Incorporate Technologies in Class Using the SAMR Model

Undoubtedly, educational technologies are here to stay. These not only facilitate and speed up teachers’ and students’ work but also improve the quality of learning by integrating teaching methodologies that were previously impossible.

Digital education must be incorporated into student curricula to strengthen and vitalize each person’s academic and work trajectory. Otherwise, implementing technologies merely for novelty or without particular strategies could be catastrophic for the institution, which would expend economic resources on irrelevant tools that are not useful in some subjects or without contemplating the training teachers require to use these tools, which has been a problem for many schools worldwide. Similarly, this can be counterproductive for the student community, as they would not have the necessary technological skills to enter the labor field.

Choosing the correct educational tools means being aware of emerging technologies in an uncertain, continuously shifting landscape to provide students with essential quality learning. However, integrating them into the classroom is not easy. For this reason, Dr. Ruben Puentedura created a strategic model called SAMR in 2010 to help teachers visualize how to integrate technologies into educational programs. Each acronym letter represents increased complexity when using technological tools in different stages when incorporating educational technology (EdTech): Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition.

The first two phases, replacement, and augmentation, involve improvement, where classroom technology accentuates and adds value to learning. Teachers can familiarize their students with new technologies in these stages. Puentedura suggests that once students know the tool over time, teachers can progress to the modification and redefinition phases, where they can easily observe how their students learn.

“It’s essential that people feel comfortable with the tools they use to evolve their practice” – Rubén Puentedura. The modification and redefinition phases are transformational, where hardware or software support teaching and how students acquire knowledge in ways impossible using traditional means.

Improvement

• Substitution: This stage is the simplest, where technology directly substitutes traditional learning. How learning occurs does not change; what changes is how students receive new knowledge. For example:
  • Project instructions for an assignment in the classroom instead of handing out printed sheets to each student.
  • Provide recordings of a class that was taught on platforms like Zoom.
  • Give students an exam using a digital platform instead of pencil and paper.

• Augmentation: In this stage, technology is an additional asset to learning and acts as a supporting tool that motivates students to participate or facilitates their understanding. Strategies may be introduced here that allow students to be held responsible for their own learning.
  • Introduce a topic through an interactive quiz with applications like Kahoot.
  • Research a class topic using Internet resources.
  • Let students use PowerPoint to support an oral presentation.

Transformation

• Modification: In this first transformation stage, a substantial change occurs in how classes are taught compared to the improvement stage. Here, specific technologies support the class design.
  • The teacher shows a video in class for which the student must write an essay.
  • Use Google Docs so remote students can work on a document in real-time.
  • Use educational platforms like Canva, where students can download resources to use in class, check their grades, or be notified about important announcements regarding a particular class.

• Redefinition: Here, technology is necessary for activities that would be impossible to perform otherwise in the classroom. As the name suggests, innovative digital tools redefine teaching and learning.
  • Students create podcasts on a specific topic using Anchor, which allows them to add music, sound effects, etc.
  • Visit a museum or country virtually.
  • Hold a debate on a controversial topic via Zoom with students from different schools.

It is worth mentioning that no stage is superior to another; instead, they are ordered by the level of sophistication required to use the technologies. If the activity design is more complicated when using these tools, it would be better for the teacher to stick to traditional methods. Technology should provide convenience to facilitate student learning and streamline other processes carried out by teachers, such as roll call, reviewing exams, etc.

“It’s tempting to think of SAMR as a mountain to be summited. But good technology integration isn’t about living at the top of the SAMR model; it’s about being aware of the range of options and picking the right strategy—or strategies—for the lesson at hand.” – Terada, 2020.

The SAMR model piques interesting questions for teachers designing their classes, helping to visualize a clearer picture of integrating technology in the classroom. For example, how can digital tools increase the quality of learning? What technologies could be implemented in my class? How and what resources motivate students? Which topics are relevant for technology introduction? Thanks to today’s technological advances, a wide range of platforms, applications, hardware, software, etc., allow for adjustments and improving the quality of education. However, it is essential not to introduce digital tools into the classroom merely because they are novel and attractive; implementing them must be based on strong foundations of relevance and a clear, concise learning objective that favors students’ academic improvement.

Translation by: Daniel Wetta

Mariana Sofía Jiménez Nájera

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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0