Running head: UTILIZING THE SAMR MODEL 1

Utilizing the SAMR Model

Assignment 3: Application of the SAMR Model

Melissa Ackerly

SUNY Delhi

NURS-602-11250-201709

Kirsty Digger

Curriculum and Instructional Design

October 6, 2017
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Abstract

This paper will explore the SAMR method of integration of technology into nursing education.

Some technology tools are offered as examples to attempt to level the SAMR method to a written

assignment. Technology to modify the written assignment is presented. The nurse educators and

student perspectives of effectiveness of technology tools to enhance education are discussed. An

evaluation of the SAMR model includes the operational change in the assignment to reflect the

effective use of technology. Decisions related to appropriate use of technology tools in education

is examined.
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Utilizing the SAMR Model

An assignment for online course NURS 402 was part one of a written two part teaching

project. Students selected a disease process as a teaching topic to be developed and created an

evaluation tool for the teaching. Part one required discussion of the disease process, explanation

for learning objectives related to the disease and the population at risk. The rubric for the paper

included impact of the disease on society and identification of who may have a vested interest in

the education. Students selected a teaching and learning theory to guide the teaching project

development. Teaching methods and learning styles were also rubric criteria.

The topic I chose to teach was coronary artery disease (CAD). I unwittingly used the

ADDIE Model of instructional design as I look back on this assignment. I began with

identifying the adult learners diverse educational needs. Then designed what the course should

look like using a theoretical foundation to explore appropriate resources for the learners face to

face environment (I used a local school), and delivery type (I selected support group). My paper

used transformational learning theory; a best fit for adults who need to examine their own

assumptions related to their disease and the cause. The development of the course was based on

inclusive teaching methods as a variety of delivery methods for learning requires participants to

be responsible for their learning and in determining learning needs. Implementation included

written material, lecture, visual aids and interactive groups. In addition, a white board was used

for group work concept mapping. Evaluation tools were developed in part two as paper and

pencil Likert scale questionnaires.

Substitution

Technology was used for this online courses written assignment, but the assignment itself

was not based in technology. The online classroom instructions, Microsoft word and associated
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writing tools, library, and internet resources required to meet the objectives of the assignment

utilized technology resources. The fact is; it was still a written assignment. Requiring the written

assignment to be to a PowerPoint presentation (PPT) with speaker notes (Microsoft, 2016) would

be an example of substitution for this assignment. There is no change in the assignment rubric,

only the format of presentation as an electronic file submission to the instructor (Walsh, 2015).

It is known a PPT presentation is a series of slides which contain highlighted or bulleted main

concepts pertaining to the content of that slide. The speaker notes are the written version of the

content a live presenter would have shared. In this case, portions of the written paper would be

included in speaker notes associated with the slide content.

PPT: Educator and Learner Perspectives of Advantages and Disadvantages

A PPT presentation with speaker notes opposed to a written paper has merit for both

student and educator. The educator can clearly see when the student is making good connections

of content to priority issues as the slides and notes are evaluated. It is also an opportunity to

introduce students to technology tools for presentations. Students can benefit from an alternative

method of expressing their knowledge through creative slides, but structured criteria of content

for grading. Creation of PPT slides can assist students to prepare for speaking engagements.

Disadvantages to the educator could be parts of objectives of the written assignment were

intended to advance scholarly writing and an opportunity for instructor evaluation were lost.

Formal writing assignments require use of APA rules and practice for finding scholarly

resources/references to demonstrate an application level of understanding scholarly writing.

Objectives related to the content and inclusion of rubric criteria may not be as easy to provide

specific feedback. There is no option for sharing feedback from others within the presentation.

On this topic, students may not make accurate connections within their slides and their speaker
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notes. They may find it difficult to decipher feedback from an instructor on a separate rubric to

slide(s) content was not at par to the rubric.

Augmentation

Providing an opportunity for the written assignment to upload to a cloud-based reservoir

for the instructor and/or class to make comments would augment this assignment though

technology. Students in the class and instructor would have the ability to interact and provide

feedback. Essentially, the assignment would not change, it would simply be shared with the

instructor/class in an accessible location in the cloud such as Dropbox. Dropbox (2017) is a

cloud-based repository which videos, documents, files, and pictures can be uploaded to. This

technology can be accessed from any mobile device and content can shared with anyone,

anywhere there is internet access even if the receiving person does not have a Dropbox (2015)

account.

Dropbox: Educator and Learner Perspectives of Advantages and Disadvantages

Cloud servers like Dropbox are great if the intention is for class and instructor to provide

input on the written assignment and is available as a mobile app. This assignment was not a

group project which would have been an ideal use of the cloud-based reservoir if it were.

Students could easily collaborate to create a final paper. The instructor would have access to

provide feedback directly to areas of the paper in need of improvement for the students. As an

independent paper assignment, Dropbox does not really have any advantages for instructor or

students that a learning management system does not already allow unless there needs to be

collaboration on work. Providing directions to students to access the cost-free versions of

Dropbox and limitations of what is accessible to others for sharing is not clear for use in
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education. The activity of creating a Dropbox would be a futile attempt at including technology

tools into an assignment where it is not a good fit.

Modification

Altering the assignment from a written paper using technology that best represents the

critical elements from the rubric of the assignment to demonstrate the students understanding of

how the teaching is developed and evaluated. The students in this class had choices to make

related to the disease process. From there, students were required to make appropriate

assessments of the populations affected by the disease and determine a plan to provide all aspects

of education. Popplet technology would completely modify this written assignment. Students

can create a free limited account with Popplet. Using the tools within Popplet to move Popples,

color code them, copy and paste into them, add audio/video clips or images could make this an

interactive assignment which students can pull all the pieces necessary for the teaching together

to demonstrate their learning.

Popplet: Educator and Learner Perspectives of Advantages and Disadvantages

The advantages to educators and students using Popplet over a written paper is the use of

concept mapping for students to make connections directly related to a primary disease or certain

topics. Popplet would allow expanding the pathophysiology concepts to identify the primary

causes and population(s) effected, learning needs, plan design, implementation and structure for

evaluation. Instructors can evaluate and comment to students within the assignment submission

when the student adds the instructor as a collaborator. Not all written assignments are

appropriate to using Popplet as a concept mapping tool. Students may struggle with meeting

rubric requirements for a case study paper such as assignment one in this class. Again, the
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educators objectives for a written assignment may not be met by changing the format to use

technology.

Redefinition

Re-design of the students delivery method for this written assignment could use

VoiceThread (VT). A simple link is shared with instructor and/or class for grading and feedback.

The technology allows for open sharing across boarders such as campuses with satellite

institutions across the country. VoiceThread is available as a mobile app. VoiceThread requires

establishing an account (can be a free limited account). Students make PPT slides to be

developed in relation to a topic and narrates each slide into a presentation.

VoiceThread: Educator and Learner Perspectives of Advantages and Disadvantages

The VT has advantages to students in learning to create slides for a PPT and emphasis on

developing speaking skills. The VT presentations are user friendly for the class/instructor to

insert written, video recorded, or verbal messages on any part of any slide the student has shared.

The VT presentations can be viewed an unlimited number of times. New learners to VT may

have difficulty with the multiple step process of putting the paper together, creating individual

slides related to specific parts of the paper based on rubric criteria and finally, providing fluid

narration to the slides. The student may have difficulty in narration of slides and lose important

content. Educators are limited to individual assignments, as there is no opportunity for group

projects in creating a VT. Assessing/evaluating the students presentation may not accurately

reflect what the student intended to present. Transition from paper assignments to narration in a

presentation takes practice and skill and may not be appropriate for complex assignments.

Self Evaluation for Using SAMR

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I really had to think about this, because it was not my intention to select a nursing

learning activity and apply it to SAMR, I wanted to take something I had experienced and apply

it. A student perspective of the leveling and application of the SAMR model is appreciated in a

short video by Colosi, (2014). Utilizing modification, students can express their understanding

of the content through sharing alternative technology based documentation of the assignment

requirements with other students or the instructor. This was revealing to find there is a leveling

process in deciding when it is appropriate to use technology and to what extent. In development

of learning activities such as association of pathophysiology or assignments requiring

frameworks like an instructional design model; the concept approach works best. Through

Popplet this technology is most suited to the modification level and if I were to apply it to my

written paper assignment it would have worked well to assist me in making decisions and

connections for my teaching project. A demonstration of the modification of the NURS 402

assignment as a concept map utilizing Popplet (appendix A). I would use the modification level

to assess student needs and evaluate effectiveness of the teaching for connecting theory to

practice.

Modification from the SAMR level can be applied across the board in all levels of

nursing education. The concept approach to nursing education has been instrumental in

enhancing clinical reasoning skills and self-reflection through teaching methods requiring

application of the topic to a broad set of conditions. The concept mapping process can be

applied at the level the learners begin and advance through novice to expert at some future point

(Daley, Morgan, Beman, 2016).

Persuading Buy-In for Technology Use in the Classroom

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In effort to persuade resistant nursing faculty or administration to support use of new

technology in the classroom, a meaningful discussion of the SAMR model and millennial

learning needs (Clark, Glazer, Edwards, & Pryse, 2017) would open the conversation. Student

learning is crafted around a number of technology models in the literature. The healthcare

environment itself has transformed to adoption of technologies the nursing student needs to be

prepared to enter the workforce. After introducing the Popplet technology, providing a training

to allow faculty to experience the modification of a written assignment into a concept map can

allow faculty to explore the benefits to students and faculty. Provide examples of how the

technology assisted students to perform on exams at a higher level than previous traditional

teaching methods. The article by Clark, Glazer, Edwards, and Pryse (2017) encouraged faculty

to enhance their lecture with technology until they were more comfortable to include more

interactive technology tools.

Expecting barriers from faculty and administration may come from the lack of solid

evidence in the literature and unclear details on how to use the SAMR taxonomy effectively in

education according to Hamilton, Rosenberg, and Akcaoglu, (2016). Confusion on how to use

SAMR comes from the absence of context as a connection to the appropriate use of technology.

When there is no connection evident to context or fit into a theoretical model, misunderstanding

how to integrate technology can occur. Providing nay-sayers of the SAMR model evidence from

other technology integration models, frameworks and/or standards; such as those from the

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) would be persuasive. The guidelines

include support for students and educators to assimilate into digital education methods.

Successful educator integration of technology is empowering for educators to determine the

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degree student learning outcomes improve. Convincing evidence is need to gain the technology

infrastructure support needed from the faculty and institution.

Conclusions

The take-away message is the technology needs to suit the assignment. Instructional

designs guide course development as studentcentered learning is focused on the objectives.

Integrating technology needs to be carefully examined to ensure student learning will be

enhanced and the tool is not replacing a previously effective method of delivery and evaluation

of the course content to meet the SLOs. As the developer of this assignment, I have determined a

paper format best meets my needs as a student to express all the components of this assignment.

I do not feel concepts in a Popplet would be effective in demonstrating my learning from this

assignment. I do value VT for the student and instructor usability, but after developing a few

slides, I reconsidered this technology as I felt I would lose some critical points I needed to

express in the narrative.

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References

Clark, A., Glazer, G., Edwards, C., & Pryse, Y. (2017). Transforming nursing education with

Apple technology. Nurse Educator, 42(2), 91. doi:10.1097/NNE.0000000000000314

Colosi, R. (2014). The SAMR model explained by students. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBce25r8vto

Daley B., Morgan S., Beman S.(2016). Concept maps in nursing education: A historical literature

review and research directions. Journal of Nursing Education, 55(11), 631-639. doi:

10.3928/01484834-20161011-05

Dropbox (2017). Retrieved from https://www.dropbox.com/

Dropbox (2015). What is Dropbox. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=QADSH8XYx_A

Hamilton, E., Rosenberg, J., & Akcaoglu, M. (2016). The Substitution Augmentation

Modification Redefinition (SAMR) Model: A critical review and suggestions for its use.

Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 60(5), 433-441.

Microsoft (2016). Add speaker notes to a slide. Retrieved from https://support.office.com/en-

us/article/Add-speaker-notes-to-a-slide-edfd1312-cae0-40de-9638-cad8ac6e9433

Popplet (2013). Retrieved from https://popplet.com/

VoiceThread (2017). Retrieved from https://voicethread.com/about/features/

Walsh, K. (2015). 8 Examples of transforming lessons through the SAMR cycle. Retrieved from

http://www.emergingedtech.com/2015/04/examples-of-transforming-lessons-through-

samr/
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Appendix A

Demonstration of Concept Map Verses Formal Paper of Teaching Project

Application of modification of a formal paper to a concept map.