SAMR is a good tool for evaluating technology and seeing if it fits with your learning targets. It is important to note that substitution is not the worst and redefinition is not the best. All activities should not be at the redefinition level, some activities will be better suited to substitution or augmentation. For example if you want to evaluate writing skills then using computers to type would be a good alternative. However, if you had them record a video of their story, you are no longer seeing their writing skills. I think if you are looking to incorporate technology, it is a good tool to use but technology is not necessary in every context so you should not feel like you have to augment or redefine your activities.

Photo by Judit Peter from Pexels

SECTIONS is a more comprehensive tool compared to SAMR. It considers many aspects of using a technology including students, costs, organizational issues, and security/privacy. I feel like this a good thing to use when you decided you want to use a type of technology and you want to make sure it is appropriate for your specific class. Whereas SAMR is useful for deciding whether or not to use technology, SECTIONS seems more useful for evaluating technology. The most appropriate technology is one that works for each letter in SECTIONS. For example, if you find an online resource that is great for all of the letters except cost, you may look around at other resources that function similarly but are free or low cost. However, some letters may be more significant to you than others. For example, you may think security/privacy is very important but networking is less applicable for your students’ level.

I am hoping to teach upper elementary and I think sketch noting would be an excellent tool. I think drawing/doodling is an enjoyable activity for students of all grade levels. When students are still learning how to write, drawing is a tool they can use to express their thoughts. For upper elementary, writing skills are more developed but sketch noting would be particularly helpful when learning new vocabulary or concepts. I often find it is helpful to visualize something in my head to help me remember things so this is a more concrete version of that. This activity is also very accessible, pens and paper are something everyone has or is relatively inexpensive to get. It also gives students freedom to record information in their own way that will be helpful for their learning, drawing ability is not a factor because the notes are for them.

Here is my infographic I made on Canva using this workshop: https://uviclibraries.github.io/infographics/workshop-activities.html