Learning about SAMR

An impactful moment of learning for me this week was the class where we learned about SAMR. The video that was played at the beginning of class was mind blowing for me. Technology has advanced so far that people who can't move any part of their body from the neck down can edit video clips and create short films. That's crazy to me! I realized in just a short period of time after watching that clip that technology is no longer just one machine that everyone uses for the same things. Technology has advanced so far that it can accommodate a person's needs and fit whatever they need in life to make it easier. Also, I started thinking about how I, as a future teacher, will have to learn how to adapt to students in my class that could very well be using this same type of technology.

It's no surprise that times are changing and technology is still evolving and getting more advanced. These are some of the reasons to why SAMR comes into play. It's important for us as teachers to realize that we can still teach on the same topics and expect our students to learn about that topic, but we can expect them to do the assignment in a different way that would be more fun for them and would allow them to learn more while completing it. This was a great learning experience for me because advances in technology are not slowing down.

I found a video that talked more about SAMR and it talks about the threshold from augmentation to modification as a transforming process that allows students to analyze and use critical thinking skills which are expected of students now in the 21st century. It's important to modify our lesson plans in a a way that allow our students the chance to analyze issues, solve problems, and think critically. I have listed the website that I found the video below.
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/introduction-to-the-samr-model

There are many teacher candidate standards that relate to us referring to the SAMR model while we are planning our lesson plans and ones that relate to us using technology and 21st century skills to ensure our students are learning problem solving and critical thinking skills. A few of these standards are teachers adapt their teaching to benefit students with special needs and this involves meeting the needs of all students and working with specialists to ensure we are meeting the needs of these students in the right way. Another one is teachers make instruction relevant to students. It's important for us as teachers to make our lessons relevant to our students in a way that they understand and can relate to. Which is another reason why the SAMR model is so important because it allows teachers to modify tasks to fit the needs of students in the 21st century and it activates learning that students can become interested in. Teachers are also expected to utilize technology into their instruction and this is how we can modify our lesson plans to interest our students. Instead of just having our students write a paper, we can have them take a virtual field trip.

I have made many connections this week and I can tell that in order to keep my students engaged and learning in my classroom, I need to go above the normal teaching ways. I can't expect my students to do what students did in 1950. Times are changing and evolving and my students have access to unlimited technology and it's my job to get them to utilize it and use it for their benefit so they can enjoy what they are learning.

In my future classroom, I want my students to see that I can utilize technology in a way that makes learning fun for them, but I also still have a ton of interaction with them because I don't want technology to be the only thing teaching my students. I will integrate technology into my lesson plans in a way that is fresh and new and allows my students to enjoy what I'm teaching instead of dreading it.