SAMR - Redefinition

We are officially back from Spring Break!! It was a much needed break and I'm feeling ready to finish the year strong.

As I've stated in prior blog posts, I'm on the hunt for examples of how educators have used the SAMR model with educational technology to change their practice.

I stumbled upon Matt Miller, educator and famed author of Ditch That Textbook, discussing the importance of using technology to transform the learning in the classroom in a blog post, 10 Ways to Reach SAMR Redefinition.

To start, it's difficult to reach the transformative stage of Redefinition with technology where everything the students produce is a "new task, previously inconceivable." I know many teachers, myself included, who use Google Apps to have students type an essay and turn it in using Google Classroom. Although, the task of typing an essay online is really just substitution on the SAMR model, but I would also argue the ability to provide instant feedback on a permanently saved document has real value and couldn't be done before this type of technology. We could also take the task one step further by sharing the student's essay to a wider audience through a blog or podcast. Then we're moving towards the redefinition stage.

Here are some of my favorite "Redefinition" ideas from Matt Miller that I hadn't thought about before reading his blog:

 “Aid the community” competition: Students from various countries engage in a project to tackle an issue in their communities (i.e. reducing the carbon footprint of their communities). Students share ideas on a wiki, discuss ideas together via video chat on Skype/Adobe Connect/Google Hangout, and partner with researchers at local universities or companies. They share the findings of their yearlong endeavor in a documentary on YouTube. (Source: ECISD Technology)

 Global perspectives: Students connect with a class in another part of the world to discuss a historical event — preferably one that affects both their own countries. Students write — in shared Google Documents, blogs, wikis or any other writing tool — factually about the event and then share opinions about it. They can compare how it’s perceived in different parts of the world. (Inspired by this post.)

Read more from Matt Miller's blog: http://ditchthattextbook.com/2014/04/03/10-ways-to-reach-samrs-redefinition-level/

SAMR -- integrating technology

Over the next few weeks, I'll be digging to find ways teachers are integrating technology into their classrooms. Specifically, I'm looking for activities and ideas teachers implement to move from "Subsituting" technology for paper to a "Re-definition" of their classroom. The SAMR model is a great way to see whether or not your activities or assignments either Substitute, Augment, Modify, or Re-Define the activity with the use of technology:

Image credit: Sylvia Duckworth, via @DavidGuerin

Alice  Keeler has some excellent ideas on how to re-define your classroom using technology. She suggests using a classroom website (I use http://stecktech.wikispaces.com/). According to Alice Keeler, this allows for:

• students who are absent to access the work
• differentiating directions and tasks
• making information accessible anytime anywhere
• helping parents to support their children in their learning
• collaborating with other teachers
• consistency between class sections
• the near elimination of downtime in class
• the teacher to work one on one with students or in small groups
• the teacher to provide more high-quality feedback

I'll be continuing to gather ideas for the next couple of weeks to see how others have integrated technology and re-defined their classrooms with it.

Innovator's Mindset Week 4 Reflection

After reading Part 2 of the Innovator's Mindset and watching the Youtube discussion, the following ideas caused me to reflect on how we use technology in our classrooms to support learners and how that could be applied to staff as well:

1) "Technology should personalize, not standardize."

2) Students should create, share, and connect using technology.

3) Staff should create, share, and connect using technology.

All three ideas reminded me of the SAMR model for using technology. The model stands for the following:

Substitution - just replaces what can be done with pencil and paper
Augmentation - effective tool for common tasks
Modification - using technology to create things that wouldn't be possible without that technology
Redefinition - using technology for new tasks that we're inconceivable before technology -- Innovation

How do we give students opportunities to redefine their own learning using technology? How do give them a chance to create, share, and connect with other learners?

The same questions could be posed for educators. How are we given a chance to create, share and connect?