Hello darlings,
Here I am back, nose to the grindstone again with more thrilling insights for you! Up for discussion today: mobile phone use in the classroom and wiki forums.
To begin with here are my De Bono’s Thinking Hat thoughts on the use, or possible use, of mobile phones in the classroom.
Black Hat (negative) – not all students may have phones with the same capabilities so would standard phone be provided by the schools? Also how would behaviours such as bullying or looking at/sharing inappropriate content be monitored?
Blue Hat (process) – currently mobile phones are seen as the bane of every teacher’s existence and their use is hard to police in classrooms. However, it may only be a matter of time before they are incorporated into classrooms. It was not long ago that mp3 players weren’t permitted during classes and now they are commonly used, if not encouraged.
Green Hat (creativity) – it would be quick and easy to include mobile phones into lessons, some ideas are below but the list is almost limitless.
- · Using calendar features to provide assessment dates.
- · Sharing information with the class such as videos or pictures.
- · Reminding students of due dates with whole class text messaging.
Red Hat (intuitive) – while it would take some time to establish and much initial policing from teachers and parents incorporating mobile phones into the classroom is inevitable. There are so many possible uses and benefits from this technology that it can’t be ignored any longer.
Yellow Hat (positive) – for most teenagers, their mobile phone is almost an extension of their hand and they are almost never without it. By using this technology within the classroom or as a means of communicating with them we are engaging with them on their level and I feel that (if used correctly) the positive results would be evident.
White Hat (objective) – we know that most students have mobile phones and we also know that there is a large range of cheap mobile phones available that we could use to provide standard phones to a whole class (similar to how many classes are provided with lap top computers).
I think that the wiki forum is linked closely with constructivism (the theory that humans generate knowledge through interaction with their experiences and ideas) and connectivism (the theory that knowledge exists out in the world rather than in the head of the individual). The wiki allows us to share knowledge of our experiences and opinions and then also gain knowledge from others through their contributions. My experience of the wiki has been through individual and group contributions and this has led me to believe that a wiki forum provides opportunities for the sharing of information and the development of individual knowledge.
Wiki forums could be easily incorporated into classroom activities and it would allow students to share their ideas and opinions. It would be especially useful in group activities so that students who are not at school during a class can still participate and contribute. Also the opportunity for students to use technology and for them to feel that they are contributing information to the internet would make the lesson or activity far more engaging as students could see that their input has an affect outside of the school environment. However the activity should be tailored to the needs of the specific contingent as work can be easily lost when others are editing the page and detailed instructions may be needed, often it may not be enough to go over the information just once.
I’m going to go back to waiting for my mail man now; he’s overdue with a shoe delivery for me!
Stay tuned.
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