Case Study Analysis

ByAsmawati Ahmad

PGC 060016PXGT6110

Scenario

F2F class was canceled due to lecturer’s last minute call for conference. Hence, all students were informed via several methods – online, word of mouth, sms forwarding. Students were to be engaged in an online class instead of F2F.

The White HatThe White Hat calls for information known or needed. "The facts, just the facts.“

– Students in PXGT6110 has seen online discussions from the class website in the blog section.

– Not all students have used any real-time online chatting tool.

The Yellow HatThe Yellow Hat symbolizes brightness and optimism. Under this hat you explore the positives and probe for value and benefit

– Students get to work in an environment that is most comfortable to them, they do not have to be in the university.

– Students who are not so vocal during the F2F class may be more open and able to convey their thoughts and ideas better via online.

– Students get to think and organize their thoughts properly prior to conveying them to the others.

– The environment may seem to be more informal, hence creating a more conducive situation where everyone may convey his or her message freely.

The Black HatThe Black Hat is judgment - the devil's advocate or why something may not work. Spot the difficulties and dangers; where things might go wrong. Probably the most powerful and useful of the Hats but a problem if overused.

– Students may easily get distracted by diverted discussions, or by other work that they are doing concurrently such as other assignments or web surfing.

– Some may be active participants, some may just be observers, some may just keeps on agreeing or disagreeing with others

– Internet connection is very slow– Communication platform used (YM, class web) may be

loading very slow, or simply not accessible.Or, it could be worse:– NO PC OR INTERNET CONNECTION AT HOME– NETWORK DOWN– BLACKOUT

The Red HatThe Red Hat signifies feelings, hunches and intuition. When using this hat you can express emotions and feelings and share fears, likes, dislikes, loves, and hates.

– Too exhausted from a previous activity – lead to lost of interest to participate

– Tired of looking into the computer screen– Scared of making language mistakes and grammatical

errors as it can be viewed by all– Too lazy to type long explanations– Use of abbreviations that may not be universal to all

makes the discussions seem difficult to be understood.– Fear of being a slow typist – others may have moved to

another discussion while we are still struggling to type in our points.

– Misinterpretation of sentence/words by others

The Green HatThe Green Hat focuses on creativity; the possibilities, alternatives, and new ideas. It's an opportunity to express new concepts and new perceptions.

• Use of web cam and voice chat to enhance the excitement of doing an online class.

• Use of an online whiteboard tool where the participants can scribble and draw things to help describe their points while discussing it via audio/video conferencing, or even just online chatting.

The Blue HatThe Blue Hat is used to manage the thinking process. It's the control mechanism that ensures the Six Thinking Hats® guidelines are observed.

• Let’s not get too carried away on the emotion or the advanced technology part.

• Use tools that are easy to be used by all levels of students – IT savvy, not so and the beginners.

• Must be practical and fair – must consider those who do not have Internet access at home. To allow ample time for them to find alternatives.

• Online class may or may not be effective. For adult learners, it’s their own motivation that really affects the results for each individual. A motivated learner will always look at the positive side of anything.