This week I have learned do much about the importance of thoughtfully incorporating technology within the curriculum.  Students need to be engaged in projects that are content based and teach them to work together collaboratively.  Are jobs as teachers has now been widened to include preparing our students socially to enter their future workplace.  We need to teach them to be not only think critically, but also to be able to communicate their ideas effectively and to be a team player.   Common Core is all about perseverance and that is exactly what Project Based Learning and Bloom's Revised Taxonomy is all about.  I read a quote that said that in order for a student to understand, they must remember.  In order for them to apply, they must understand.  In order analyze, they must apply their understanding.  In order to evaluate, they must be able to analyze, but it takes all of these to create. Wise words!

I have been working on my Social Studies hero unit with my second graders.  I wanted them to take the information that they had learned about the hero of their choice and, with their group, create a five picture story showing his/her life and accomplishments.  This is the substitution level because it takes the place if drawings that could have been done on a poster.  Then they can augment the photos using the Photoshop features when they upload the pictures onto the App Explain Everything.  The app will allow the joining of the photos and voice recording if they choose to do so.  The students will then present their projects to the class (modification). I want the students to upload their projects onto our class website to showcase their work for their parents and receive their comments (Redefinition).  

I have to be honest and say that I had a bit of trouble with my project going through the SAMR model.  I knew what I wanted to do and how I wanted to incorporate technology into the lesson.  It was easy for me to redefine and modify the lesson.  I was hard for me to think of the lower levels of the model. What was taking the picture replacing? Oh, they would have had to draw pictures in the past. LOL. I tend to think big and get all excited about the upper models and I don't focus on the lower level and how it was incorporated.  I have learned that I need to slow down and really think about the baby steps and how they modify the lesson (even if it's little).