SAMR Reflection

Technology is used at various levels in school systems. One thing I never thought of before working in a district was how much administration has to do with how much teachers are willing to incorporate technology. For instance, if the administration does not take action when a student plagarizes on a classroom blog or website, it does not encourage, or make teachers feel more confident, incorporating higher levels of technology in the classroom. This happens to be the case at the district I am in. Even having my classroom website has caused problems and all I use it for is communication of what we did in class and due dates that are coming up. I will account the different levels I have seen technology being used but I may have to substitute the higher levels with possible examples I could use instead of things I have actually seen.
The first level of SAMR is the substitute level. Typing in a word processing document is an example of this level. It is actually difficult to think of an example that just uses technology at this level. When I've seen word processing documents being used features of the word proccessor such as spell check, bullets, numbering, headers, and footers are used which automatically brings the use up to augumentation level. Besides word processing another augumentation level use of technology that I have used is overhead projectors. I believe this is the augumentation level because instead of using a regular worksheet and going over it verbally, it allows students who have trouble writing things down they hear verbally can see what is being written down and hopefully grasp the concepts better.
The modification level is when the use of technology becomes more advanced. I have used this level by creating a pbworks classroom page for students. I am only able to post what we did that day and a few chapter outlines at this point. However, in an ideal situation I would put up any digital notes or documents for students to have access to. I believe this will help improve student's study habits and grades as a result.
The redefinition level is a bit trickier to hit and I don't think I have seen it used by other teachers. This level talks about using social software to enhance students learning. While I have not see students sharing information with people in which it would not have been possible without the internet, I did introduce them to googledocs. The students had to make a digital presentation about different aspects outlined for them about an assigned biome. Some students chose to use googledocs which taught them how to share it with others. The students seemed very excited they could work on the project without having to find time in their busy schedules after school to meet. The quality of this work was great and we asked for students input about the program. Although the students said it would have been better if googledocs had the tranistions and effects of Microsoft PowerPoint they said it was very useful to work on it separately and be able to share it with each other and myself.