Mobile Phones Wiki

Mobile Phones Wiki

Modern day learners...

This wiki was interesting.  There are policies in every school banning the use of phones during school hours, however this doesn’t seem to stop the students’ texting their friends or going online during class.  When I was in primary school no one had a mobile and even in high school no one had one until grade 9 or 10 when students started working casual jobs.  Nowadays students have them from such a young age. 

Stats -

• 90% of students have mobile phones and they start arriving in schools from grade 5 onwards (Curriculum Leadership, 2009). 
•  According to the ABS (2010) about a third of Australian children aged 5-14 have their own phones.
• The Herald Sun (2010) stated that mobile phones are causing disruptions in class.  They also said they see mobile phones arriving at school from grade 5 onwards.

On a positive side because students are so technologically savvy the use of them in classrooms (with restrictions) could be beneficial to their learning.  According to Conal Hanna from Technology (2009) schools that ban mobile phones or social networking sites from the classroom are failing to provide children with a 21^st century education.  It is about allowing them to be able to express themselves through modern technology.

Our job as modern teachers is to engage students through the use of relevant ICT’s and I think with the right amount of restrictions mobile phone usage in some classes could work.  This relates to the learning theory of connectivism as it is learning in the digital age.  George Siemens (2004) said you can’t know everything, but you need to identify where to find the knowledge.  This is so true.  As teachers we aren’t the font of all knowledge and through the use of technology students and teachers can learn together.

Prensky (2005) said learners are no longer interested in or capable of learning in environments that don’t reflect their real world experiences.  I believe this is relevant to the learning theory of constructivism as students can construct their own reality or personalises it through previous experiences and the use of ICT’s.

 

Personally for the wiki I put on de Bono’s thinking hats and got involved early on.  The theory behind it is a systematic method of thinking in a completely new and different way.  Each hat is a different colour which signals the thinking strategy.  For example the black hat is the 'negative' thoughts.  This thinking strategy was useful for analysing the use of mobile phones in classrooms as it made us personally look at every option.  The negatives & positives, creative & emotional aspects of the idea.


I looked at research and my personal view of mobile phones in classrooms.  I put on the negative, creative & positive hats.  This wiki was interesting as there are many points of view.  I am looking forward to what others write.  This activity could be useful in the classroom of older students.  Getting them to see other peoples points of view is useful in creating a positive and dynamic classroom. 

Website for using the thinking hats within schools: http://debonoforschools.com/asp/six_hats.asp