Reflection on my first Wiki experince

Lets just say confusing is an understatement!! This Wiki spaces thing really needs some time put into it to grasp the concepts and to get the full benefits from it (Which may I say are really great benefits!!)

This blog posting is going to hopefully enlighten you (and hopefully me by rehashing what I have learnt!!) on the pros and cons of using wiki spaces for learning and how this applies to the theories of learning.

My experience form this week’s wiki forum demonstrates to me that this method of learning is grounded in both the constructivist and connectivism theories. It was a great example of networked nature of learning with computers and the internet. In relation to our Wiki topic which was ‘should mobile phone be used in schools’ the wiki space demonstrated how with a topic that has so many avenues to explore it would be impossible for a single individual to fully explore every aspect in this topic. By using the wiki we could get a broader understanding of others concepts and opinions on this topic. This is the very nature of the theory of connectivism as it proposes that learning can reside outside one selves (within an organisation or database) is focused on connecting specialized information set, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than are current state of knowing. (Siemens 2005).

I also feel that that the forum demonstrates the theory of social constructivism. Social Constructivist Vygotsky (1962) explains that social interaction has a large influence on learning, and that individuals learn within a zone of close proximal development. He suggests that learner move beyond what is already known through the support of others. By using the wiki we GLTD students as a group were able to learn as a social network using each other’s past experiences and feeling to the topic of mobile phone use in schools.

By using De Bono’s six hats, our teacher had guided and scaffolded out learning and thinking on the topic at hand. It also allowed us to think about this topic using higher order thinking as we went straight into analysing and applying our knowledge into the wiki. This higher order thinking technique demonstrates Blooms cognitive taxonomy in that it is not intended as a linear process rather it is a process of introducing student held knowledge, analysing this knowledge, deriving and strengthening knowledge and theory from this analysis, and then moving towards evaluation of the knowledge which was cleverly done in the scaffold of de bono thinking hats technique.

I have a limited knowledge of how much mobile phones are used in schools at present. I am also very time restricted in my study with a busy family life, but by using the wiki and group work I was able to use other learner’s knowledge and research on this topic to help with my learning and understanding of the topic. By using the wiki space were we as students able to analyse one others idea on this topic and identify the strengths and weaknesses of our fellow students responses to the questions presented.  This show that we are using our analysis and evaluation which form the most important part of Blooms taxonomy and which in turns shows this learning pedagogy was requiring us to learn using higher order thinking.

In Regards to the TPACK framework I feel that the wiki activity failed to deliver all three of the concepts of this framework. The Three concepts in summary are you must have the technical skills, you must know your content and you must know how to deliver your content so your students learn effectively.  The content knowledge was evident as we had our fellow learners knowledge available on the wiki, therefore this section of the framework was established. The content was delivered in an effective method by the use of De Bono thinking hats and the use of higher order thinking in the task. The area that failed to deliver for me in this framework was the technical skills of myself and some other members using the wiki. The task was too time consuming for me as I am unfamiliar with writing in wiki spaces and just trying to get my content knowledge on the page was very frustrating for me!! Also other students had edited the wiki and made it unreadable for me. This in turn hindered my ability to read all the content on this subject.

The Wiki activity demonstrated to me how important it is to deliver successfully all three aspects of the TPACK frame work. If one section of the framework is lacking it can significantly hinder the learning of our students. I also found how great technology can be (once we fully understand it) with higher order thinking and more specifically Blooms taxonomy. The use of the wiki clearly demonstrated how learning as a social constructivist enhances our learning and forces us to analysis and evaluate others opinions. By scaffolding our work in the wiki through the questions raised using De Bono’s thinking hat we were able to go through the process of Blooms taxonomy by first stating our knowledge on the topic and then progressing through the stages of the taxonomy to getting to the more important stages of learning in analysing and evaluation. The only limitation I feel in this activity was we were unable to create any changes with our knowledge and analysis on the topic. But I’m sure our amazing teacher would have a follow on activity to allow us to demonstrate the creative stage of Blooms taxonomy!!

 

Reference

 

G. Siemens, "Connectivism A Learning Theory for the Digital Age" 2005 retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

 

L. Vygotsky, "Social Development Theory" 1962 retrieved from http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/social-development.html