There are various multimedia models and frameworks, but one that stands out is the SAMR model – Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. SAMR is a basis onto which to evaluate the teaching strategies and the technologies that incorporate these approaches. By identifying how and to what extent a technology can replace or change a task, teachers and instructors can make a greater difference in their teaching. From my personal experience one technology that helped change my learning experience was the use of SMART boards. During my elementary and school experience, whiteboards were the common board of use for teachers and students to write out daily schedules, math formulas, etc. While initially SMART boards were used as a substitute to the whiteboards, as teachers and students alike begun to learn the various features, it started to augment the process of class note taking. More colours helped contrast points made or different parts of a diagram (e.g. a Venn Diagram or 4-section diagram) What really changed the experience is when we learned that, while traditional whiteboards could be erased, our SMART boards could save a copy of what was written. This was helpful for a time before cell phones were allowed in school (let alone elementary age school children owning them). In addition to being far more convenient, we could now more readily as a class compare our changes in thought process. I recall one case where as a class we were reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and compared before’s and after’s of brainstorm diagrams of what we thought the true motivations of Sirius Black were. While this wasn’t an impossible task (we could, say, copy down or use poster paper), the ability for the SMART board to do so easily, modified how reading comprehension/progression analysis was done in that class.

The elementary school I attended, RCG Demonstration school, was a demonstration ground to test new educational technologies, so were lucky to have the SMART board technology that helped change our ways of learning. It was also great to not use whiteboard markers that inevitably got onto all the kid’s hands and clothes, though mostly to the parents and teachers chagrin, not so much us kids.

References: What is the Purpose of School? (2020) Demystifying SAMR with Dr. Ruben Puentedura. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9h9ePoXqS8