SAMR and TPACK models.

As an online teacher, I am familiar with online lesson planning. I usually use online tools and dynamic platforms that call students´ attention and engage them in classes, having in mind that one of my functions is being an online class designer in a private academy and that teachers need to sell classes with their new ideas so they get more students´ enrollment. The classes need to be appealing, but above all, they ought to have consistency in the framework. This is why I consider that SAMR and TPACK models can guide teachers in their lesson planning because they put at play several concepts, recommendations, challenges and so on in the transition from the materials and tasks of face-to-face classes to online-designed classes.

Recently, I have thought about my classes online and to what extent they cover the SAMR levels. Having established that my classes are online, substitution is the only way to deliver my classes, with worksheets, Prezi presentations, graphs and visual aids. Then I support and assess the information using websites and online tools, such as Padlet, quizzes, Kahoot or any game platform that helps me get augmentation level. However, I have to admit that I get short when I need to create modification and redefinition levels. I guess the method, time and academy framework have made me restrict myself to providing activities that go beyond.

There is no justification for the lack of activities in the transformation section. I would like to see this self-assessment of my classes as the beginning of a new way to teach them. Gaining consciousness about these models of planning opens up not only the possibility of new methodologies in my online classes, but also the possibility of changing my perception of students´ capacities and independence. It is necessary to challenge students’ curiosity and guide them to the 21st century learning, promoting their functional, humanistic, and metacognitive knowledge.

Puentedura, R (2013). 21st Century Learning, Figure.

With these models, we can promise our students the exploration of their independence in their learning process, give them an active role, so they can stop thinking that the teacher is the only one who creates tasks. We can prepare them and facilitate spaces where they can develop their inventiveness, cultural knowledge, critical thinking and collaborative work. The following video is very inspirational for me, and I think it is tightly related to the purpose of the models to plan our classes.

Furthermore, the discussions in classes about this topic help me come up with ideas about the possible ways to implement technology in innovative classes. It also makes me aware of the challenges a Colombian teacher finds in classes, such as the lack of technological resources, the likely fixed mindset of students and colleagues, or the pressure of administration to use technology when there is a lot to be trained on.

Among all the conclusions, the one I will reflect on is that now any task is possible thanks to technology, and even though we do not follow all the stages of SAMR in a specific order, we can still develop significant tasks that eventually will define our identity as a teacher. Here, I expose some meaningful tasks I have developed so far in my classes, and now I know they have a theoretical support. It is paramount to be informed with theories and guidance when we make decisions about our methodology.

SMART megaclub online

It has interactive activities completely online that reach the SAMR levels, it goes from the creation of a podcast to the posting of students´ memes.