Incorporating Technology
SAMR Model
Determining how you’ll incorporate technology and which tools you employ is a crucial part of planning for a web course. Successfully implementing technology can improve learning, while helping your learners to develop important technical skills that they will get to achieve success within the digital age. Now, the key to selecting technology tools that you simply use in your course is quality, not quantity. I would like to introduce you to the SAMR model. Developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura. The aim of this model is for instance the various levels of technology integration into a course. Lately, there is a lot of educational technology out there, but one among the critical roles of the trainer is to be ready to distinguish between the gimmicks and therefore the game-changers. This is often a visible representation of the model. And as you’ll see, SAMR is an acronym for the four different levels, which are substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition. Also, you’ll notice that the primary step, which may be a substitution, is at rock bottom. This is often because it represents the rock bottom level of technology integration. To evolve upwards towards higher levels. Rock bottom two steps are ways during which technology enhances learning.
On the highest two levels, transform learning. Let’s take a glance at each of the steps. At the rock bottom level, we have a substitution. Which is using technology to try to do something that we’re already doing. For instance, having learners take notes employing a Chromebook, or having learners reading an ebook on a tablet versus a true book. At this level, the task remains an equivalent, but the tool is substituted. The second level is augmentation. And it’s extremely almost like substitution, but with some added functionality to the task. An example could also be employing a Google document to write down a paper with stress and using the built-in spell-check tool, also as saving the paper to the Cloud-based Google Drive so it is often accessed from anywhere. Another example could also be engaging learnings within the discussion through a real-time online chat. At this level, the task remains equivalent, however, there are functional improvements.
The third level, modification, is where we start to tap into the facility of technology. At this level, the technology allows us to start to redefine the task. As an example, having a gaggle of learners create a presentation using Google Slides. During which they will all work collaboratively on an equivalent presentation at an equivalent time, from different locations. Another example would be having learners record practice speeches or a sales talk. And then, housing them on YouTube and sharing them with their peers to receive feedback. At this level, we start to redefine the training that’s happening. The fourth and highest level is redefinition.
At this level, the technology allows you to redefine the task or create previously inconceivable tasks. An example of this can be to empower your learners to showcase their knowledge by creating instructional videos to share with others. Or perhaps, allowing them to make a podcast, demonstrating their understanding in fact content and learning objectives. Often, instructors who are new technology start at the extent of substitution as they start to include technology. However, once they’re comfortable, they’ll reach redefining the way they teach or redefining the way learners learn by incorporating more significant technologies. the power to show online may be a tremendous innovation but I like to recommend that you simply don’t use the web course to easily deliver videos and articles for learners to read, followed by writing papers or taking tests. I like to recommend that you simply leverage the facility of the web and tech tools that are out there to redefine learning. Help to urge your learners to communicate, collaborating, and creating, in ways you never would have imagined, 15 years ago. Hopefully, you will find some innovative ways to include technology in your course. And as you are doing, use the SAMR model to measure where you’re at during this progression.