For this week’s blog post we are kicking off an ongoing series on the SAMR model and lesson ideas. In this series we will give you real examples of how to use the tools we have to create lessons that fall into the SAMR model.

A quick recap on what the SAMR model is: SAMR is a model designed to help educators infuse technology into teaching and learning. Popularized by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, the model supports and enables teachers to design, develop, and infuse digital learning experiences that utilize technology. The goal is to transform learning experiences, so they result in higher levels of achievement for students. 

I pulled this definition from Kathy Schrock’s website, this is a great site for more information on using SAMR  

For today’s lesson idea, we will look at first a standard. I think this is the most important thing to do, since our goal should be to teach the standards we have to teach, what technology we used is secondary here. We can’t just start out picking a tool and then trying to fit everything else into it. It just doesn’t work that well and we’ll get frustrated.  

So, our standard for today’s lesson: 7.RL.7: Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to that of listening to or viewing the same text.  

An example of teaching this lesson would start with needing a story, drama, or poem. For me, what would make this lesson awesome would be using the Tell-Tale Heart from Edgar Allen Poe. This short story is great to read and then listen to. The lesson plan that gave me this idea is listed at BetterLesson.com (which is a great site for finding lessons and ideas, although I am not using the lesson how it was originally intended), so I will not go through the whole lesson plan, just parts that would be where the tech comes in. With trying to integrate technology into the lesson it is important to note that you do not need to use technology for the entire lesson, it should go where it fits.  

S. At the S level of SAMR for this assignment, which is just  Substitution, would be instead of handing the students the story, is having a copy of it on Unified Classroom Class Page or OneNote for the students to read. Simple, saves paper and makes this lesson an S. To make this lesson a S, you kinda need to use technology. 

A. Augmentation is the A in the SAMR model, which means the tool acts a direct substitute, with functional improvement. So, for the story instead of a PDF, make is a word document and have the students take notes using the comment feature. If you do this and the document is shared throughout the class, you could have all students make comments in the story at the same time, or even use the chat feature in word to talk about the story when the students are reading the story themselves. 

So far, both steps require a lot less use of technology and even minimal effort from a teacher’s viewpoint, especially if you are limited with the paper you are given.  

With this lesson, you can create the handout as a quiz item, this would allow you to collect responses and score it right there or make the handout a word document and have the students submit it through the dropbox. Both examples also move you onto the SAMR model continuum. 

M. Next is Modification, the M is one of the harder things to do, first we will note what constitutes Modification. This will allow us to see the difference between Modification and Augmentation. Modification involves giving students a different way to do the tasks.  

With this same task, have the students not only write up their response but record a video using the OneNote, Flipgrid or Photos if it is on their computer. Then upload that to the discussion forum to start a dialogue about their thoughts. To do this, you might need to pre-teach the tool so the students understand how to use it, otherwise you have now added to the lesson something that wasn’t there before. 

R. Lastly is R in the SAMR model, Redefinition: This one is where the assignment can get fun. Redefinition is where the tech allows for the creation of new tasks, previously inconceivable. For something like this, first thing to note is that this might become a multi-day lesson, allowing time for the students to complete the project. In thinking about this one standard, you could read the story, have the students listen to a recording of the story and then have them create their own video retelling of the story, whether they create a comic using 

• Make Belief Comix
• Storyboard That
• Canva Comic Strips
• 5 Best Free Cartoon Making Tools For Teachers

or a movie making software like Photos, along with using a camera device.  

This can turn into a short project or a longer one, one where you pull in other aspects of the standards into this projects. You can be creative with this and the students will take a greater understanding. I would even before the final assignment have them compare their notes when they compare & contrast the story to hearing someone reading the story, so they have their own notes on the difference between reading and listening to the story. 

Check out this project:

The other thing to note, is that I focused on just a singular standard but the fact of the matter is, you can do this lesson and cover a multitude of standards from multiply standards sections. I would also posit that by integrating multiple standards the students would gain a better understanding overall of what you are trying to teach.

This is just one idea, what’s yours? What is something that you have done in the classroom that moves up the SAMR model? Is this something that you would like more training in? Let us know in the comments below!