As I’m sure you have heard at home, our students now have
access to iPads in their classrooms. Our
students and staff have been anxiously waiting for these to roll-out. Now that they are here, our focus turns to
what types of learning can be done with them.
As a district, we are looking at a technology model called SAMR, which
stands for: Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition.
The learning that takes place typically falls along a
continuum within these four areas. At a
lower learning level, we have substitution.
What this means is that we are using the iPads to substitute what could
be done with something else. Filling out
a worksheet that is on the iPad would be substituting pencil and paper. This example is pretty cool and it saves
paper, but it’s not necessarily changing the way students learn. At the other end of the spectrum, we have
redefinition. Having a student create a
documentary about the phases of the moon set to music using the iPad is an
example of redefinition. Students are
redefining the way they are learning.
Rather than writing a research paper on the phases of the moon, students
are finding information on the moon, and then finding creative ways to share
the information. This is the type of
learning we are hoping to achieve!
As we
continue to learn best practices with the iPads, we will be challenging our
students to extend their learning through exploration and creativity; certainly
something our students love doing!
