Phone debate - Six thinking hats

The idea that these learning theories are out there and are compulsory knowledge for graduating teachers intrigues me. Personally I never liked high school nor did I do very well. It is difficult for me to believe that my teachers trialed any of the digital pedagogy ideas in class, well perhaps they did, but I had deemed it lame and continued to scratch “Pearl Jam” into the desk with my compass. The purpose of the Wiki activity succeeded greatly for me. Having an idea on where I stood regarding the mobile phone debate it was interesting processing other people’s opinions in a reflective state. Meaning, I was allowed to hear others opinions without having to debate or make my stance clear. I sifted through opinions and extracted fragments that engaged me. Overall the Wiki was easy to navigate and a pretty simple activity but the sharing of thoughts and instant access to differing opinions made my reflection process further informed. Instead of having a thought and noting a few dot points to support it we were given a greater range of opinions which swayed and solidified my opinion. The uncomplicated design and purpose of this Wiki was a success.

The SAMR theory is used well with the Wiki exercise as I believe it falls within the “redefinition” heading. Having the Wiki accessible at all times with a constantly growing community of opinions it truly is technology allowing for the creation of new tasks. Bloom’s cognitive taxonomy goes hand in hand with de Bono’s six hats. We were asked to look from all angles regarding phones in class encouraging evaluation, comprehension, knowledge, analysis, application and synthesis. Digital pedagogy is supported through facilitating higher order thinking, collaborating with conversation and learning situated in real life context. This Wiki activity, by no mistake I’m sure, fully adheres to all our recently learnt theories and is a great example for future teachers.

The purpose of scaffolding the task regarding six hats in the debate of mobile phones supports the students to stay on task whilst having the freedom to create personal opinions and to evaluate their own and others opinions. Once the scaffold is removed and the student appreciates their work standing unsupported they may gain a sense of confidence. This is a valuable tool in future learning.