ASSESSMENT 1 REFLECTION

http://www.fun2video.com/tag/funny-mobile/

 

If I had to choose one line or statement which emphasizes this week's readings, it would be that teaching is not a linear process.  To expand upon this, educating is not as simple as just introducing the content and working in a linear way to achieve the result.  With a world that is ever changing our teaching methods and the technology we use, ultimately defy who we are as teachers.  This is the beauty of teaching, we may the learn the same content in this degree but it is how we apply this content to a real world setting which makes us all individuals.  It not only technology which changes but also our perspectives on that technology.  I think one stigma which I got from discussing with various people is that many you are a bad teacher if you do not use “up to date” forms of technology.  My response to that was to open your eyes a bit more and stop thinking so narrow minded.  Just because a school does not have an interactive white board does not mean the curriculum taught there is any worse than a school that does have one.  Many prominent universities in the US and England still uses a black board, does this mean that they have a poor pedagogy.  NO it does not, it just proves that there idea of pedagogy is simply different to yours.  As a teacher I will try and engage my students as much as possible but I also am realistic and realize that not every lesson is going to be a technological bonanza because at what point is too much technology are disadvantage? This question is something I asked myself when completing the mobile phone wiki and the application of the insightful DE BONO HATS.

 
Before I discuss the actual content whilst completing the wiki, I think it is important to briefly discuss the learning method used and how it was applied.  At first when I looked at Bloom's Taxonomy, I was confused but after more research I believe this taxonomy is an important questioning method which allows for students to engage in higher order thinking processes (http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html#cognitive).  It does not matter what your content is, this taxonomy will enable your students to think at a level which may allow their brains to think at a higher level.  By looking at De bono's Hats, this is a form of scaffolding but you can see the questions that each hat asks can be found in the Taxonomy (knowledge section).  The importance and effect of scaffolding is highlighted by this activity, the wiki enabled us to answer questions with the use of technology but also to read, comment and discuss other questions posed by other people which we may not have ever heard of.  If this activity was done in a different way, such as answer these questions yourself in a word document.  It would not have got the same learning outcome; I learnt more reading other people's thoughts than actually answering the questions myself.  I think that is a grand achievement.    
 

With further analysis, this wiki implies some of the learning methods we learnt in week 1, in particular social construcivism.   The wiki allowed people to read opinions, answer people's opinions but more so learn from reading other opinions.  However, this activity could have failed if it was not for specific questions embedded within the DEBONO hats, as it would have been too broad and people would have got off track.  I was a fan of this wiki as I learn from other people's opinions.  But, ironically, isn't that how we all learn?
 

 

The point of the wiki was to apply the DEBONO hats to how thoughts on Mobile phone use on class.  The DEBONO hats asked us to use our higher thinking skills to give different perspectives on a question which is very relevant in today's society.  I believe that there is no use for mobile phones in classrooms.  In a perfect world without Ipads, tablets, laptops, interactive whiteboards etc, then there would be a need for it.  But at the moment there are too many choices already for teachers to use and the technology for these instruments are changing monthly.  The best example is the interactive whiteboard, it is a relatively new concept and a lot of schools have them.  But, there is a new form of technology which was shown at a school I work for.  It is basically a tablet which is wirelessly connected to a projector, but you can pass this tablet around and whatever the student or teacher draws which show instantly on the screen.  You can carry it whilst you’re teaching in the room and students can use it, no need for students to come and use the whiteboard.  This technology could make the interactive whiteboard obsolete.  However, I know a school that is using mobile phones in the classrooms in NSW, the students all sign contracts, and they connect to the school internet, the teacher can see who is online and who is not.  They have an app which teachers need to update the teaching materials each week etc.  But one of the problems the principal (friend of mine) said was that students are now becoming anti-social and a major issue is how the female and male students interact.  There is no human feel to it etc.  They only talk via Ipads and phones.  

If I was going to introduce mobile phones in the classroom I would use the SAMR MODEL to help implement these ideas as it promotes a good framework of how the technology can be used in different stages.  

LEVEL OF TECHNOLOGY	DEFINITION:	EXAMPLE:
Substitution	Technology acts as a direct tool substitute, with no functional change (Learning Materials)	Students will use a school approve app to take notes, it’s a substitute for a notepad or even a tablet
Augmentation	Technology acts as a direct tool substitute, with functional improvement (Learning Materials)	Students now can now use other basic functions in the app, e.g. font size, spell check, word count, images can now be embedded.
Modification	Technology allows for significant task redesign (Learning Materials)	Students can now connect via a wiki or even a blog and start commenting on other students work, you can post your document so other people can read it and pass comments on.
Redefinition	Technology allows for the creation of new tasks, previously inconceivable (Learning Materials)	Students through the apps can connect with other schools that has the app, this could also mean internationally.  They can share their work and comment and connect with people on a larger scale.  They can have lecture or teaching sessions through their phones connected to a teacher from another school.

For those who still do not understand the SAMR model great video is shown below,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us0w823KY0g

Another Idea which can implement the above model would be taking videos with the phone.  Students can first record a speech for assessment (Substitution), The students can that start adding some effects to the video to help get there point across (Augmentation) (music, titles etc), Students can now with their phones post the video on a blog or a place in which other students can provide feedback ( Modification), The students can all work together to create different scenes for a movie where they all work together and they post there video to a blog where other students from around the world can see and pass comment.  

My final thought of this week’s task and reading will be this, there are so many resources out there, and it’s up to us to use them.  But also use them appropriately; I mentioned earlier that too much technology could be a bad thing.  Potentially, with mobile phones, it gives students temptation to get distracted.  But with all new technology, there is always going to be a battle into restricting access for students to not abuse or mistreat the technology.  The new technology may provide more resources for learning, but it also provides more resources for students to learn to misuse the technology.  I know what thing, this week’s readings have shown me that, the simplest of exercises can get great results, and you will not know if you do not try.  Keep an open mind and remember that technology is not just an Ipad or mobile phone, it’s also a perspective.
  

To Be Continued...