From Functional to "Inconceiveable!": the SAMR Model

I enjoyed learning about Dr. Peuntedura's model, and the steps that are available toward utilizing technology to educate in a more fulfilling way. For some instances where I thought I was being clever or creative, the ideas I had ended up on the lower end of the spectrum.

In the Substitution area, I give weekly spelling tests to my younger students and vocabulary tests to my older students. In preparation for these, they are to learn the definition of each word and be able to use it correctly in a sentence. Many students prefer using digital tools for this assignment, such as dictionary.com. While it is a technological tool, functionally it is no different than using a print dictionary.

For Augmentation, I assigned my students an activity of balancing the U.S. national budget. An online New York Times interactive feature included programs that could be cut or modified, and it would automatically track the savings earned by each action. I encouraged students not to look simply at the numbers but to also think through the repercussions of their actions for what would happen by deleting or changing funding for certain programs. This added to the task of balancing a budget the idea of seeing how decisions can have unintended effects on others.

In Modification, I experienced an example similar to the one shown by Dr. Peuntedura, but one that is perhaps still unique in its own right. I took a class in college from a professor who was a colleague of the one who created the Southern History Database. Our class was on the topic of Gilded Age America, so the students entered items into a database featuring political, economic, railroad, technological, and social events of the time. The items were shown on a map at the geographical location where they occurred along with descriptions of the events that we had written. Not only was it an interesting experience, it modified the traditional reporting style from one of words on paper to a digital map that all of us contributed to and could see.

For Redefinition, I will describe another instance from when I was college student and served as a student association officer. Traditionally, the officers introduced themselves as a group in some way to the freshmen and new students. Over time, this had evolved from the officers saying their names up front to the officers creating a digital introduction via a video. The group before us had done a short one-minute video that spoofed a popular, contemporary television commercial. Our group decided to make a 45-minute film. Not only did we create a plot in which to introduce ourselves, but we also showed many locations around the school and the city as an introduction to a completely new environment for many of these students. This video was used for the beginning of the year event and was also shared among the returning students and teachers and became somewhat popular. Over a few short years, the idea of making introductions had been completely redefined.