SAMR

As we start integrating the laptops into our classrooms, we need to be aware of their impact on student learning. We can evaluate how we are integrating technology using the SAMR model. This model looks at 4 steps of technology integration and how this can impact learning.

The first stage is Substitution, which is the easiest stage for any teacher new to using the computers in the classroom. I often refer to this stage as “digitizing worksheets”, because all you are doing is replacing the old way with the same thing, but using a computer. This is not a bad place to start but if we have no tools in the classroom, we should be able to use these new tools to improve instruction and learning.

Augmentation comes after Substitution. In the Augmentation stage the technology is adding some improvements over the old way. There is still not a lot of change in how things are done but there is some functional change.

Modification happens when significant task redesigns occur. We are giving our students new options and they are able to do things in a much more effective way using the computers. There is a big difference between this stage and the Substitution stage, which should correlate into better learning if the focus is always on the desired outcomes.

Redefinition occurs when the technology has allowed for the creation of new tools and methods that were not possible before. We are creating a brand new learning environment for our students, hopefully one that is focused on the 4 big questions; what do we want all students to know, how will we know when they have learned it, how will we respond when learning hasn’t occurred and how will we respond when learning has occurred.

TPACK

TPACK is a great tool for helping us as we traveling on this path of 21st century learning. It aligns our understanding of technological, content and pedagogical knowledge and how they interact. A truly effective teacher today needs to be knowledgeable in all three areas in order to truly have a 21st century classroom.

TPACK looks at the overlap of three main knowledge areas; Technological Knowledge (TK), Pedagogical Knowledge (PK) and Content Knowledge (CK). TCK is the overlap of the Technological and Content Knowledge, or how technology can assist the content in a way to improve learning. PCK is the overlap of Pedagogical and Content Knowledge that looks at how content affects the pedagogy used in the classroom. TPK is the overlap of Technological and Pedagogical Knowledge that looks at how technology works with the pedagogy being used and how the pedagogy determines which technology will work best in the learning environment.

Technology is interwoven into both aspects, pedagogy and content, in order to make the learning more effective for the learners. It is the partner in the equation and not just an added thing to be included, it must be paired with the pedagogy and content.

The end product of TPACK will be different from classroom to classroom depending on the specifics of the students, the teachers and the situations they are in. There is no one look to proper TPACK integration but is a framework to help guide to a more engaged and effective learning environment.