What is SAMR(Explained by Students)?

The participants identified specific needs for personal and district-wide implementation of blended learning strategies. These needs included the four T’s, templates, tools, training, and time.

1. Templates provide a less threatening way for teachers to approach new instructional designs by sharing real patterns that can aid teachers in transforming existing curricular materials.
2. Teachers need tools that are current, collaborative, and compatible. If teachers are not able create new instructional designs with the materials available in the classroom, they are less likely share their ideas with their colleagues or waste valuable time trying to figure out how to make things work.
3. Participants preferred training that was presented in a variety of ways. Some of the participants in the seminar preferred the opportunity to work in the classroom where the presenter was available to answer questions as they arose, others wanted instructional videos that could be viewed at home or in their classroom to have access to personal instructional materials need to create the flipped lesson video.
4. Teachers have limited time to spend on staff development and districts should explore alternative options for delivering staff development materials. The resource that was most requested by these participants was time. The participants wanted time to research, review, explore, experiment, share, collaborate, create, and just play with technology. Participants expressed gratitude for the opportunity to have time to catch up with the ever-changing field of instructional technology.