WEEK 2 REFLECTION

This week we were required to participate in a Wiki regarding the use of mobile phones as an educational tool in schools. De Bono's six thinking hats were used as a framework for this discussion. In this post I will analyse the learning that was facilitated in this activity, connecting this to the learning theories which I discussed in my Week 1 post.

I think that this forum was most reflective of the Social Constructivism learning theory. Constructivists believe, "learners construct their own reality or at least interpret it based upon their perceptions of experiences, so an individual's knowledge is a function of one's prior experiences, mental structures, and beliefs that are used to interpret objects and events."
                                                                                                (Jonasson, 1991, cited in Mergel, 1998)

The ideas of this theory were clearly present in this activty. There were a number of differing opinions on the issue of using mobile phones in classroom. This is a result of each students' past experiences with mobile phones in schools and their own perceptions of the usefulness of mobile phones as a learning tool. Some people may have had very positive experiences while others may not have, therefore resulting in a wide range of responses.

This Wiki was very interactive in nature, a key characteristic of Social Constructivism. In this theory, learning is believed to be founded upon social interaction within a learning community. This was seen clearly in the Wiki activity. By interacting in the discussion, students may have gained new knowledge from fellow students which they would never have gained otherwise. For this reason, I feel that the mobile phones Wiki was a very useful learning experience.

I think that the knowledge that we can draw on from our fellow peers is very important and Wikis are a great forum in which this can occur. The only real negative I can see with a Wiki is that anyone can go in and edit a post which could lead to problems if not used appropriately. However, I still think the knowledge that can be gained outweighs any such negative. Wikis are a very interactive way of learning which is important in this day and age. The way in which this Wiki was set out was very organised (eg. section for the black hat, section for the red hat etc.). This made finding the information that you were looking for quite easy instead of having a whole heap of information all i one place.

I enjoyed this activity as I had never even heard of a Wiki before this course, let alone actually participate in one. I have enjoyed expanding my knowledge of ICT's again this week and would feel comfortable to use a Wiki again in the future.

References

Mergel, B. (1998). Instructional Design and Learning Theory. Retrieved from http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/mergel/brenda.htm#The%20Basics%20of%20Behaviorism