SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition)
A common model used for technology integration is known as SAMR (Puentedura, 2012). Created by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, SAMR stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (Puentedura, 2012). As shown in the image of the model, technology can either serve as
an enhancement or a transformation. In the beginning stages, technology integration acts as a Substitution in which the technology “acts as a direct tool substitute, with no functional change” (Puentedura, 2012). In other words, the activity on the digital device could also be completed in the same way using pencil and paper. An example of this stage is a word sort completed online; students are sorting the images or words on the computer in the exact same way they would be if the images and words were on paper.
an enhancement or a transformation. In the beginning stages, technology integration acts as a Substitution in which the technology “acts as a direct tool substitute, with no functional change” (Puentedura, 2012). In other words, the activity on the digital device could also be completed in the same way using pencil and paper. An example of this stage is a word sort completed online; students are sorting the images or words on the computer in the exact same way they would be if the images and words were on paper.
The next stage, Augmentation, is when the technology “acts as a direct tool substitute, with functional improvement” (Puentedura, 2012). In this case, the task could also be completed on paper, but it has some practical enhancements by being completed online. An example of this is accessing Scholastic News articles online; students are reading the same content, but they also have the opportunity to click on bold text to hear the word pronounced and to read the definition of the word.
After the Augmentation stage, technology begins to transform the classroom. Through Modification, technology “allows for significant task redesign” (Puentedura, 2012). In this stage, the digital tasks provide students with unique learning opportunities. An example of this is students creating presentations on Google Slides that incorporate photos, videos, and audio to enhance the content they are learning or presenting.
After the Augmentation stage, technology begins to transform the classroom. Through Modification, technology “allows for significant task redesign” (Puentedura, 2012). In this stage, the digital tasks provide students with unique learning opportunities. An example of this is students creating presentations on Google Slides that incorporate photos, videos, and audio to enhance the content they are learning or presenting.
The next and final step, Redefinition, is when the technology “allows for the creation of new tasks, previously inconceivable” (Puentedura, 2012). For this example, imagine students researching a topic online using a variety of sources and then working collaboratively to develop a video presentation that synthesizes all of the information. Then the video is posted on a digital platform where others can provide feedback and suggestions for improvement.
The use of SAMR as a model for technology integration helps educators in their innovation of using technology as a rich resource for transforming students’ educational experience. Rather than using digital learning as a way of avoiding running out of copies, educators can think critically about providing their students with engaging tasks that correspond to real-world experiences. As educators’ technology integration shifts from enhancement to transformation, student engagement also increases. When used effectively, technology appeals to all learners as they engage their minds and bodies. For more advice on the effective use of technology in the classroom, access the Edutopia article, “What is successful technology integration?” (2007).
Pear Deck is an application that serves as an add-on with the Google Suite. Pear Deck provides a variety of interactive and formative assessment questions that can be added to Google Slides. Pear Deck (2018) publishes that “Pear Deck was founded by educators on a mission to help teachers engage every student, every day. With solutions rooted in active learning and formative assessment, we make it easy for you to connect with learners of every age and ability.” As an add-on to the Google Suite for Education, Pear Deck does not require any downloads or additional accounts. Teachers and students use their Google accounts to create, access, and save all activity with Pear Deck. Here’s a tour of what Pear Deck looks like:
As a teacher displays slides using a projector or interactive whiteboard, students’ devices reveal an individual activity that supports the content of the slide. These interactive options include:
When the teacher selects for student responses to be shown, all responses are listed anonymously. Only at the end, once the teacher has saved the session, are the results listed with a student name. Therefore, as students are entering their responses, they can do so without fear that an incorrect answer will be displayed for all to see.
Pear Deck has also recently added the “Flashcard Factory” in which “students pair up and work together to create dynamic and engaging flashcards. Students collaborate to illustrate and define terms, making learning vocab an active and social experience!” (Pear Deck, 2018).
The “essential” version of Pear Deck is currently offered as a free add-on for Google Slides. This version includes many of the interactive features, but only allows for the whole-group use of the program. In order to include draggable and drawing slides, the Teacher Dashboard, and the option to use the student-paced mode, the “premium” account is needed. This option costs $149.99 per year. Schools and districts can also create customized accounts, and must request a quote for this option.
How Pear Deck Serves as an Effective and Engaging Tool
The use of SAMR as a model for technology integration helps educators in their innovation of using technology as a rich resource for transforming students’ educational experience. Rather than using digital learning as a way of avoiding running out of copies, educators can think critically about providing their students with engaging tasks that correspond to real-world experiences. As educators’ technology integration shifts from enhancement to transformation, student engagement also increases. When used effectively, technology appeals to all learners as they engage their minds and bodies. For more advice on the effective use of technology in the classroom, access the Edutopia article, “What is successful technology integration?” (2007).
Pear Deck
Pear Deck is an application that serves as an add-on with the Google Suite. Pear Deck provides a variety of interactive and formative assessment questions that can be added to Google Slides. Pear Deck (2018) publishes that “Pear Deck was founded by educators on a mission to help teachers engage every student, every day. With solutions rooted in active learning and formative assessment, we make it easy for you to connect with learners of every age and ability.” As an add-on to the Google Suite for Education, Pear Deck does not require any downloads or additional accounts. Teachers and students use their Google accounts to create, access, and save all activity with Pear Deck. Here’s a tour of what Pear Deck looks like: As a teacher displays slides using a projector or interactive whiteboard, students’ devices reveal an individual activity that supports the content of the slide. These interactive options include:
- Text: Students can enter a response with text, including a word, phrase, sentence, or paragraph.
- Choice: Students can choose from pre-made options.
- Number: Students can enter a response with numbers only.
- Website: Students can access a link to a website outside of Pear Deck.
- Draw: Students can draw their response with a variety of colors, tools, and size options. Text can also be added to these slides.
- Draggable: Students can drag one or more objects around a slide.
When the teacher selects for student responses to be shown, all responses are listed anonymously. Only at the end, once the teacher has saved the session, are the results listed with a student name. Therefore, as students are entering their responses, they can do so without fear that an incorrect answer will be displayed for all to see.
Pear Deck has also recently added the “Flashcard Factory” in which “students pair up and work together to create dynamic and engaging flashcards. Students collaborate to illustrate and define terms, making learning vocab an active and social experience!” (Pear Deck, 2018).
The “essential” version of Pear Deck is currently offered as a free add-on for Google Slides. This version includes many of the interactive features, but only allows for the whole-group use of the program. In order to include draggable and drawing slides, the Teacher Dashboard, and the option to use the student-paced mode, the “premium” account is needed. This option costs $149.99 per year. Schools and districts can also create customized accounts, and must request a quote for this option.
How Pear Deck Serves as an Effective and Engaging Tool
Used as a formative assessment, Pear Deck serves an important role in engaging every student’s voice. Pear Deck not only provides each student with an opportunity to contribute to the activity, but it also creates the start to a rich conversation about the processes used in answering the questions or completing the activities. With a variety of tools for engaging students, Pear Deck also appeals to the many learning styles. As students monitor their own progress during the review of answers provided to each question, the website also tracks each student’s response and provides the teacher with a report at the end. The report includes individual student responses as well as the class responses overall. An example of these reports, referred to as the Teacher Dashboard, has been included below. Please note that the student names have been removed for privacy.
Using these student responses as a formative assessment allows the teacher to make informed decisions about next steps for interventions, small group instruction, re-teaching concepts, and/or mastery of a concept.
Planning Ideas
Using these student responses as a formative assessment allows the teacher to make informed decisions about next steps for interventions, small group instruction, re-teaching concepts, and/or mastery of a concept.
Planning Ideas
Pear Deck has two options for presenting: regular mode and student-paced mode. In the regular mode, all participants are logged on at the same time and answers can be reviewed between each question or activity. In the student-paced mode, students can access the activities individually and independently. In this option, the students may work on completing the assignment over time.
With these two options, the opportunities for using the online tool are greatly expanded. Whether introducing, practicing, or reviewing a concept, Pear Deck is a great application to use. In my first grade classroom, I use Pear Deck in two primary ways: 1. I use Pear Deck slides as a formative assessment as we are practicing a standard. 2. I use Pear Deck to host independent work stations.
I incorporate many Pear Deck slides during our whole group math instruction because it allows our entire class to review the various strategies used, as well as discuss misconceptions. I have included some examples of Pear Deck slides that I have used with my first grade class, along with descriptions, below.
I also use Pear Deck slides for independent work stations. These slides are on the student-paced mode so that the students can work on them at their own pace. Examples of how I use Pear Deck slides in this way are included below, with descriptions.
For additional planning ideas, see the “Useful Websites” section below.
Useful Websites
With these two options, the opportunities for using the online tool are greatly expanded. Whether introducing, practicing, or reviewing a concept, Pear Deck is a great application to use. In my first grade classroom, I use Pear Deck in two primary ways: 1. I use Pear Deck slides as a formative assessment as we are practicing a standard. 2. I use Pear Deck to host independent work stations.
I incorporate many Pear Deck slides during our whole group math instruction because it allows our entire class to review the various strategies used, as well as discuss misconceptions. I have included some examples of Pear Deck slides that I have used with my first grade class, along with descriptions, below.
- How Many More? How Many Fewer? - Students use the drawing feature of Pear Deck to draw "buddy lines" between objects on a graph. Then, the students determine how many more or fewer there are of one object than another.
- Santa's Reindeer - Students fill in the number of the missing reindeer on each slide.
- Zero the Hero - Students use a variety of Pear Deck tools to represent decade numbers.
- Santa's Workshop - Students use the drawing feature of Pear Deck to unitize objects into groups of ten.
- 2-digit + 1-digit Practice - Students solve an equation and then select their answer from four different choices.
- Place Value Review - Students use a variety of Pear Deck tools to review first grade place value standards 1.NBT.3, 1.NBT.4, 1.NBT.5, and 1.NBT.6.
I also use Pear Deck slides for independent work stations. These slides are on the student-paced mode so that the students can work on them at their own pace. Examples of how I use Pear Deck slides in this way are included below, with descriptions.
- January Fluency Station - Students use a variety of Pear Deck tools as they record themselves reading a fluency passage, highlight sight words, draw a picture to represent comprehension, and answer written response questions to go along with the passage.
- Counting in the Arctic - Students complete a plethora of activities to support the standard 1.NBT.7.
For additional planning ideas, see the “Useful Websites” section below.
Useful Websites
Before getting started, or when looking for inspiration, Pear Deck has created a section of their website called the “Orchard,” which hosts a plethora of exemplars for the elementary, middle, and high school settings, as well as for professional development and adult learning. In addition, Pear Deck has a Twitter account, where they tweet examples of the program being used in classrooms every day. There is also a YouTube Channel hosted by Pear Deck, which provides tutorials for getting started and using the variety of tools that the program offers. The hashtag, #peardeck, can also be searched and/or followed on Twitter or Instagram for additional ideas.
What are people saying about the program?
What are people saying about the program?
Pear Deck is receiving raging reviews on social media platforms. A quick search of the hashtag, #peardeck, or a scan of Pear Deck’s Twitter reveals the many wonderful things that educators are saying about Pear Deck as a tool in the classroom. Here are some of the tweets:
My Review & Reflections
- “Love keeping my students engaged in our reading lessons using the many question options that @PearDeck has to offer! Did I mention that I am able to see every student’s responses using the teacher dashboard and share responses with the whole class anonymously?” –Stephanie Yarboro (@sdyarboro)
- “Ms. Janecek is using @PearDeck with structure of atoms. It allows us to have more discussion with students and help them make connections with their learning.” –Teri Daulton (@TeacherDaulton)
- “Loving the use of @PearDeck drawing slides to shade percentages! Many great convos and discussion about WHY Ss solves the way they did in Ms. Day’s class!” –Katie Bradford (@MrsKBradford)
- “Giving all students a voice using @PearDeck! Student engagement through the roof!” –Andrea Gray (@mathladygray)
- Matt Harding (@physicsramble) even writes, “Extreme cold and snow kept us from having any class meetings this week, but @PearDeck is still allowing the learning to continue online.”
My Review & Reflections
Pear Deck has been an extremely easy tool to learn and implement in my first grade classroom. From the pre-made slides to the slide add-ons, the opportunities to use Pear Deck seem nearly limitless! Students can easily access Pear Deck through our Google Classroom and enjoy the variety of slide options that Pear Deck has to offer. The students enjoy being able to share their responses on our SMART Board, particularly when it provides them with an opportunity to be the teacher as they explain their strategy, process, or thinking. The students are also very engaged in the Pear Deck slides that we use during our independent stations. The interactive and engaging nature of Pear Deck has proved to be well worth the investment of time and money in the program.
Going back to the SAMR Model (Puentedura, 2012) that was introduced at the beginning of this post, I would suggest that Pear Deck can be used in all four forms. Pear Deck is a great resource that can be used by educators, but it is truly up to the educator to use the tool in a way that engages students. It is appropriate to have activities ebb and flow through the SAMR Model, as if swimming laps in a pool, but it is the responsibility of the teacher – not the program – to provide these opportunities for students. In my own experiences, here are some lesson activities that reflect each of the stages of the SAMR Model:
Going back to the SAMR Model (Puentedura, 2012) that was introduced at the beginning of this post, I would suggest that Pear Deck can be used in all four forms. Pear Deck is a great resource that can be used by educators, but it is truly up to the educator to use the tool in a way that engages students. It is appropriate to have activities ebb and flow through the SAMR Model, as if swimming laps in a pool, but it is the responsibility of the teacher – not the program – to provide these opportunities for students. In my own experiences, here are some lesson activities that reflect each of the stages of the SAMR Model:
- Substitution Example: After reading a passage or mentor text, students type in the names of the characters.
- Augmentation Example: Students read a statement about a topic and drag an object to indicate whether it is true or false.
- Modification Example: Students solve a word problem by using their own strategy on a Pear Deck slide.
- Redefinition Example: Students collaborate in Pear Deck’s Flashcard Factory to define and illustrate vocabulary words.
Goals for Using Pear Deck in My Classroom
I am using Pear Deck regularly during our core math instruction, and I have begun using Pear Deck more frequently during our independent math stations. A goal is to begin using Pear Deck more frequently during reading and writing instruction to help engage all students in the conversations that we have around texts and topics.
For example, we are getting ready to start a unit with standard RL.1.2, which asks students to retell a story, including key details, and to demonstrate understanding of the story’s central message or lesson (Public Schools of North Carolina, 2017). After reading a mentor text, I could provide students with Pear Deck slides to have them identify the key details (characters, setting, events, problem/solution, etc.) and the central message. By having every student submit a response, everyone would be more engaged in the conversation. I would also have a faster way of keeping track of the responses from individual students.
In addition to using Pear Deck for whole group reading, I am also envisioning the use of Pear Deck to work on our digital formatting with writing. My classroom is 1:1, with each student having their own Chromebook. They are expected to use proper conventions and formatting when writing on paper, but I have noticed that this does not transfer to their online work. By using Pear Deck for occasional writing activities, we would be able to talk about the strategies for proper digital formatting, i.e. how to capitalize a letter or add punctuation, so that online readers can read with ease.
Continuing My Learning
For example, we are getting ready to start a unit with standard RL.1.2, which asks students to retell a story, including key details, and to demonstrate understanding of the story’s central message or lesson (Public Schools of North Carolina, 2017). After reading a mentor text, I could provide students with Pear Deck slides to have them identify the key details (characters, setting, events, problem/solution, etc.) and the central message. By having every student submit a response, everyone would be more engaged in the conversation. I would also have a faster way of keeping track of the responses from individual students.
In addition to using Pear Deck for whole group reading, I am also envisioning the use of Pear Deck to work on our digital formatting with writing. My classroom is 1:1, with each student having their own Chromebook. They are expected to use proper conventions and formatting when writing on paper, but I have noticed that this does not transfer to their online work. By using Pear Deck for occasional writing activities, we would be able to talk about the strategies for proper digital formatting, i.e. how to capitalize a letter or add punctuation, so that online readers can read with ease.
Continuing My Learning
As I continue learning about useful digital resources, I would like to explore more uses of Flipgrid and Class Dojo for the classroom. Flipgrid is a tool that students can use to create video responses to prompts or questions. I am already using this tool in my classroom, but know that there are many features left unexplored by me and my students. My school is also currently using Class Dojo to communicate with our families, but I know that there are extended uses of this online tool, as well. Class Dojo is a free online resource, modeled similar to Facebook, which allows for quick and easy communication between the school and student families. The website also allows teachers to reward and deduce points for student behavior, and then creates a stream of data for each student’s behavior over time. I look forward to exploring both of these digital resources in depth during my upcoming posts.
References
Edutopia. (2007). What is successful technology integration?. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-description
Pear Deck. (2018). Home. Retrieved from https://www.peardeck.com/
Pear Deck. (2018). Flashcard factory. Retrieved from https://www.peardeck.com/pear-deck-vocabulary/
Pear Deck. (2018). Pricing. Retrieved from https://www.peardeck.com/pricing/
[Pear Deck logo]. Retrieved from https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/pear-deck
Puentedura, R. R. (2012). The SAMR model: Background and exemplars. Retrieved from http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/2012/08/23/SAMR_BackgroundExemplars.pdf
Public Schools of North Carolina. (2017). North Carolina Standard Course of Study English Language Arts for Implementation 2018-2019. Retrieved from http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/curriculum/languagearts/scos/adopted-ela-standards.pdf
SAMR Model. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/2012/08/23/SAMR_BackgroundExemplars.pdf
Teacher dashboard. Peardeck. (2019). Zero the hero pear deck. Retrieved January 27, 2019, from https://app.peardeck.com/presenter/tgoojojug/dash. Screenshot by author.
Twitter. (n.d.). Pear Deck. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/PearDeck?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
References
Edutopia. (2007). What is successful technology integration?. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-description
Pear Deck. (2018). Home. Retrieved from https://www.peardeck.com/
Pear Deck. (2018). Flashcard factory. Retrieved from https://www.peardeck.com/pear-deck-vocabulary/
Pear Deck. (2018). Pricing. Retrieved from https://www.peardeck.com/pricing/
[Pear Deck logo]. Retrieved from https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/pear-deck
Puentedura, R. R. (2012). The SAMR model: Background and exemplars. Retrieved from http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/2012/08/23/SAMR_BackgroundExemplars.pdf
Public Schools of North Carolina. (2017). North Carolina Standard Course of Study English Language Arts for Implementation 2018-2019. Retrieved from http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/curriculum/languagearts/scos/adopted-ela-standards.pdf
SAMR Model. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/2012/08/23/SAMR_BackgroundExemplars.pdf
Teacher dashboard. Peardeck. (2019). Zero the hero pear deck. Retrieved January 27, 2019, from https://app.peardeck.com/presenter/tgoojojug/dash. Screenshot by author.
Twitter. (n.d.). Pear Deck. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/PearDeck?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
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