6 different hats for 6 different perspectives

This week I was introduced to 'De Bono's 6 Thinking Hats', a tool used for group discussion and individual thinking. Our job for this activity was to get our thinking caps on and voice our opinions about mobile phones in the classroom.

This is the first time I have ever been exposed to this kind of activity, and at first I was a little confused at what was expected of us. As a first year student I may not have the same amount of knowledge and experiences as some of the second, third and fourth year students, which made me feel that my opinions towards this topic may not be as insightful as some of the students' further along in their programs. 

Once I got into the activity and read through other students' ideas and opinions I soon realised that I wasn't alone when thinking that mobile phones in the classroom is a fantastic idea (with certain precautions of course). This activity encouraged us to think outside the norm and make comments of aspects which we probably wouldn't have taken into consideration. 

Participating in this wiki activity allowed us to work individually, however work off each other and take into account other peoples perspectives. I think this activity would be great in the classroom and would provide a scaffold for collaborative and interactive learning.

I have learnt this week that every person has their own perspectives and it is important to understand and evaluate these perspectives to help your own learning. I have learnt that to have an opinion on something you have to look at it from different perspectives and analyse what you have found. I enjoyed the De Bono's 6 Thinking Hats activity and enjoyed viewing all of your ideas. 

(http://www.mindwerx.com/mind-tools/5970/six-thinking-hats)

This is the link to my 6 perspectives on mobile phones in the classroom: http://debonoshats.wikispaces.com/de+Bono+12


The question is, would mobile phones help, or hinder learning in the classroom?

I went into this activity with a positive attitude towards mobile phones in the classroom and believe that they would help learning. I am a generation Y baby so this may influence my opinions, being bought up in an era where technology has developed significantly. Society has become dependent on technology and I think that we as future teachers have to adapt to this change and facilitate it. Of course restrictions would need to be implemented to learning was achieved, but the tools which mobile phones accommodate would cater for all learning styles.