What the Sam Hill is SAMR?

As technology becomes more available, teachers are asking how to change what they've done in the past to look more like a 21st century classroom. Lately the S.A.M.R. model has been used as a way to describe the progression of tech integration in the classroom. It is a simplistic look at how the activities that have been used in the classroom previously can be transformed into something that, while still proving the mastery of a concept, may take many different forms. 

Using this concept, teachers can slowly change the work that they have previously created into an opportunity for students to prove mastery using the technological opportunities that have been provided.

Essentially the levels in the model naturally progress by adding one more feature that the previous one did not. This allows teachers to attempt a slow progression into increased use of technology without jumping completely out of their comfort zone.

The short video below does a good job of showing one example of how a previously created lesson/assessment that was uniform for all students, can transform into something that students can create to show mastery using the formats that they are most comfortable / enthusiastic about.

As always, if you have questions about this concept, or any others that we've discussed on our blog, check out our district's Ed Tech website, or contact one of our coaches directly!