SAMR

Using technology in the classroom is important but knowing how can be improving instruction is critical. It might seem like it is enough to have students read on a tablet, but if technology is simply replacing reading from the book, it is unnecessary. It is important to know why and how you are using technology. This simple process of critical thinking on the technology that you are using can lead to improved instruction. 

It might be tempting to only use technology that is a redefinition or is a modifier. This should be the goal of technology in the classroom but there is something to be said about using technology that is only substituting or augmenting. There might be a student that is more comfortable reading using a tablet or a student that excels using manipulatives on a website during math. Technology is a way of life and it should be used in the classroom to help teach students how to use it well. It would be a great disservice to students if a teacher was hesitant to use technology because they did not feel that it was hitting the two upper levels of SAMR. It is on the teacher to bring technology into the classroom and to explore ways to bring it into the upper levels but this should not stop the teacher from using technology. 

Using the SAMR model gives the teacher a critical lens of the technology that they are using. In my mind, the SAMR model should be used as a guide to using technology but should not prohibit the teacher from exploring how to use technology in their classroom.