SAMR Doesn’t Help Planning

I’ve been thinking about the SAMR model recently and how it is not as helpful as I first thought it was. Sure, it can still be a tool used by teachers, but not in the way that many people believe that it is.

When planning lessons, I often hear people (often at tech conferences) talk about SAMR as a way to incorporate technology effectively. The problem is that it really doesn’t offer ways to incorporate technology. Instead it is a tool for determining how deep and effective your technology usage was. Was it “technology for technology’s sake” or did it deeply enhance your lesson? It is important for teachers to understand this after they create a lesson, but it really offers no help in developing lessons.

Use the 4Cs instead