Reflection on Wiki activity regarding the use of mobile phones in the classroom

I thoroughly enjoyed this wiki activity, even though I had gone into with quite a negative attitude, thinking that I would find it very difficult. The scaffolding via De Bono's 6 thinking hats and the direct questions to answer, made it much easier for me to work out what was required of me throughout this activity.  It was the first time I have ever been involved in an online collaborative learning exercise, and with it being such a positive experience, I am already thinking of ways that I could utilise this learning tool into my classroom. 

The wiki forum is a great example of a learning situation where all the learning theories are utilised at one point or another.  reflective predominantly of the constructivist learning theory in my opinion, although all other theories were utilised at least to some extent.

 Learning Theories
1. Behaviourism - reinforcement of learning with rewards, learning through practice, repetition and revising
2. Cognitivism - new experiences/learning build on prior knowledge and are added to the person's schema in order to understand the new knowledge
3. Constructivism - learning via social interaction and collaboration
4. Connectivism - focus in learning is on digital technologies

The wiki was a very social and interactive forum, with everyone's answers being able to be viewed and commented upon, which is clearly constructivist theory.  The collaborative nature of the exercise, made me look at the issue from perspectives I would not normally have considered valid.   Likewise, connectivism theory was apparent as the exercise was performed in a wiki which is a digital technology.  Behaviourist theory also came into play, as I felt rewarded for my efforts when I was able to successfully post and save to the wiki, and thus felt motivated to continue with the exercise. The practice from doing multiple hats also worked well to reinforce this new skill.  Cognitivist theory was also at work, as initially this was a very new experience for me, so I had to consider my prior knowledge before I could edit and save my posts.  Once I had successfully edited and saved my first post, the later posts were then much easier for me, which is also an example of behaviourism at work (practice, practice, practice).


In week 1 of PCK we learnt that there are five standards for effective pedagogy
1. Teachers and learners working together
2. Developing language and literacy skills across all curriculum
3. Connecting lessons to learners lives
4. Engaging learners with challenging lessons
5. Emphasising dialogue over lectures

Utilising the wiki for this exercise, was in my opinion, a fantastic example of effective pedagogy.  The teacher set the context for the learning experience, and provided a clear format and scaffolding questions to direct the student's learning experience.  However, all of the content generated was developed by the students in a collaborative fashion.  The teacher can access the student's learning at any point in time by logging on to the wiki and reading the students comments.  That way, if anyone was going off topic or misunderstanding the exercise, further direction could be provided to ensure the required knowledge is learned.

In a classroom setting, utilising a wiki would further develop students language and literacy skills, but in this particular context with this particular group of learners, I'm not sure that this standard would be being addressed through the course of this exercise.

The choice of topic was clearly an issue that people had some prior knowledge of, and had quite strong feelings about, either for or against, so the connection to learner's lives was certainly present.  I think this standard is particularly important when designing lesson plans, as the more relevant the material is to the student, the more likely they are to engage with it.

The wiki exercise was challenging for a novice wiki user such as myself, but there was adequate scaffolding provided so that I felt prepared to tackle the challenge.  Without this scaffolding via deBono's thinking hats and the direct questioning, I know I would have struggled with this exericse.  Because of the challenging nature of the material, there was a degree of satisfaction at completing the task.  I believe that student's need to feel challenged by the learning material, as this is the way that knowledge is expanded, and it also instils a sense of pride in the student when they realise they can do it.

There was no lecture at all with this exericse, just simple, clear directions and then it was up to the student's to get on with the task.  The collaborative nature of the exercise reduced the requirement for teacher input, as the student's discussed the issue amongst themselves, through the course of responding in the wiki.


Four major dimensions of pedagogy:
1. Intellectual Quality - higher order thinking, deep knowledge, deep understanding, substantive conversations, knowledge as problematic, metalanguage.
2. Connectedness - knowledge integration, background knowledge, connectedness to the world, problem based curriculum.
3. Supportive classroom environments - student direction, social support, academic engagement, explicit quality performance criteria, self-regulation.
4. Recognition of difference - Cultural knowledge, inclusivity, narrative, group identity, active citizenship.

The design of this lesson was very authentic, in that the primary aim of the exercise was to learn to utilise a wiki, but instead of just looking at one, or reading about how to use one, we actually contributed to the wiki ourselves, which certainly for someone with my learning style (mostly active) is a far better way for me to learn.  Because there was active engagement by all students in a very vigorous discussion,  intellectual quality was maintained.

Connectedness was definitely achieved, as the issue being discussed was an authentic real life problem being discussed and debated in schools today.

This exercise definitely had a supportive vibe about it.  No one belittled or trivialised anyone else's ideas or thoughts. The students themselves directed the learning experience by their contributions to the wiki, and they were self regulating by using the appropriate language and etiquette.

The recognition of difference dimension was also established, as all students were included and were able to contribute their own thoughts and ideas on the issue, whilst being respectful towards other viewpoints.  I also felt a sense of community evolving between this group of  `soon to be' teachers, as everyone involved in the exercise obviously took it seriously, and is committed to their course of study.

Conclusion

This learning experience was highly beneficial, as it introduced me to a new form of digital technology and gave me time to rehearse within it, so that I became familiar with it.  I particularly enjoyed the collaborative nature of the wiki, and have been thinking about how I can utilise this technology in the classroom.  I understand that there is no point in using a wiki just for the sake of it - an authentic learning experience must be the result.  Education Queensland identifies digital pedagogy as being "a new way of working and learning with ICT to facilitate quality learning experiences for 21st century learners. Digital pedagogy moves the focus from ICT tools and skills, to a way of working in the digital world". (p.3)  The 21st century learner wants to collaborate with others when learning new knowledge, and the wiki could be a very useful tool in the classroom for this purpose.  Very explicit protocol standards would need to be in place when using a wiki in the classroom, to ensure that the supportive learning environment is maintained and hopefully even strengthened when using this technology.  Correct language and etiquette would need to be rehearsed and monitored closely to ensure students feel `safe' about contributing their thoughts and ideas.