SAMR: Use to Teach Above the Line
Using technology for the sake of using technology is never the purpose of using technology. The addition of technology should be to increase learning, collaboration and creation of new tasks.
Without the technologies I have used, this project could never be created. I believe this project as a whole is on the Redefinition Level, according to SAMR. Students are working with the most updated resources: the internet. I was able to select resources specifically to guide their learning. They created an infographic that has instant access to video, websites and 2 of their own resources thanks to Thinglink. They get to create quiz questions. Sure, we could do that on paper but then as a teacher, I have to, at minimum, make copies for all my students. Instead, the links are shared on Edmodo and students have instant access. With the use of Flubaroo, the quizzes are graded for me. This in it of itself is only at the augmentation level but when you look at this project as a whole, there are aspects that are new and unique and could not be done without technology. All classes have access to the different Thinglinks. They aren't stuck with what their class created, they can explore and learn even more if they so choose. Without technology, this doesn't happen. In terms of SAMR, these individual technologies on their own may just be at the substitution or augmentation level. However, when viewed as a whole entity, there is no doubt that these technology pushed the lesson above the line and into redefinition. Students are collaborating on a level I couldn't have made previously. |