10 ways to reach SAMR’s redefinition level

From Matt Miller at Ditch That Textbook

Redefinition is at the top of the SAMR model, and most educators want to know how the can reach it. Here are several ideas for redefining learning with technology. (Image via Dr. Ruben Puentedura via hippasus.com)

When I saw Dr. Ruben Puentedura’s SAMR model for the first time, I thought two things:

1. “Wow, why hasn’t anyone shown me this sooner?”

2. “How can I get to the redefinition level?”

If you’re where I was when I asked question 1 above, here’s your brief synopsis:

SAMR is a technology integration model that basically shows the way to get the most out of your technology in the classroom. The dotted line in the chart to the right shows where you cross over from doing what you’ve always done — just adding technology — to doing what you couldn’t do before.

Redefinition is at the top of the SAMR model, but that doesn’t mean that you “win” or that you’re doing it right only if you reach redefinition. Some tasks just aren’t made for redefinition, and great learning can happen without redefinition.

But redefinition is the Holy Grail. If you get there, you’re providing learning that couldn’t have happened a decade ago (maybe a year ago).

At a recent conference, I was asked for some redefinition examples, and I realized that that’s what we’re all really looking for: ideas we can modify so we can get there too.

Here are 10 ideas for reaching SAMR’s redefinition level:

1. A cultural exchange: My students were fortunate to participate in a cultural exchange created between me and a teacher in Spain. Students met in pairs via Skype to discuss predetermined topics and to just talk about whatever they wanted. They then wrote in their second language (Spanish or English) about the conversation and the other students help correct their mistakes. (I’ve written several posts about this exchange.)

2. Public blogs: Writing has always been at the core of many subjects. This takes writing and gives it a new, exciting potential audience: the world. Students write in publicly accessible blogs and share them via any channels possible (i.e. school website/newsletter, Twitter/Google Plus communities, listservs, etc.). They then have interactions with people about their ideas that they would never have otherwise.

3. Global perspectives: Students connect with a class in another part of the world to discuss a historical event — preferably one that affects both their own countries. Students write — in shared Google Documents, blogs, wikis or any other writing tool — factually about the event and then share opinions about it. They can compare how it’s perceived in different parts of the world. (Inspired bythis post.)

4. “Aid the community” competition: Students from various countries engage in a project to tackle an issue in their communities (i.e. reducing the carbon footprint of their communities). Students share ideas on a wiki, discuss ideas together via video chat on Skype/Adobe Connect/Google Hangout, and partner with researchers at local universities or companies. They share the findings of their yearlong endeavor in a documentary on YouTube. (Source: ECISD Technology)

5. eBook authors: Creating an eBook opens students’ work up to a global audience. Students’ hard work to research or create a project can be produced digitally and distributed in previously impossible ways. iBooks Author or any publishing platform that produces epub or PDF files (Microsoft Publisher, Google Apps, etc.) would work. eBooks could be offered for free (or at a price to benefit a charity or other cause) on Amazon or other eBook sellers. (Inspired by this post.)

6. Twitter writing: Twitter, by nature, can open students up to people from all walks of life AND teaches brevity in writing with its 140-character limits. Students could engage in a collaborative writing project with students (or anyone) from other places via Twitter. A story starter could be posted to a teacher-created hashtag and suggestions for continuation of the story could be taken from participants. A “crowdsourced” story would result. (Source: EdofICTJSSALC)

7. Sketchnoting: If you’ve seen an RSA Animate video, where an artist sketches visual notes based on a motivating speech, you’ve seen sketchnoting. Plenty of digital tools are available to sketchnote, and sketchnotes can (like many examples here) be shared with an audience for dialogue and shared ideas. (Source: Kathy Schrock’s SAMR model musings)

8. Bookmark annotating: Sites like Diigo that allow users to bookmark sites and annotate over them provide a place for discussing content that didn’t exist before. Students (or the teacher) can bookmark sites and then write notes and highlight important ideas. A discussion can take place right on the page. Post-It notes and writing in margins were possible before, but you couldn’t access other people’s notes from anywhere and engage in conversation with them.

9. Nearpod presentation: Nearpod makes presentations possible in a way that was previously impossible. It gives the presenter controls that they wouldn’t have with a standard PowerPoint presentation (and it’s free). Teachers send the digital presentation out to student devices and control what students see. Students interact and respond to the presentation, and the teacher can monitor student progress.

10. Google Apps paperless classroom: Instead of creating documents on paper, distributing them to students and collecting them as assignments, students and teachers can function paperlessly. Documents in Google Apps (or Evernote or other options) can be organized and edited digitally. They can be shared and edited simultaneously by any user. Users can even use chat windows and comment boxes to discuss content. They can all be accessed from anywhere.