Diving In: Where I Fall in the SAMR Model of Tech Integration

Image source: shutterstock.com

When I started my MLIS 2 years ago, I was not worried about keeping up with the work load or whether I had chosen the right field. I was worried about technology. I have a city planning degree already, having submitted my dissertation & graduated in 2001. I had already left Berkeley and moved to Los Angles to complete my field work and write, while juggling my first job in higher education and a new baby. To submit I had to fly up to the Bay Area, physically visit my professors at their homes to get their signatures (it was a campus holiday), and camp out at the copy center to shepherd through multiple copies of the final dissertation that needed to go to the Graduate Student office by 5pm. Jump forward 21 years to when I began the library science degree and you can imagine...a lot has changed. 

So when looking at the SAMR (Substitution/Augmentation/Modification/Redefinition) model my initial thought was:  "I must be at the most basic level: substitution." I am not a teacher librarian yet although that is my dream. I am a volunteer at a school library and co-coach the 4th/5th/6th graders' (junior varsity) book  club and head coach the 7th/8th graders' (varsity) team. We meet weekly and over the past 2 years I am pleased to realize that not only have I become more comfortable with technology in my own graduate studies, I am quicker to incorporate it into my coaching. 

Swimming Laps

When it comes to evaluating where I fall on the SAMR spectrum as a coach, I resonate with the swimming pool metaphor presented by Jaclyn B. Stevens in "Erasing the Line." In that video, she argues that the 4 steps of the SAMR model originally were presented like different depths of a swimming pool with Substitution and Augmentation at the more shallow end, then that bobbing rope that separates shallow from deep, then Modification and Redefinition at the deep end. The goal, she says has been to leave behind the shallows and, like Lady Gaga in A Star is Born, dive into the deep end.

Video from YouTube 

However, Stevens says we need to get rid of that bobbing pool safety rope and realize educators swim across all levels of the technology pool, depending on the particular lesson of the day. Yes, it is exhilarating and beneficial to fundamentally transform how we teach, reaching the deepest end of the pool and the Redefinition end of the model. But as is explained in "A Practical Guide for K-12 Classroom Technology Integration with SAMR",

"...don’t fall into that ever-present trap of thinking that Redefinition is the goal or the best approach in all cases. Remember: SAMR is a spectrum. Substitution can be your best option for a particular setting."

For example, when I started coaching we required students to give short book talks on the texts they read (the goal of Battle of the Books is for teams to read, over the course of the year, a total of 20 books. Then they compete with other teams from other schools to see who knows the most about the books. While some keen students read all or almost all the books, most students read about 5 and share their knowledge with their teammates). They presented their book talks at team meetings and submitted them using Google Docs--an example of Substitution (Erickson, 2019). This year, the students will post their book talks onto Google Classroom, possibly using Google Slides, an example of the Modification step of the SAMR. After reading Erickson's article, I am intrigued by the possibility of having team mates leap to the Redefinition stage with their book talks and:  

 ..."use Animoto to create a 30–60 second book trailer. Working with the library media specialist in the school, the students turn the URL of their book trailer into a QR code, and then put their QR code into the book jacket for any student to scan and access the trailer."

I think using Animoto, or a similar app, could be fun and might get the students more excited about submitting their book talks. This way, team members who might have missed their classmates' presentations or failed to see them in Google Classroom (gasp!) could link to them instantly when they check out the book. Overall, this Redefinition of the book talk could be more engaging, and in the end more memorable, than the original approach of presenting in meetings.

Throwing Squishmallows

On the other end of tech spectrum, when our Varsity team was getting ready for City finals, I brought in a Squishmallow mushroom whom we tossed around, asking each other questions about the books they had read (author, name, plot points, etc) kind of like the game "popcorn" but with questions instead of clapping. This completely no-tech activity was a brain break that was fun, got the students out of their chairs, and helped them recall key facts. 

Image: author's
Our Mushroom Mascot on the way to City Finals

Where do I fall on the SAMR spectrum then? I'm swimming laps back and forth, sampling all depth levels, and so far, keeping my head above the water.

Erasing the line: Samr Model. jaclyn b. stevens. (n.d.). http://www.jaclynbstevens.com/erasing-the-line--samr-model.html 

Erickson, L. (n.d.). See how SAMR works in real classrooms. https://blog.mimio.com/see-how-samr-works-in-real-classroomsand-in-your-lessons 

Powerschool.com. (n.d.). SAMR Model: A Practical Guide for K-12 Technology Integration. https://www.powerschool.com/resources/blog/samr-model-a-practical-guide-for-k-12-classroom-technology-integration/ 

Terada, Y. (2020, May 4). A powerful model for understanding good tech integration. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/powerful-model-understanding-good-tech-integration/