Thursday, February 12, 2015

Taking a Hammer to SAMR: Modification

An earlier article defined Dr. Ruben Puentedura's SAMR model as a tool teachers can use to describe the opportunities afforded to students by technology integration. In this fifth article of the "Taking a Hammer to SAMR" series, we learn about Modification, the third level of the SAMR scale: the use of technology tools that allow for a redesign of the original task. Both Modification and Redefinition refer to Transformational uses of technology.

The SAMR Activity Scale:



The SAMR Activity Scale outlines how technology use affords students opportunities to learn and demonstrate learning. In the SAMR continuum, Modification refers to the use of technology tools that allow for a redesign of the original task. At the Modification level, technology use transforms the task of a given lesson. The Pedagogy and Content Knowledge of TPACK remain the same, regardless of the technology use, in any lesson; it's the Technology use that changes. The Modification level of SAMR incorporates student choice, student ownership, increased accessibility, use of resources from the web, and increased choice in use of technology by the student (rather than the teacher).

Example First Grade Lesson: Types of Clouds (Weather Unit)

Student uses the iPad to navigate to a website to read an article with photos of a types of clouds online and then uses photos from the camera app, photos from other websites online, and the Explain Everything app to create and narrate a slide that explains and displays the definition of a type of cloud.

This is Modification because the teacher redesigns the product for the lesson. The objective is still for students to learn and demonstrate their knowledge of the different types of clouds, but this lesson offers deeper student engagement and more opportunities for demonstrating understanding.

Modification, the third level of the SAMR scale, refers to the use of technology tools that allow for a redesign of the original taskIn the next issue, the "Taking a Hammer to SAMR" series will focus on Redefinition, the final step toward Transformational technology integration.

Taking a Hammer to SAMR: Substitution

Taking a Hammer to SAMR: Augmentation

Use the Comments section below to share your reflections about the Modification level.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular Recent Posts