Page 179 - Resources and Support for the Online Educator

Small Changes and the SAMR Model • Chapter 6

essentially a giant sheet cookie that contained sugar, butter, chocolate chips
and oatmeal, but I digress. I completed the project and brought the tape to
school. I asked the teacher to find the one TV/VCR cart in the school at the
time (usually located in the library) and wheel it into class for my project.
With my fellow students gathered around, I proudly shared my cooking show
and recipe.

The result? Thunderous applause (at least how I remember it) from my class-
mates! However, I then received my grade for the assignment: an “F.” How
could this be? I was being so innovative! Why did I get an F? The teacher
responded, “You didn’t follow directions.” I was devastated. It would be the
first and only F I would ever receive in my K–12 education, and it left a lasting
effect on my 12-year-old brain. This assignment wasn’t about demonstrating
the steps of how to accomplish a task—it was about following directions. It
wasn’t about showing my learning—it was about writing down “Step 1—Take
out a mixing bowl.”

Figure 6.4 Carl’s Cooking Show

I shared this personal story, because taking your classroom into the transfor-
mative realm of learning means a shift from the teacher’s mindset. The most
important thing can’t be following directions— demonstrating learning must
also be matter. Here are three examples where I’ve seen the power of learning
when the teacher allows the student to drive the learning in a transformative
way with mobile devices.

Mobile Learning Mindset: The Teacher’s Guide to Implementation 71

Mobile Learning Mindset: The Teacher’s Guide to Implementation 179