SAMR and My Digital Toolbox

First of all, SAMR is another one of those buzzwords (or buzz-acronyms, I suppose...) that I had never heard of prior to taking W531, Technology for Teaching and Learning, but it's definitely one that will influence my teaching practices from here on out. SAMR is a ladder-like model that describes the progression of technology integration in the classroom. This model was researched and developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, and seems to be one of the most commonly used technology integration models. I've included one of Dr. Puentedura's graphics of his model for your reference, as my purpose here is not to define and explain the model, but to discuss my potential usage of it. I really liked this blog post from Hooked Innovation that describes SAMR as less of a ladder, and more of a swimming pool. When you are new to swimming, you don't generally jump in the deep end of the pool, you start in the shallow end, and gradually work your way further out as you get comfortable.  I found this vision of the model to be rather reassuring-this doesn't mean that every lesson that isn't in the Transformation end of the model is an automatic failure.

So, as I thought of using SAMR to influence the technology integration in my future classroom, I began to think of the challenges that K-2 teachers, in particular, face when targeting the Modification and Redefinition stages of the model, especially in classrooms with 30+ students.  After all, most of these young students are new readers and writers, and require more assistance.  Applications and programs that can be independently used by older elementary students like StoryBoard That, require the student to be able to read directions and write/spell, so much more adult assistance would be required for primary ages.  I've been searching for programs and apps that target those Transformation stages that can be used by the younger kids, and I've found a few to add to my Digital Toolbox, which you can see on my Pinterest board, here.  Not all of the programs and apps in my Digital Toolbox hit the Transformation targets, but sometimes it's just nice to dip your toes in, and keep your head above water now and then.  Luckily, I did find several fun things that will have me paddling towards the deep end, as well.

I developed a rubric for use when identifying potential tools to add to the toolbox.  The criterion are concerns that I think are common among K-2 teachers in public schools.  You can see my rubric below, and as you view my Pinterest board, you will see that I have scored each entry according to the rubric guidelines.

My hope is that I will continue to add new tools to my Toolbox that will suit the needs of K-2 graders growing up in our 21 century world.  

*SAMR image is the work of Dr. Ruben Puentendura, Ph.D and can be found on his website http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/