Teaching over the line with SAMR and Quizizz

Jeddah B. Quiño

The SAMR Model is a methodology for assisting teachers in incorporating technology into their
classrooms. Dr. Ruben Puentedura popularized the concept, which encourages and empowers
teachers to create, develop, and integrate digital learning experiences. The objective is to improve
student success through transforming learning experiences. On the other hand, Quizziz is a web-based
assessment application that allows teachers and students to collaborate on quizzes. A quiz can be
offered live as a timed competition or utilized as homework with a set deadline after supplying students
with a unique access code. Students can evaluate their answers once the quizzes have been finished.
The collected data is put into a spreadsheet to provide the instructor with a clear picture of the student's
performance to evaluate patterns and determine which areas require the most significant attention in
the future. Teachers may utilize this quick feedback to adjust future learning activities and refocus
content by emphasizing students' ideas.

From what I have observed during the report of Ma'am Celocia, I can say a Quizizz fit into the
SAMR paradigm. Here is my simple analogy: In substitution, instead of us using a piece of paper, we
took an online quiz on Quizizz. In augmentation, we saw how our responses compare to the rest of the
class as we complete the quiz. In the modification, instead of waiting for her to grade our responses
individually, we checked our responses right away while we were still fresh in our thoughts. Lastly, in
redefinition, she examined the class's data for trends and utilized the information to determine which
areas require more focus. It is unlikely that technology is the primary barrier to online education.
According to a 2016 research, teachers seek out educational technology since it "may have substantial
beneficial benefits on student performance," such as boosting test scores and helping teachers more
effectively analyze student success. The main issue is figuring out how to incorporate it: Aside from the
sheer amount of tech tools available, the same study cited "inadequate professional development and
training" as the most significant barrier to effectively employing technology in the classroom. As to my
experience, I knew that I am already applying the SAMR model during this new normal. However, upon
digging more into what this model is all about, I can say that I should utilize SAMR to do basic
benchmarking activities against existing learning and teaching technology. However, there is a danger
that this may focus our emphasis on the technology rather than the results of our efforts to improve how
we offer learning and teaching—using SAMR as an audit tool to examine how technology influences
teaching and learning practice would be a more effective exercise. Individual instructors would benefit
from this, and departmental administrators would utilize the data to build a comprehensive picture of
practice.

I am thankful that Dr. Potane gave me this first topic. SAMR model is an excellent tool for
assisting teachers in identifying their present comfort zone to develop expertise in developing efficient
and successful student learning experiences. Teachers can make specific planning and instructional
adjustments to go to higher levels on the SAMR ladder. When attempting to figure out how to assist
kids to acquire critical 21st Century Skills at each level, it is helpful to look at the broader picture. I was
able to grasp the subject better using the SAMR model. However, I recognize that technology should
not be used in place of or as a substitute for more conventional methods. The objectives should be to
use technology to improve teaching techniques and student comprehension. Additionally, the ultimate
objective of employing technology in schools should be to empower students to control their learning
and find their pleasure and passion. Indeed, regardless of the technology or techniques utilized, it
should be the objective of education. Students taking responsibility for their learning while using
technology fascinates me and is connected to my inquiry for this course.

The SAMR model, established in 2010 by education researcher Ruben Puentedura, who
received a Phi Beta Kappa teaching award in 1991, is a solid conceptual framework for thinking about
technology integration—and edtech's optimum applications. Substitution, augmentation, modification,
and redefinition are the four levels of online learning, given approximately their sophistication and
transformational potential in the SAMR paradigm. Teachers frequently concentrate on the first two
phases of the transition to an online format, which entail replacing traditional resources with digital ones:
Turning lessons and worksheets into PDFs and publishing them online, or videotaping courses and
making them available for asynchronous learning. Those are critical measures to take, especially when
teaching online for the first time, but in classrooms where digital integration has progressed to the
mastery level, the following two levels of the SAMR model—modification and redefinition—should also
be considered. Students in classrooms where this level of competence is taught discover more
innovative and engaging ways to use technology. They are, for example, makers and publishers of their
work in a variety of media, invite professionals to offer comments on their work products, or participate
in online forums with peers from all over the world. It is all too easy to imagine SAMR as a mountain to
climb. On the other hand, good technological integration is not about living at the top of the SAMR
model; it is about being aware of the alternatives and selecting the best strategy—or strategies—for the
lesson at hand. Remember that SAMR is more like a toolbox than a mountain to climb. The objective is
to find the best tool for the job, not the most advanced. Nevertheless, more significantly, it is a method
to think about a few crucial issues when considering your technological integration: How can I use
technology to enhance my lesson? How can I use technology to engage and empower students? What
can be done to make online learning more genuine and real-world? Teachers, in my opinion, should
develop activities that both target higher-order cognitive skills (Bloom's) and have a substantial
influence on student results (SAMR). Educators would claim that they have seen redefinition activities
that only target the remembering level or a creative evaluation that only assesses the augmentation
level. Of course, that is true, but I believe we should prepare for technological tasks, activities, and
evaluations incorporating Bloom's Revised Taxonomy's upper levels and the SAMR model's
transformation area. The coronavirus's appearance has, understandably, hastened the process of
integrating edtech, as teachers across the country want to go online as soon as possible. However, as
many of our teachers have pointed out, K-12 online learning is now more akin to triage—a type of crisis
management than well-managed distance education. What is lacking from the debate right now, which
makes sense given the urgency of the situation, focuses on the more prominent topic of what high-
quality technology integration looks like in practice. That is a meaningful discussion because, even as
we return to physical schools and use face-to-face possibilities, there will likely be a more significant
focus on digital learning in a post-coronavirus future.