2.1 SAMR

In this video, we hear directly from Dr. Puentedura about why he created SAMR and how teachers can apply his model to improve their teaching with technology. SAMR, which stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition, is a model that gives us a way to evaluate how we integrate technology into our instructional practices. It is one of the most referred to models for technology integration.

The model is often viewed as a ladder. The assumption is that as you "move up," you can achieve higher order thinking. However, I believe that the model serves best as a continuum that you traverse to benefit student learning. Technology is not the solution to everything! However, when the time is right, it certainly can offer many enhancements and affordances to student learning, and when done well, can lead to higher order thinking.

The model can be viewed as a continuum where Substitution represents the use of technology that minimally impacts learning but may improve efficiency while Redefinition resides on the opposite end of the spectrum and epitomizes transformational learning. In this sense, Redefinition enables students to "take charge" of their learning, achieve higher order thinking and to deepen their understanding in ways that are impactful. (Image source: http://www.schrockguide.net/samr.html)

Notice that the graphic shown above is divided into two parts: Enhancement and Transformation. To "enhance" a learning activity is to use technology in a way that it either acts as a substitution (say using word processing instead of handwriting a poem) or augments the lesson (e.g. using a shared Google Docs so that students can collaborate on the poem and the teacher can monitor student work and provide immediate feedback).

However, to "transform" a learning activity, technology is the vehicle which enables higher levels of student engagement and meaning-making. Sticking with our poetry example, we could use technology to achieve M-Modification by enabling students to create an interactive poetry "book" that they code. To achieve complete R-Redefinition, they would share their coded poetry in an app format that others could access and build upon. As an example, click on the image to access the coded poem then click on the green flag to start it. This interactive poem was built in Scratch, a free coding tool that we will explore in Mod 8.

(Image source: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/95916951/#player )

To be honest, I would rate the way this lesson is presented as an A-Augmentation. That is because we do not yet have the technology to physically place you inside a classroom to experience first-hand the content, which in this case is the SAMR model. However, it is not necessarily wrong or any less valuable because it is "rated" an A. The goal of the lesson is to help you deepen your own understanding of the SAMR model so that you can evaluate your own lessons. With the materials presented here, you will be able to achieve this learning objective.

Now, if the technology (and funding) were available, I'd "beam" you into a learning experience where students were taking off, exploring and driving their own learning and creating with global peers!

In my own practice working with JK-12 teachers, I encourage them to view technology-driven activities between a continuum of consumption to creation. We prioritize creation activities. In fact, rarely do we acquire consumption-only apps. Even though our school is considered high-tech, we have limited apps on our iPads and laptops because of our very intentional focus on tech for creation. For obvious reasons, it can be challenging to measure what students know when they are "creating" a product to demonstrate their knowledge versus taking an exam. That is why we often we require them to "reflect" about what they have created and through their reflections we can measure their thinking alongside the learning objectives we have set forth (Image source: Flint Hill School)

A quick Google search of SAMR will yield hundreds of visuals. I like the image shown here because it helps establish how the model can support learning objectives. Here is the model aligned with Bloom's (revised) taxonomy (Image source: Common Sense Media, n.d.).

There are plenty of examples of how to transform lessons along the SAMR model. I encourage you to explore and find some of your own examples before you dive into the CREATE part of this module to redesign a lesson along the SAMR continuum. However, when you examine other lessons, be mindful of how engaging the lesson might be for students as well as how the original learning objective has been enriched.

One example I find worthy of posting here concerns a foreign language lesson for high school students. What I like about this example is that it truly exemplifies the fluidity of using technology to achieve higher order thinking in students and more importantly, ways to engage students that are meaningful and resonate with their own lives --

Don't Reinvent the Wheel, Add Rims! (Edutopia, 2016). Begin reading at the sentence "How can I use this in a foreign language classroom?"

Read

While not much scholarly research exists for SAMR, there is certainly an abundance of websites and blogs that describe the model. However, I have selected one scholarly article for you to read because, while it is not necessarily a research study, it provides an examination of how the SAMR was used to evaluate examples of mLearning activities.

The SAMR Model as a Framework for Evaluating mLearning, (Romrell, D., et al., n.d.)

This short article provides a brief explanation of each of the SAMR cateogries:

The SAMR Model of Technology Integration, (Gorman, M., n.d.)

Create

Your task for this part of Mod 2 is to take one of your *existing lessons and redesign it to achieve an M - Modification or R - Redefinition. The sky is the limit! In other words, for this exercise, do not be limited by the technology you have in your own school. Imagine on a grand scale! This exercise is intended to get you to think outside of the box (constraints) we face everyday so that you can experience what it takes to achieve along the transformation levels of the SAMR model.

You will use this graphic organizer to complete your task: REMEMBER to make a copy of this file and add your own name in the title, and make sure that you SHARE it so that anyone with the link can VIEW it.

Post a link to your graphic organizer of your redesigned lesson to our virtual bulletin board PADLET. Your post should include:

One-sentence description of the lesson you redesigned and which SAMR level you achieved
Link to your graphic organizer (Make sure you've shared it so that anyone with the link can view it)

Due: March 12, 11:59 pm

*Note: If you are not a classroom teacher, search for a lesson that you would like to redesign.

Post

Next: Respond to one colleague’s post on the virtual bulletin board PADLET by viewing their lesson and by exchanging ideas and providing thoughtful feedback. Your feedback should thoughtfully consider how your colleague's lesson redesign met the criteria for “M” and “R” of the SAMR model.

Due: March 14, 2017, 11:59 pm

When you've completed this task, move onto Mod 2.2.

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