violent Video Games: Public Policy and Implications: http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/~caa/abstracts/2005-2009/05GA2.pdf