Week 5 Activity 16: EdTech trends (BYOD & SAMR)

The topic of BYOD-Bring Your Own Device is a topic currently trending in #edtech.  Here is a related google+ live newscast from 2012; the complete report would not embed properly so click here for a video clip of the live huffpost experience and to gain a better understanding of BYOD. The reason I picked this topic is because of the dichotomy I experience within my own classroom regarding BYOD (bringing your own device). As students enter my classroom, they are greeted with a laminated sheet with the apparent universal symbol for no cell phones  beyond this point.

Image by Gyrofrog [CC-BY-SA-3.0]
 via Wikimedia Commons

Students are aware of the signage and for the most part follow this guideline. Occasionally a student will raise his hand and ask if he can use a phone or ipod as a timer or calculator when the battery dies in one of the approved devices in the room. My response is typically a firm, "NO," followed by a brief internal dialogue and in a softer voice, as if I've retreated, "yes, but only this one time." Prior to this task, I was really not aware how polarizing this topic is among educators but here is a video link that summarizes the two sides for any institution considering BYOD . Although some districts see the advantage of letting students bring their own technology to school as a decrease in cost and an increase in student-engagement, other administrators will warn you of the host of security concerns related to BYOD.  Follow this link to read stories from piloting schools and you will discover pros, cons, and online security solution links in the left margin of the article. What I learned from researching this topic is that this seems like a great initiative in terms of creating a 21st century learning environment which is interactive, collaborative, and creative for the students. Below are a few ideas BYOD institutions should consider during implementation- 

• the wide variety of technologies that will require IT support, 

• saving the older devices to have on hand as loaners to ensure equal access,  

• use of the cloud for resources so any device can reach it

• entry through a guest network 

• intellectual property protection

• safe connections to protect student identity while online

My greatest hope is that schools do not prioritize device availability over network security!


Another trending topic in edtech is SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition). It is based on the idea that technology is learning and its implementation becomes more important over time and more invisibly woven into lessons of teaching and learning. To do this effectively, its implementation is a progression defined by the type of tech being used, a scaffold for technology integration.The following graphic, which I borrowed from this presentation by the creator of SAMR,  Dr. Ruben R. Puentedura, is a summary of this edtech model including questions to make the progression 

Previously, I had never heard of the SAMR model so I decided to discover what others are saying about it. My goal was to find specific examples of technology used at each level in order to ascend the S-R ladder; "R" being the highest-level, comparable to evaluate, if we can draw parallels to the bloom's taxonomy. I found the following site helpful, directly applying a Wiki example to climb the ladder -  Using SAMR to Teach Above the Line. In addition, this 120 second video describes Google docs as an effective SAMR tool for using, integrating, revising, and creating new edtech experiences in any classroom. In the future I see the SAMR model transforming the question from which textbook to "which app will students need for class?" The graphic below, which combines Bloom's Taxonomy with SAMR model, may be a helpful guide in making that determination-

The Padagogy Wheel by Allan Carrington is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.  Based on a work at http://tinyurl.com/bloomsblog.