Inside This Week’s Episode: — Not all classroom technology is created equal. In this episode we will uncover a simple model that can be used to assess the effectiveness, functionality, and purpose of classroom technology.

We often think that all tech is created equal…

It’s not.   

I love using tech in the classroom as a way to engage and motivate student learning. Tech provides opportunities to support our students in ways that other learning methods can not. These opportunities include things like adding audio support to read text to our students, or allowing students to record their responses rather than writing something.  Technology often helps us to eliminate barriers to learning success.

But - just using classroom technology for the sake of using classroom technology is not an effective model for making decisions around technology with your students.

I think learning with multimedia and technology is an essential component of a 21st century classroom, but technology comes in all shapes and sizes, and in this episode, I want to introduce a simple model that we can follow when making decisions about technology in our classroom so that we can use it in the most effective way!

Links & Resources Mentioned in the Episode

EPISODE 95: What is a 21st Century Classroom??

EPISODE 97: Creating a Multimedia Classroom (Part 1: What the Research Says)

EPISODE 98: Creating a Multimedia Classroom (Part 2: Applications for the Classroom)

SAMR Model

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A hard Look at Technology in the Classroom

When it comes to technology we now have so many options. There are so many tools, apps, learning platforms… so many things!

In past episodes I’ve been getting a little nerdy with you as I share about some research I’ve been doing as it relates to best teaching practices in today’s classroom. But - man - it's a rabbit hole that I just can’t seem to get out of!

The more I’m learning, the more I keep digging. I keep finding information that has really challenged some of the older teaching practices that I lived by as a teacher (and many teacher STILL live by).

It has really made me think - what is a 21st century classroom?

But - as our classrooms become more and more influenced by digital platforms and as we integrate more and more technology in our classrooms, we have to be mindful with the decisions that we make when it comes to integrating tech into our classroom. As I have stated previously, not all technology, not all multimedia is created equally.

Today I want to share some really interesting information that I’ve recently found. It just might make you think twice about what technology you’re using in the classroom and how you’re using it.

The more schools push for tech integration in the classroom, the more it becomes easier to think that that as long as we have technology in some way, shape, or form we have done out part to give students digital experiences.

But - that’s simply not true. It’s what they are doing during those digital experiences that matter.

That’s what I want to dive in today. Good technology, meaningful technology is more about the result it gives, than it is about using the fanciest tools.

A Simple model to help guide teachers in how they use tech in the classroom

I want to introduce to you a model that we as teachers can use to weigh all of our tech decision-making against. It’s called the SAMR model and it is was developed by award winning educational researcher Ruben Puentedura.

In the SAMR model, we have 4 tiers, 4 levels that technology use falls into.

These levels are:

• substitution

• augmentation

• modification

• redefinition.

Let’s talk through each one of these tiers because I think it really helps us teachers make decisions about the tech we use in our classroom.

Tier One: SUBSTITUTION

The lowest level of tech integration is substitution. This is when we just use tech as a direct substitute for an alternative activity. With the substitution tier, there isn’t really a major change in student achievement.

Let me give you an example. When the pandemic first hit, there was a huge rush to make a lot of our resources digital because students needed to be able to access resources that would have otherwise been paper activities had they been in the classroom.

Teachers began taking their worksheets and uploading them into tools like Google Classroom and adding simple digital functionality like text boxes for students to type in their answers. Had they been in the classroom - these students would have likely written their answers on the paper itself. In this example, technology was being used as a substitute. Nothing more was really being achieved here. The end result of learning is the same.

That’s not to say this wasn’t a necessary substitution for the time, in fact it was extremely necessary to keep learning happening during virtual learning — but it didn’t improve student learning. And, now that many are back in the classroom, this substitution may not necessarily be needed, other than the fact that it offers a paperless option and requires no copying.

Another example of substitute tech integration is recording yourself teaching a lesson. Again - teachers did this out of necessity during distance learning, but the result is likely the same as if you were to be teaching that same lesson in person.

Tier two: Augmentation

At the augmentation tier, we still aren’t use tech as a way to change the content that is being taught - but we are using more digital features like hyperlinks in a Google Slide or Google Doc, multimedia features like audio or video, or using tools like Kahoot and Padlet.

Tier three: Modification

At the modification tier, students are using technology in a way that begins to redesign the learning process. We see this as teachers are using online classrooms like Google Classroom, Schoology, Canvas, Microsoft teams, and others. With the use of these tools, learning takes on a much different look. Teachers can now post assignments online and communicate grading and feedback - all from these digital platforms.

On platforms like Zoom - students can participate in a whole different way. They can sit and listen to their teacher or other peers, but they can also participate in the chat feature, as well commenting on what is being taught, asking questions, and so on. This type of learning is a redesigned version of what a traditional classroom lesson and discussion looks like, and it can’t be done without the integration of technology.

And there are some benefits to having this redesign. Students who may not feel comfortable raising their hand to participate may be more comfortable typing in the chat feature, or communicating with the teacher through comments in Google Classroom.

Tier Four: Redefinition

In the final tier, the redefinition level, this is where learning is transformed. This is when students can participate in activities that were not possible before the integration of technology.

Activities like connecting with classrooms from across the globe. We now can chat with students in classrooms in different states or countries through technology. What used to have been a pen-pal experience where students wrote to other students around the country - they can now actually talk and chat with them in real time over a screen.

Virtual field trips are another example of the redefinition tier. Students are no longer limited by their physical location to experience the world around them. By simply using Google Earth we can now type in virtually any location and travel there! We can manipulate the screen, move forward and back, side to side, zoom in and zoom out.

It’s refining the way students learn.

Applying the SAMR Model to Today’s Classroom

It’s easy to hear all this information and think that we should always be aiming for the redefinition tier, the tier that using technology in the more revolutionary way - but here’s the driving point I want to leave you with.

We can and SHOULD be integrating technology at all levels. The SAMR model is not a technology mountain to climb. To only try to shoot for those redefinition learning experiences would be unrealistic, exhausting, and actually unnecessary!

The key here is to choose the level of tech integration that is best for the lesson or activity you are planning for. And the GOAL is to make sure that the level that you are choosing makes sense and is meaningful to students.

Choosing a technology activity that is a direct substitute is not bad. Think about all the tech substitutes that you use in your everyday life. Instead of writing a paper check to pay our bills each month, we can now pay online. Instead of writing a handwritten letter to a colleague and sticking it in their work mailbox - we can send them a quick email.

Many times the substitute tier works as a convenience - and that’s good! We want to teach our students that technology can serve the purpose of making our lives more convenient.

But - we don’t just want to stop at substitutions. We want to be mixing in all levels of technology integration. We want to be showing our students what technology makes possible that wasn’t possible before.

This teaches students to think big!

As teachers, considering the SAMR model when we make decisions about technology in the classroom helps us to think about how we can do more than just deliver the content to our students. It helps us to consider how we can use technology to provide well-rounded learning experiences.

A step in the right direction

It can be easy to feel overwhelmed when we begin to think about unique, meaningful ways to integrate technology into our every day teaching. But - that’s where LINKtivity® Learning can help!

I want to invite you to join me inside of LINKtivity® Learning - an exclusive membership with an all-access pass to my entire library of LINKtivities.

LINKtivities are multimedia digital learning guides that teach new topics and skills to your students through videos, audio, graphics, pictures and so much more. Students are completely in control and explore the topic at their own pace.

Members get instant and unlimited access to a growing library of LINKtivities and also get immediate access to new LINKtivities that are added each month.

You’ll also find student companion resources for each LINKtivity like recording sheets, flipbook templates, and kid-friendly rubrics.

Teachers will find easy-to-use teacher guides to help set you up for success like answer keys and tutorial videos.

There’s so much packed into the membership… and it’s growing every month!

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