This week Mr. Erler (Elementary Principal), Mrs. Miller (4th Grade), Mrs. Morrow (2nd Grade) and Mrs. Schmitz (Kindergarten) attended the Curriculum Leaders of Minnesota Conference. On Friday our keynote speaker was Scott McLeod (@mcleod for Twitter followers). For me, his keynote was one of the most engaging conversations I have experienced. It was wonderful to share this experience with some of our outstanding JWP staff.
Dr. McLeod challenged us to think about how to take technology from substitution use to higher order uses while educating our students. This comes directly from the SAMR model of technology instruction.
S - Substitution - Technology acts as a direct tool substitute, with no functional change. For example, in the past, we may have used a chalkboard to teach and now we use the SMARTboard.
A - Augmentation - Technology acts as a direct tool substitute, with functional improvement. An example would be the use of "Back Channels" to further discuss a topic or for continued reflection.
M - Modification - Technology allows for significant redesign, which might be concept mapping notes using different pieces of technology linking different learning.
R - Redefinition - Technology allows for creation of new tasks that were previously inconceivable. An example of this would be that students are asked to make documentary videos of their grandparents or someone else they know in that age range. They would specifically discuss historical points and cite experience in the documentary. The documentary would then be shared via Twitter and Google Sites.
*Kathy Schrock (http://www.schrockguide.net/samr.html)
Ultimately one can look at the SAMR model as being similar to Bloom's Taxonomy. Moving from the bottom up in Bloom's Taxonomy allows more authentic learning experiences for students. Likewise is the experience of moving from substitution to redefinition.
Thank you Scott McLeod for outstanding information and tools for future innovation and district wide development! Those of you that have made your way through this blog entry, enjoy the following video.
No comments:
Post a Comment