Reflection 1

SUBSTITUTION:
Multiple platforms of technology with various access points are substituted with a Blackboard function, for example, Zoom meetings are substituted for Blackboard Ultra Collaborate, which allows for a similar experience.

AUGMENTATION: 
Blackboard Ultra Collaborate sessions allow for integration into the lessons and discussions seamlessly by being offered on the same platform.  Students access sessions while they are already logged into Blackboard.

MODIFICATION:
The weekly discussion posts are now able to be shared in a real-time, personal setting, albeit virtually through Blackboard Ultra Collaborate.  Thoughts are developed further through group discussion and integration.  Debates are had and alternate views are explored with back and forth conversations.

REDEFINITION:
Through this functionality, we are able to change the Capstone project from a transactional submission of demonstrated knowledge from the course into a relational presentation where students use a variety of available technology to create and present their Capstone strategic plan to the cohort in real time over Blackboard Ultra Collaborate.

The roles change from a simple input-process-output (IPO) model of transferring knowledge to students, where the instructor provides a lecture and materials to later assesses student comprehension of the material in a very transactional way, into a deeper form of comprehension through shared experience and dialogue that fosters group-learning and collaboration.
The students become the teacher and the teacher learns from the student experiences for a more relational approach.

Knowing that National University requires courses to use Blackboard as the ultimate mode of communications, presentation and assignment submission, all technology must be compatible and able to be uploaded within the system.  Files can be uploaded and shared as part of the course curriculum by the instructor or as assignments or cohort contributions by the student.  
Considering Blackboard has a considerable amount of functionality within the program, using aspects provided within that platform are preferred over having students access an additional resource.  Simplified, rather than logging onto multiple platforms, all technology used is integrated through a function of Blackboard so everything is one place, streamlining the process for student (end-user) access.

Making instructional decisions, filtered through the TPACK format help me to stay focused on the desired outcome of the lesson(s) in order to make the best decisions of how to arrive at that ultimate goal with the technology available to the instructor and the students within the contextual framework of the current course.

My instructional decisions and roles in the classroom seem to completely change as my lesson changed through each SAMR level. At the Substitution level, I use technology such as Google Slides, Youtube, Google Docs, etc. as simply a tool to deliver content about elements of a narrative. I am directly teaching to the whole class. Students are merely passive listeners at this time. 

This dynamic slightly changes at the Augmentation level. Being able to access the online textbook and write their personal narrative anywhere with Google Docs is using technology with functional improvement. The students aren't tied to the traditional classroom setting, but they are still acting as passive learnings.

At the Modification level, students begin to become more active in their learning. Conferencing is an important part in the writing process, but conferencing becomes difficult with Covid-19 policies in place that do not allow for close contact interaction. Therefore, we use Google Meets and Google Docs as a way to share content with each other and give instant feedback to each other no matter where the students are at. In this process, students begin to take charge of their learning. I - as the teacher -  act more as a facilitator leading them along with their learning goals.

Students begin to manipulate technology and become independent learners at the Redefinition level of the SAMR model. At the end of the unit, students are tasked with creating a movie poster for their personal narrative that represents their narrative and other literary techniques that they used in Canva. Here, students become the main manipulators of technology in order to display their knowledge and content in a creative way. They are autonomous and have the ability to make their own choices in their work and are also able to collaborate and share with anyone around the world. 

Overall, I think there is a place for each SAMR level in the classroom. Each level is important and holds value. That being said, incorporating more lessons and activities at the Modification and Redefinition level allows for a more effective student-centered classroom. Only a small part of my unit resides in these two levels. I believe that students will find more value in their learning when using technology as an active learners and now just the passive learners that typically occur at the lower levels of the SAMR track. 

I think at the Substitution level of SAMR, a teacher is implementing either low tech options (PowerPoint, for example) or perhaps a "flashy" app or new "it" program. You're using technology for technology's sake. Although, I suppose a PowerPoint at least reaches the Augmentation level, as it can improve the delivery of information - it's organized beforehand, not all haphazardly written on a whiteboard, etc. With Substitution, it provides opportunities for teachers and students to interact less. For example, a teacher can plunk students in front of a "drill and practice" type program. Students are working alone, and the teacher isn't interacting with them either. Technology at this level has the potential to remove the social aspect from learning. However, it can also make some aspects of teaching easier and more efficient. 

I think the Augmentation level has more potential to make both teaching and learning more efficient. If used correctly, technology doesn't have to remove the beneficial social aspects of learning, but it can streamline it. For example, students can collaborate on Google Docs rather than on paper. This has the potential to improve the experience of collaborating, but it does not hinder or remove the collaboration. With smart boards, chalk-talk type activities could also become more efficient. There is still the element of moving about the room, of a group sending a student to the board to share what they came up with, but the work could be saved and/or displayed more easily. The interaction and roles of students and teachers are preserved and enhanced. 

I liked that in Kolb's (2017) book pointed out that there has been some confusion on whether or not the levels of SAMR are hierarchical or just "a straight line with not hierarchy and just categories" (p. 25). At the Modifcation and Redefinition levels, the lesson is said to be "transformed". To Modify means to significantly redesign the task, and to Redifine, new tasks are created that would not be conceivable without technology. I think it would be easy to use a flashy app or program and think that you are achieving this, but it definitely takes more purposeful, critical thought to execute. I think that Google Docs or other real-time, group editing programs like that could be used in this fashion. I think these levels have the potential to change the nature of the interaction between students and teachers though, perhaps removing interaction rather than adding it. 

I believe learning to be an inherently social endeavor, and in my opinion, technology that enhances interaction between students (and their teacher) rather than removes it is the greatest asset. 

The SAMR and TPACK models were helpful when contemplating how impactful my lesson could be. In a normal lesson plan, I’ll work through objectives and essential questions, but I do not focus on technology as a tool/tutor/tutee, or how that technology could expand my students’ education. I believe this change is especially true this year as this is the first year my school has had 1:1 technology. Now, all of my lesson plans should incorporate the SAMR and TPACK models to help improve my blended learning plans. With the SAMR model specifically, I took this lesson plan about writing news stories that I originally designed on a Google Slide, and I worked through the steps of Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition, and changed the entire plan. I substituted the platform I was using which was more user-friendly and had more functions. It allowed me to modify how the students keep track of their work, add in multimedia elements and track their progress in real time. The hardest step was Redefinition, thinking about how new tasks could be created with this software that wasn’t available to me before. I can have the students create multi-media elements to include in their story, and gear my lesson towards online media news rather than print media. They can now look at a story nationally or globally, rather than just school-wide. I certainly had to think about how my approach to lesson planning could impact education, specifically that if I am continuing to use the same materials, my lessons will not evolve with the technology available. With the SAMR model I can imagine my lessons in a context greater than the seats of my classroom. 

As the lesson goes on, my role as a teacher slowly changes from instructor to supervisor. I start by instructing the students and then once that time is over I begin to supervise while they are writing and sharing with each other. 

My instructional decisions changed as I described my lesson at each SAMR level because I wanted it to become better each time. I wanted to challenge myself to get the lesson to the redefinition level. My selections of the different technologies changed as I described my lesson at each SAMR level because again, I wanted the lesson to be at the redefinition level so my students would be able to get the most out of it. My role within the classroom changes as I described the lesson at each SAMR level by the pedagogy becoming more student centered. Instead of giving direct instruction, I am simply guiding the students through the process. It changes the students' roles as well. Instead of simply sitting there and passively listening, they receive the opportunity to learn actively.

  When thinking about what kind of lesson I wanted to put into this, I knew I wanted to do something with science. I thought how much technology has been introduced into the school system sense I have been in school. A students learning is much more enhanced with all of this new tech allowing you to go deeper into science and really any subject. Back before all this technology, you were limited to a book. Whatever the book told you is what you went by. Now, with this technology, we can go even deeper. We can get new information that would not have been put in a book meant for elementary schoolers. Personally, I believe the technology has gained more interest too.             Looking into my decisions for technology on SAMR most of my technology would fit into the R. Using VR, we have never had the opportunity to get this deep into space in the classroom. Using VR changes the lesson completely without losing sight of what is being taught. We are still learning about the solar system and its components, but now we can learn even more because of how deep we can go into the topic using this technology. Now, when looking into the role as a teacher, I believe that the technology is just a substitute. The teacher will still teach the same, but with the new technology, they will be able to go even farther into the teaching. The teacher will ultimately still lead discussions too as the students use the VR systems. The teacher's role is still to lead and teach just with new added technology. Moving to the student, I see the student in the A. The student will still act in the student role by participating in discussion and taking in all the information, but the new technology helps them learn more on the topic. The students will get more out of this lesson than they would with the old school textbook. With space, it is hard to get up close and personal with it because it is space. We have to just go off the books. With these new technologies, the students can dig deeper into the learning and gaining more knowledge.