Lesson Planning Using SAMR

Video Transcription

Hello, and thank you for joining me today to discuss lesson planning using SAMR or SAMR. By the end of today's tutorial, we will be able to answer, what does a lesson plan that incorporates SAMR look like? And what are some tips and strategies for using SAMR?

Let's do a quick recap. Remember, SAMR stands for substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition. For substitution, it's a very simple technology tool that is needed to change the learning activity from no-tech to one that incorporates the use of technology. So it's actually the lowest level of SAMR that you can use.

Next is augmentation. this is a technology tool that will offer functional improvement to the existing learning activity. So not just substituting, but actually improving.

Then we go to modification. And this is where we get to the higher level of SAMR. For modification, a technology tool will make significant improvement to the existing learning activity. So the learning activity is significantly enhanced through the use of technology. So this isn't just improving it. It's actually enhancing it, keeping the same lesson plan, but doing some things with that lesson plan that you might not normally do because of using technology.

And then we have redefinition. And redefinition is when you create something entirely new, using technology or using advanced technology. This is where those web 2.0 tools that we discussed in digital blooms are going to come into play.

So let's look at an application of SAMR. And in this application lesson, students have collected water samples. And they view them under the microscope to determine levels of contaminants. And remember, SAMR is like a ladder. You may not use all four levels of SAMR in one lesson. And, in fact, you really shouldn't. So when we look at substitution, it's going to be this lesson, modified slightly by substitution, or this lesson completely redefined by using technology. So substitution-- so in this case, students would just use a word processor to write up their reports for their findings.

Then we move to augmentation. This is slightly improving the activity, but not changing it too much. So in augmentation, students use Google Docs to share their findings with other groups within the classroom. For modification, we might have students create videos to present their findings. So again, remember that modification is when it's a significant improvement. So instead of just typing up their findings, they're actually creating a video or a podcast.

And then redefinition, which is where it's an entirely new learning activity, because of the use of advanced technology. Students share videos with others in different parts of the country and discuss findings in real time. So the lesson for this one has actually completely changed. They're still collecting water samples. They're looking at them. They're coming up with data. But then they're creating videos and sharing them with other people in the country and discussing them in real time with those other people, who maybe did the same science experiment. So it would actually be really interesting to see, how is the water in Boston different than the water that's found in Texas?

So what are some tips that make using SAMR in your classroom a little bit easier? Well, there's actually four steps that you can do to do this. The first one is reflect. And that means just reflect on the SAMR level that characterizes your typical current learning activities. So are you at substitution? Are you at augmentation? Are you at modification? Or are you at redefinition? And it's OK if you're only at substitution. It's meant to kind of challenge you.

Step two is, think about ways that you could change the learning activity to reflect the next level up. So if you're at substitution, how can you make it augmentation, to where we're not just substituting writing with a pen and paper with using a computer processor? How can we augment the lesson to just enhance it a little bit more? So remember, in this case, we used Google Docs to share our writing with other people in our group and with other groups completely.

Step three is, once you've decided how you're going to level up, you should consult your media or technology specialist that's in your school building for ideas on available technology that you could use. There's actually probably more technology available in your school than you realize.

The fourth step is adapt. And this is where we adapt the assessment strategies to reflect the new level of learning and technology integration. So maybe you were planning on having them write that traditional lab report. You have a rubric for and everything. But now, the kids are creating videos instead of lab reports. So obviously, your assessment strategies also have to change.

That doesn't mean we're not testing and assessing them for things that are on Common Core and for you know the traditional biology curriculum. We still are. We're just adjusting it in a way that incorporates web 2.0 tools.

And now we're going to reflect really quickly. So what level of SAMR are you currently using? Are you at substitution, augmentation, modification, or redefinition? What level of SAMR are you most interested in using, and why?

To review, today we talked about what a lesson plan that incorporates SAMR looks like, and we've talked about some tips and strategies for using SAMR. Thanks for joining me today, and happy teaching.