U2 can use de Bono's Hats (that's Edward's hats, not Paul Hewson's)

MOBILE PHONE WIKI FORUM

This task served as a scaffold for guiding the thought processes of learners through different considerations of a particular issue, in this case, the issue of whether or not mobile phones have a place in the classroom.  For digital immigrants, who remember a time when (gasp!) phones were not even cordless let alone mobile, it is hard to visualise mobile phones as having a legitimate place within the learning environment.  Traditionally, the telephone is used to hold conversations with other people; if you want to watch a video use a television, if you want to send a message use Australia Post and if you want to look up information go to the library.  This is a far cry from the experience of the digital natives of today who view the confiscation of their mobile phones as the equivalent of dismembering a limb.

This wiki forum was an effective way in which to consider viewpoints that individuals may or may not have thought of themselves in relation to this contentious issue.  Edward de Bono’s ‘Six Thinking Hats’ process, as outlined on the de Bono for Schools website, suggests that the visualisation of six different coloured hats can help learners to think about an issue in a particular way.  In summary:

White hat     Encourages the learner to view the facts surrounding the issue and to enquire as to what further information is needed

Black hat       Asks the learner to consider the problems surrounding the issue and to ask what these specific problems are

Yellow hat    Asks the learner to identify the benefits of the issue

Red hat          Asks the learner to identify what they like or dislike about the issue

Green hat     Encourages the learner to explore new ideas surrounding the issue

Blue hat         Asks the learner to reflect on the issue in the context of where it currently lies and what the next step will be

This constructivist exercise allowed learners to participate in a kind of ‘role play’ where they would play different characters based on the colour of the hat they (figuratively) wore.  By posting their individual responses to the scaffold they took part in a collaborative process which allowed differing viewpoints to converge, differing ideas and suggestions to be considered, and different questions to be asked.

Without collaboration, those who are polarised by the strength of their view of the matter one way or the other face the danger of missing out on the benefits of a learning experience simply because they have not identified opportunities and benefits that exist.  If we are able to get past our assumptions of what gives a thing value or purpose, it is possible that new opportunities will become evident to us.

Unlike the previous wiki task, this learning experience worked smoothly with no access issues for learners within the ICT class.  There was a high concentration of responses in the emotions / feelings section (Red hat) however which strongly asserted that, regardless of what the other hats said, they felt that there was absolutely no place for mobile phones in the classroom.  While the scope of this task did not include the resolution of this particular issue, it is a strong possibility that these people may not be open to the other side of the discussion at all.  And there is also the chance that such emotive statements can unduly influence other users of the wiki.

On the whole however, a  list of genuine responses to each of the hat scenarios resulted in much fodder for the individual to consider in weighing up where they now stand on the issue of mobile phones in the classroom. 

de Bono for Schools, Six thinking hats:  increase collaboration skills.  Retrieved at http://debonoforschools.com/asp/six_hats.asp.