Chromebooks to the Max

In many school districts, technology departments are investing in Chromebooks as student devices. Chromebooks are an economical (between $200-$300) cross between a tablet and a laptop in that they generally do not have storage ON the device (they work on a cloud-based storage system) but unlike tablets, they have keyboards already attached. Like tablets, many Chromebooks are touch-screen (though not all).

Chromebooks use the Google Suite of Apps, including Drive.

Within my school district, we have piloted both tablets and Chromebooks, and at my specific school, we chose to pilot Chromebooks. I participated in the inaugural issue of these devices within a Digital Learning Cohort, and that is actually where I first learned about the SAMR model (strangely enough, by the second year of the digital learning cohort, they were favoring a different anagram for technology integration.).

The SAMR Model goes deep.

Many teachers, when first given new tech, do 'simply' substitute the use of tech within the same tasks. With the Chromebooks, this might involve students using the Chromebook to type up an essay they would normally write in class, or maybe even type in a traditional computer lab (I have witnessed a lot of substitution with the use of the Smartboard, too, used only as a glorified overheard projector.). Augmentation of the essay with the use of a Chromebook might be the teacher making comments on the Google Doc - still not terribly deep (see graphic) on the SAMR model. Modification of the standard essay might require students to collaborate on the essay virtually while using the Chromebook. In my own classroom experience, the Chromebooks absolutely transform the collaboration of students. Students who normally shared a singular piece of paper are now looking at the same document, and as a result are exponentially more engaged in the task. More modification might include links to resources to be included in the essay. And finally, going to the deepest level, the redefinition of the task might be transforming the standard essay into an interactive hyperdoc, complete with a video segment, and maybe involving links to primary sources in the social studies classroom, news clips, or interviews with students around the globe.
While the SAMR model is indeed basic in nature (Green, 2014), and does not go far enough for use by technology departments (maybe why my own district's cohort ultimately abandoned it), its message is one that many teachers need to pay careful attention to. In practice, classroom teachers are often given tech without any kind of professional development, and forced to figure out - not even on their own, but with 25 students in the room - how to best effect growth with the use of said technology. Digging deeper with tech is vital to preparing our students for a future where the tech is used, but creativity and innovation are crucial.

RESOURCES
Using Chromebooks in Math Class
Ways to Use Chromebooks in the Classroom (How about a video chat with a grandparent? So cool!)

Green, L. (2014). Through the looking glass. Knowledge Quest, 43(1), 36-43.