Technology and the web: The final frontier

I'm 23 years old and I have been in contact with tech since age 0. I know how to go around the web and how to get many things done. Still, the internet is so vast that I probably haven't even discovered 1% of what is out there to try out.

Moreover, it is really important to point out that, even when I know how to use the web for personal purposes, when it comes to taking it to the classroom it may not be the case. Teachers sometimes find themselves trying to include technology in every step of a lesson. My question then is, is it really necessary to do so? How and when should be appropiate to inject technology in the classroom?

Dr. Ruben Puentedura, from Hippasus - a consulting firm  focusing on transformative applications of information technologies to education, has designed a very interesting model for selecting, using, and evaluating technology in education. This is the Subtitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition model, otherwise referred to as SAMR.

The SAMR model tackles the different ways technology can interact with our lessons, and whether it is necessary to use it at all times.

Although I am not currently teaching at the moment, I personally feel that, since technology is ubiquituous in our lives nowadays, we should try to include it in different ways so as to enhance and transform learning as much as possible. Using MS Office apps is a clear example of how we substitute simple tasks such as preparing a handout. Augmentation could be present when playing videos or recordings, since the medium thorough which they experience the language is not just a text. To modify the classroom, a great idea would be to have students record a video themselves to share it with others.Playing MMORPGs is a fantastic way to redefine the classroom. By doing so, we are taking learning to the next level, by exploring worlds impossible before, and allowing students to interact online in a completely different way.

However, it is very true that not always will we need to use technology when other resources are available. Sometimes a pen and a paper is all it takes to deliver a great lesson!

Take a look at this very interesting flowchart that helps you decide what kind of approach you should take depending on your goal.

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