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SAMR

Ask what the device is doing for the learning.

SAMR names four ways technology shows up in a lesson, so you can choose one on purpose instead of by habit.

Evaluate a lesson See the four levels

The four SAMR levels

Substitution

Tech swaps in for paper. A Forms quiz instead of a worksheet. Same task.

Augmentation

Same task, real upgrade. That Form now scores itself and shows what a student missed.

Modification

The task changes shape. Students build the practice set in Wayground, then revise it from the class's results.

Redefinition

The task could not exist without the tool. A study guide other classes actually use and send feedback on.

Enhancement S and A. The task holds still. Transformation M and R. The task changes shape.

The line that matters

Below Augmentation, a teacher from 1985 would still recognize the assignment. The device just makes it faster or cleaner.

Above it, the task itself is different: students working on one shared artifact, or sending work to a reader who is not the teacher. Remove the device and the task stops existing, not just gets harder.

Quick test: describe the lesson without naming an app. Still makes sense, you're below the line. Stops making sense, you're above it.

Higher is not the goal

The staircase shape suggests climbing, which turns the model into a scoreboard. A five minute retrieval check should be a Substitution. Rebuilding it as a group project would waste class time to reach a level on a chart. The learning is the goal. The level just describes how you got there.

What the model catches is different: a lesson that uses a device by default, where the honest answer to "what is this doing for us" is nothing yet.

  1. What is the goal, stated without naming a tool? If you can't, the tool has become the assignment.

  2. What does the tool add that paper couldn't? "Nothing, and that's fine, it's a warm-up" is a valid answer.

  3. Is that gain worth the setup time? Sometimes paper wins, and choosing it is good teaching.

One task, four levels

A fifth grade weather unit on an iPad.

  1. Substitution

    Students log the week's temperature in a Word doc instead of a printed chart.

    Word

  2. Augmentation

    They log it in Excel instead, which charts the week automatically as they go.

    Excel

  3. Modification

    Every group logs into one shared workbook. Students compare sites, argue about outliers, and defend a claim with data they didn't collect themselves.

    ExcelTeams

  4. Redefinition

    They trade data with a class in a different climate and build a Clipchamp explainer for that class. It sends questions back, and the video gets a second cut.

    TeamsClipchamp

What you have to work with

Every suggestion on this site stays inside this list.

Devices

  • iPads, grades K to 8
  • MacBook Neo, grades 9 to 12
  • Managed with Mosyle

Microsoft 365

  • Word, Excel, PowerPoint
  • OneNote, Teams, Forms
  • Clipchamp, Sway, Whiteboard

Apple

  • Keynote, Pages, Numbers
  • GarageBand, iMovie, Clips
  • Freeform, Swift Playgrounds

Also available

  • Canva for Education
  • Edpuzzle, Wayground
  • Minecraft Education

Where it falls short

  • Implies a ranking

    Four levels in a row read as a climb. The level should follow the goal, not the shape of the chart.

  • Ignores the teaching

    A Redefinition project can rest on a weak prompt. SAMR describes the tech move, not the quality of instruction.

  • Blurs at the edges

    Two teachers place the same activity differently, especially near the A to M line. Treat any label as a starting point.

SAMR model by Dr. Ruben Puentedura. See also TPACK and the Triple E Framework.

Try it on a lesson you teach

Evaluate a lesson Browse examples