Week 2: SAMR

    This week, we read an article and watched a video about Dr. Ruben R. Puentedura's SAMR model of technology integration in the classroom. This model involves four standpoints for technology integration separated into two parts. The first two components, Substitution and Augmentation, fit into the Enhancement category. The top two components, Modification and Redefinition, fit into the Transformation category. The point isn't so much so to try to make it to the highest level of technology usage in the classroom, the point is to provide the right level needed for the corresponding lesson at hand. Substitution involves just replacing what could have been a physical task into a virtual task that involves the use of technology. An example of this is what could have been a hand-written essay being typed out instead. Augmentation involves substitution to some degree but enhances the task just a little bit. Taking that same typed essay example, if students take advantage of features like spellcheck, the word count, and other things, the task is both substituted and improved a little bit. Once you get to Modification, which is considered Transformation, you are not only substituting a non-virtual task to a virtual one, but you are also including various improvements such as online peer-to-peer sharing and communication with the previously mentioned typed essay. The top tier, Redefinition, involves extreme advancements to a what could have been a physical activity. An example would be the typed-out essay, with the use of features like spellcheck and the ability to share with classmates, if the students were to make corresponding videos with that essay and submitted them for peer review. In a case like that, you are not only making the task involve technology, but you are providing many things that would otherwise be impossible without it. 

    With this though, the point is to not make assignments the most technologically advanced ever. The point of this scale is to see the different kinds of levels of technology that can be used and picking the right placement for that particular assignment or task. Not all things would benefit greatly from being transformed completely digital. Some things are just more effective without extreme integration of technology. You also have to make sure that the technology doesn't become too much of a distraction or an obstacle, or it ruins the whole thing and makes matters worse. This is why it is good to evaluate the different possibilities of integrating technology within the task and seeing where the best fit would be without going overboard or making things worse. Not everything has to be top tier, but that's okay.

    I think that this is a very useful model when determining the extent to which technology is integrated in a classroom for an assignment. It is good to know that this model does not intend for there to be competition as to how much technology integration you can do, but instead serves as a means of technological possibilities. This is definitely something I will keep in the back of my head when I start teaching myself. With all the advancements in technology these days, with both upsides and downsides, it is useful to know that there is a scale for determining what is best.