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For teachers just starting out with educational technology, the task at hand can sometimes seem daunting. Even though tools such as the SAMR model can help, the plethora of choices available can prove paralyzing, frequently resulting in ongoing substitutive uses of the technology that block, rather than enable, more ambitious transformative goals.

The approach below is designed to help overcome this barrier, and is inspired in its form by Alexander's notion of Design Patterns -- a clearly structured solution to a recurring design problem -- which has been applied to education scenarios by Bergin et al. While it is not laid out exactly as a design pattern would be, it nonetheless provides a framework that a teacher could use in similar fashion.

The goal for the teacher is to construct a simple SAMR ladder that is coupled to Bloom's Revised Taxonomy -- i.e., as the task moves from lower to upper levels of the taxonomy, it also moves from lower to upper levels of SAMR. The two Enhancement levels of SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation) are associated with the three lower levels of Bloom (Remember, Understand, Apply), while the two Transformation levels of SAMR (Modification, Redefinition) are associated with the upper levels of Bloom (Analyze, Evaluate, Create). In turn, within each grouping a similar ordering occurs -- e.g., Remember-type tasks are primarily associated with S-level uses of the technology, Understand-type tasks are associated with either S- or A-level uses of the technology, and so on. The following diagram illustrates this association.

This coupling of the SAMR model and Bloom's Taxonomy has several desirable outcomes:

The already-familiar drive to reach the upper levels of Bloom's Taxonomy now also acts as a drive to reach the upper levels of SAMR;

The approach outlines a clear set of steps that help guide the introduction of technology in the classroom;

Finally, the approach helps avoid pitfalls of self deception -- i.e., assuming that a particular task is at a higher level in either the Bloom or SAMR sense than it actually is.

Avoid epic fails and get the most out of technology.

It is important to realize that this association between SAMR and Bloom's Taxonomy is not a necessary -- or even habitual -- coupling. Thus, it is possible to use extremely powerful redefinition-level approaches to make certain types of memorization tasks possible; conversely, it is also possible to undertake novel create-type tasks that only make basic substitution/augmentation use of the technology. Additionally, far more complex couplings between SAMR and Bloom are possible, involving convergent/divergent branchings, oscillations between levels, skipping of some SAMR levels, etc. Nonetheless, the simple structure described above is well suited to beginning practitioners' needs, and even retains usefulness for more experienced faculty.

In addition to the integration of SAMR and Bloom described above, two more ingredients are necessary for the best results:

a clear motivation for the change -- the best results are obtained when a teacher has a strong reason for changing existing practice that is independent of the introduction of technology.

a clean app flow, designed to move through the tasks, that is as simple as possible, avoiding needless complexity -- e.g., in transferring work products from one app to the next.

Finally, let's look at an example of this approach in practice. In this example, we will set up a general pattern for math activities, where the motivating factor is to take math instruction from a mode where -- to use Richard Skemp's words -- instrumental understanding dominates (how) to a mode where relational understanding is primary (how and why). This shift in math instruction can be seen in changes in curricula worldwide, and is crucial to students' capacity to use -- and enjoy -- the math they have learned in the world outside the classroom. In the interest of making the example more tangible, the context will be a course in introductory statistics, although the general pattern is readily applicable to other math courses.

1. Substitution/Remember: Students use ebooks and other Open Education Resources to acquire basic knowledge about statistical tools and procedures.

2. Substitution/Understand: At the same time, they begin a process of gathering information online describing applications of these statistical tools to an area of interest to them, using simple bookmark aggregation services (e.g., Diigo, Delicious) to collect and tag these resources, relating them to the knowledge gained in 1.

3. Augmentation/Apply: Using a simple yet powerful tool for visualization like GeoGebra, students explore the concepts covered in the resources described in 1., and solve related standard problems. The scope and number of the problems is not governed by what is available in the "back of the book," but rather driven by the evolution of student understanding, as measured by suitable formative assessment processes.

4. Modification/Analyze: The students also apply similar problem-solving approaches to questions raised in the materials they found in 2. In doing so, they will reconstruct the reasoning of the original authors, and verify -- or disprove -- their conclusions.

5. Modification/Evaluate: Students now select a subset of the materials studied in 4. for further critique and/or development, using GeoGebra as their primary analysis tool. Via a blog, they explain this work to fellow students, and invite their feedback to refine both the clarity of their explanations and the focus of their work.

6. Redefinition/Create: Students refine their blog post into a short digital video project, with the goal that it will be used as part of instructional materials in subsequent years.

Photo " sky puzzle" by Jared Tarbell. Used under a CC BY 2.0 license.

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SAMR and Bloom's Taxonomy: Assembling the Puzzle | Common Sense Education

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Find out how you can use technology to engage students in rich learning experiences.

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I have used Socrative in my classes. It is a great tool for teachers to use formative and summative assessment tasks in their lessons with instant feedback. Socrative allows tasks like exit cards or quizzes that students can engage in.

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Login or sign up for free on Socrative - your assessment partner for real-time assessments and instant insights.

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A great article that shows the link between Bloom's Taxonomy and the SAMR model

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Editor's Note: Dr. Puentedura developed the SAMR model in 2010, and wrote this article in 2014. The SAMR model is still referenced and recommended today.
For teachers just starting out with educational technology, the task can sometimes seem daunting. Even though tools such as the SAMR model can help, the choices available can prove paralyzing, frequently resulting in uses of the technology that block, rather than enable, more ambitious transformative goals.

The approach below is designed to help overcome this barrier, and is inspired in its form by Alexander's notion of Design Patterns-a clearly structured solution to a recurring design problem-which has been applied to education scenarios by Bergin et al. While it's not laid out exactly as a design pattern would be, it nonetheless provides a useful framework.

The goal for the teacher is to construct a simple SAMR ladder that is coupled to Bloom's Revised Taxonomy: As the task moves from lower to upper levels of the taxonomy, it also moves from lower to upper levels of SAMR. The two Enhancement levels of SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation) are associated with the three lower levels of Bloom (Remember, Understand, Apply), while the two Transformation levels of SAMR (Modification, Redefinition) are associated with the upper levels of Bloom (Analyze, Evaluate, Create). Within each grouping a similar ordering occurs: Remember-type tasks are primarily associated with S-level uses of the technology, Understand-type tasks are associated with either S- or A-level uses of the technology, and so on. The following diagram illustrates this association.

This coupling of the SAMR model and Bloom's Taxonomy has several desirable outcomes:

The already-familiar drive to reach the upper levels of Bloom's Taxonomy now also acts as a drive to reach the upper levels of SAMR.

It outlines a clear set of steps that help guide the introduction of technology in the classroom.

It helps avoid pitfalls of self deception, like assuming that a particular task is at a higher level in either the Bloom or SAMR sense than it actually is.

Have a clear motivation for the change: The best results happen when a teacher has a strong reason for changing existing practice that's independent of the introduction of technology.

Have a clean app flow that's as simple as possible, avoiding needless complexity, as in transferring work products from one app to the next.

Avoid epic fails and get the most out of technology.

It's important to realize that this association between SAMR and Bloom's Taxonomy isn't necessary all the time. For example, it's possible to use extremely powerful redefinition-level approaches to make certain types of memorization tasks possible. And it's also possible to undertake novel create-type tasks that only make basic substitution/augmentation use of the technology. Additionally, far more complex couplings between SAMR and Bloom are possible, involving convergent/divergent branchings, oscillations between levels, skipping of some SAMR levels, etc. But the simple structure described above is a solid place to start.

In addition to the integration of SAMR and Bloom described above, two more ingredients are necessary for the best results:

Finally, let's look at an example of this approach in practice. In this example, we'll set up a general pattern for math activities, where the motivating factor is to take math instruction from a mode where-to use Richard Skemp's words-instrumental understanding dominates ( just the "how") to a mode where relational understanding is primary (both "how" and "why"). This shift in math instruction can be seen in changes in curricula worldwide, and is crucial to students' capacity to use-and enjoy-the math they've learned in the world outside the classroom. To make the example more tangible, imagine the course is introductory statistics (though the general pattern applies to other math courses).

1. Substitution/Remember: Students use ebooks and other Open Education Resources to acquire basic knowledge about statistical tools and procedures.

2. Substitution/Understand: At the same time, they begin a process of gathering information online describing applications of these statistical tools to an area of interest to them, using simple bookmark aggregation services (e.g., Diigo, Scrible) to collect and tag these resources, relating them to the knowledge gained in the first step.

3. Augmentation/Apply: Using a simple yet powerful tool for visualization like GeoGebra, students explore the concepts covered in the resources they collected in the previous steps, and solve related standard problems. The scope and number of the problems isn't about what's available in the "back of the book," but rather driven by the evolution of student understanding, as measured by suitable formative assessment processes.

4. Modification/Analyze: The students also apply similar problem-solving approaches to questions raised in the materials they found in step two. In doing so, they'll reconstruct the reasoning of the original authors, and verify-or disprove-their conclusions.

5. Modification/Evaluate: Students now select a subset of the materials studied in step four for further critique and/or development, using GeoGebra as their primary analysis tool. Then, they explain this work to fellow students, and invite their feedback to refine both the clarity of their explanations and the focus of their work.

6. Redefinition/Create: Students refine their explanation into a short digital video project, with the goal that it will be used as part of instructional materials in subsequent years.

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SAMR and Bloom's Taxonomy: Assembling the Puzzle | Common Sense Education

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Find out how you can use technology to engage students in rich learning experiences.

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Prodigy is a highly engaging gamified learning experience for students in mathematics. Prodigy allows teachers to set modified questions to meet student needs and also track their progress in real time. A great digital tool to have in your classroom teaching toolkit.

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Make learning fun, adaptive and insightful

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There's no cost to you or your students and Prodigy is fully aligned with state standards for grades 1-8 math and grades 1-6 English. Educators, get full access for free "In less than 12 months... I've got kids that have elevated two to three grade levels.

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Kahoot! for schools: how it works | Feature overview

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From assessment to instruction and presentations, Kahoot! makes it easy to create, share and play fun learning games in minutes. Here’s how.

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I have used Blooket in the classroom. I very popular tool amongst students, Blooket is particularly good for teachers to use to assess students levels of understanding for prior knowledge or on the completion of a topic with an engaging gamified experience. The main issue I find is that sometimes students aim for speed of answers, rather than accuracy.

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Tool Snapshot

Types of Learning

Behaviorism is about learning through interactions within an environment. The most prominent example is positive reinforcement. When students get a correct answer on Blooket, they receive points. This shapes their behavior by encouraging them to learn more in order to get more points.

Ease of Use

We gave this tool a rating of 5 stars for ease of use. There is minimal instruction needed and the website navigation is straight forward. After signing up with your email, you can get started right away by creating a game or question sets. Unfortunately, there is not a FAQ page on the website however, there is a getting started tutorial for teachers.

Privacy

We gave this tool a rating of 3 stars for privacy. The user (who must be older than 13) does have to share personally identifiable information such as first and last name and email address when registering to use the tool. Other information, such as Internet use, device type, and location when using the tool, are also collected. The privacy policy clearly states what information is collected and what they do with the information. It seems as though you can not necessarily choose what information is collected, but schools and parents can request that student data is removed. Blooket's privacy policy states that "Blooket collects the minimal amount of information from students necessary to utilize our Service: we ask student who are invited to play the games or participate in homework to only create a username. Students who join as users with parental consent or who are above specified ages only provide names, email addresses and usernames" (para. 24).

Accessibility

We gave this tool a rating of 2 stars for accessibility. There does not seem to be an accessibility statement provided by Blooket. You are not able to use Blooket solely through a keyboard - a computer mouse or computer pad must be used. Accessibility could be improved by supporting screen readers, alternative methods of navigation, and text-to-speech and speech-to-text features when asking or answering the questions.

ISTE Standards for Students

Empowered Learner

Students can use this tool to seek immediate feedback via correct or incorrect answers.

Students use the tool to demonstrate their learning, what they know and do not know (pre or post-assessment) through the different types of game modes and question sets.

Students can customize their "Blook" and learning environment to support their learning.

Students and teacher can track their progress over the course of the year.

Global Collaborator

Students can utilize this tool to collaborate with fellow classmates and peers by working in pairs or on teams.

Students only need a join code to join the game so students from around the world are able to connect and play in real time.

Blooket Overview Video

Watch on YouTube

Blooket & the SAMR Model

Dr. Ruben Puentedura's SAMR model offers a lens for examining how technology is adopted in a classroom. As you strive to incorporate online tools into your classroom, we encourage you to use this model as an analytic tool.

Here is an example of how Blooket might fit within the SAMR model:

Substitution: Students use Blooket to answer quiz questions virtually (instead of using a pencil and paper).

Augmentation: Students can complete Blooket games from home, the library, or anywhere in the world and receive immediate feedback.

Modification: Students can engage in a variety of different games to advance their understanding of the content.

Redefinition: Students can compete in games with other classes around the world.

With technology developing quicker than ever, it is crucial we implement it into education. We hope you can consider Blooket as one example of how technology can enhance students' knowledge and understanding of material.

Learning Activities

Math

Speedy Math races among AI ghosts or other students encourages more studying of basic arithmetic.

Students can test their knowledge of fractions through looking at the image of a pie chart, then selecting the correct proportion value for the correlated image.

Science

Students can engage in a game where they must list the correct parts of the cell on a visual example, list the elements of the periodic table, or even identify compounds based on pop culture or two-word descriptions.

Leveling Up: Students could design their own "Blooks" on pencil and paper to represent each element in the periodic table or collaboratively generate a bank of quiz questions and host the game for a younger class or family members.

English/Language Arts
Students can be challenged to list different pieces of a sentence structure (subject/predicate/etc...).

Social Studies
Students can practice memorizing states, capitals, and countries.

Using Blooket for Formative Assessment

All of the games discussed above allow for direct feedback for both the student and the teacher. For the student, they can see which question(s) they got wrong in real time. This will allow the student to identify what material to look at in more detail. For the teacher, you are able to see whether your students are fully comprehending and understanding the information you are teaching during a session. By analyzing student responses after each session, you can see what topic areas students did not fully understand and discuss them further before moving on to the next topic.

Resources

How to Use Blooket

Go to www.blooket.com.

Click "Sign Up" and register for an account using your email.

Watch on YouTube

You can choose to register as a teacher or a student (Note: Students under 13 should only register with parental or school consent).
Once you sign up, you have the option to switch your account to student or teacher if needed.

Return to Blooket and login.

Click on the dashboard icon at the top of the page (shaped like a house).
On the left of the dashboard you can see recent news, question sets, favorited question sets, quests, and recently hosted games.

Create a new study set or discover sets made by others.
Use the search bar to discover new sets.

(If teacher) Select a set that you are looking for.

Click the host button.

Assign homework.

Host live games.

(If student) Select the play button on your Blooket dashboard in order to join a live game.
Enter the game ID given by the host in order to join the game.

BLOOKET TUTORIAL for Teachers | Blooket Review Game Beginner Tutorial | EdTech Classroom

Related Research

Authors

This page was created by Bridget Lombardi, Courtney Masse, and Connor Power.

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Blooket is a trivia and review tool that allows educators to “level up classroom engagement” (Blooket, 2021, para. 1). Blooket is a gamified learning platform where teachers host games through question sets and students answer on their own devices. This is an assessment-centered tool, specifically formative assessment.

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Khan Academy - Online Tools for Teaching and Learning

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Khan Academy is an educational organization that creates short educational videos for a variety of topics. Khan Academy also has educational materials, including practice problems and exercises, that enhance learning with these videos. Khan Academy allows for the personalization of education, o…

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This QCAA resource is really helpful to link the curriculum general capabilities to your year level subject area.

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Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority

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The Australian Curriculum has seven general capabilities:

Critical and creative thinking

Digital literacy

Ethical understanding

Intercultural understanding

Literacy

Numeracy

Personal and social capability.

The general capabilities play a significant role in the Australian Curriculum in equipping young Australians to live and work successfully in the 21st century.

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The Australian Curriculum has seven general capabilities: Critical and creative thinking Digital literacy Ethical understanding Intercultural understanding Literacy Numeracy Personal and social capability. The general capabilities play a significant role in the Australian Curriculum in equipping young Australians to live and work successfully in the 21st century.

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Mapping the General Capabilities - Mathematics

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Mapping the General Capabilities - Mathematics

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I have used Eddie Woo video in my math lessons previously. His YouTube account allows for students to have instant access at any time of the day of a teacher explicitly teaching mathematical concepts. Especially good for students who need extra practice at home if required.

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mathematics maths math technology australian hsc teacher high school

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I teach mathematics at a comprehensive public high school in Sydney, Australia. I'm also an author (Woo's Wonderful World of Maths, It's a Numberful World, Eddie Woo's Magical Maths 1 & 2, Whodunnit Eddie Woo?) and TV host (Ultimate Classroom on Channel 10, Teenage Boss on ABC ME).

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Mathantics also provides students with constant and instant access to a teacher explaining mathematical concepts, however they utilise a lot of visual diagrams to explain concepts. A great resource for visual learners.

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math education fractions arithmetic geometry percents percentages angles

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Learn More at mathantics.com Visit http://www.mathantics.com for more FREE math videos and additional subscription based content!

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Classroom Poll Templates

Easily create a poll and let your students voice their opinions and let you know what they really think with our Classroom Poll Templates. Ask something insightful to get your students thinking or see if you can come to a consensus decision on something that might split opinions. Perfect for in-person, live, and remote learning, these classroom polls will entertain and engage students.

All of our poll Templates can be downloaded by anyone with a Mentimeter account. Simply login or register and get started right away with just a few clicks. Each and every one of these templates can be edited - depending on which plan you have. Paid users can edit everything about these templates while free users can do so within the limits of the free account.

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Free Classroom Polls - Templates & Examples

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Interact with your audience using real-time voting. No installations or downloads required - and it's free!

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Problem-based learning  (PBL) is a student-centered approach in which students learn about a subject by working in groups to solve an open-ended problem. This problem is what drives the motivation and the learning.

Why Use Problem-Based Learning?

Nilson (2010) lists the following learning outcomes that are associated with PBL. A well-designed PBL project provides students with the opportunity to develop skills related to:

Working in teams.

Managing projects and holding leadership roles.

Oral and written communication.

Self-awareness and evaluation of group processes.

Working independently.

Critical thinking and analysis.

Explaining concepts.

Self-directed learning.

Applying course content to real-world examples.

Researching and information literacy.

Problem solving across disciplines.

Considerations for Using Problem-Based Learning

Rather than teaching relevant material and subsequently having students apply the knowledge to solve problems, the problem is presented first. PBL assignments can be short, or they can be more involved and take a whole semester. PBL is often group-oriented, so it is beneficial to set aside classroom time to prepare students to  work in groups  and to allow them to engage in their PBL project.

Students generally must:

Examine and define the problem.

Explore what they already know about underlying issues related to it.

Determine what they need to learn and where they can acquire the information and tools necessary to solve the problem.

Evaluate possible ways to solve the problem.

Solve the problem.

Report on their findings.

Getting Started with Problem-Based Learning

Articulate the learning outcomes of the project. What do you want students to know or be able to do as a result of participating in the assignment?

Create the problem. Ideally, this will be a real-world situation that resembles something students may encounter in their future careers or lives. Cases are often the basis of PBL activities. Previously developed PBL activities can be found online through the University of Delaware's PBL Clearinghouse of Activities.

Establish ground rules at the beginning to prepare students to work effectively in groups.

Introduce students to group processes and do some warm up exercises to allow them to practice assessing both their own work and that of their peers.

Consider having students take on different roles or divide up the work up amongst themselves. Alternatively, the project might require students to assume various perspectives, such as those of government officials, local business owners, etc.

Establish how you will evaluate and assess the assignment. Consider making the self and peer assessments a part of the assignment grade.

References

Nilson, L. B. (2010). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors (2nd ed.).  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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Problem-Based Learning | Center for Teaching Innovation

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Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered approach in which students learn about a subject by working in groups to solve an open-ended problem. This problem is what drives the motivation and the learning.

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Looking for targeted responses to your surveys?
Get the responses you need in minutes with SurveyMonkey Audience, our trusted panel of more than 175 million respondents from across the globe.

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SurveyMonkey: The World's Most Popular Free Online Survey Tool

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Use SurveyMonkey to drive your business forward by using our free online survey and forms tool to capture the voices and opinions of the people who matter most to you.

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Tableau is a leading data visulisation tool used for data analysis. Tableau allows students to create different charts and graphs, in addition to visualising data through reports and dashboards in Tableau to derive meaningful insights. Tableau also gives users the opportunity to collaborate and share with their peers, or any other user across the globe who uses the program.

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Tableau: Business Intelligence and Analytics Software

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Tableau can help anyone see and understand their data. Connect to almost any database, drag and drop to create visualizations, and share with a click.