The SAMR
ModelA way to talk about technology in learning

Developed by Dr. Ruben R. Puentedura

In plain terms: SAMR is a four-level lens for looking at what technology is actually doing in a lesson. At the lower two levels, technology enhances a task we already do. At the upper two levels, technology transforms that task into something new. No level is "bad." The goal is awareness, not a race to the top.

Tap any level to see what it looks like in a classroom.

S
A
M
R
Enhancement (S + A)Transformation (M + R)

Five ways to make meaning

Same idea, five metaphors

Frameworks stick when we can picture them. Pick whichever one lands for you; they all describe the same four moves.

Read your own plan

SAMR-"Tells"

Every lesson plan leaves clues. These are the sentences and key words that tend to show up at each level. Skim a plan you already teach and see which column it sounds like. Tells are signals, not verdicts; one phrase does not settle it.

S · Substitution

Sounds like

  • "Students will type their responses instead of writing them."
  • "Display the worksheet on the screen."
  • "Students read the article online."
  • "Submit the completed assignment digitally."

Key words

instead oftypedigital versiondisplayuploadPDFsubmit online
A · Augmentation

Sounds like

  • "Students receive instant feedback on the practice quiz."
  • "Use spell-check and the thesaurus while drafting."
  • "The reading includes links and a short embedded video."
  • "Students highlight and annotate the digital text."

Key words

instant feedbackauto-gradedspell-checkembeddedannotatereplaycaptions
M · Modification

Sounds like

  • "Students co-write in a shared document and respond to peer comments."
  • "Students record a narrated explanation of their thinking."
  • "Drafts go through peer revision before publishing to the class site."
  • "The discussion continues at home with audio replies."

Key words

collaborate in real timeshared docpeer feedbackrecordnarraterevisepublish to class
R · Redefinition

Sounds like

  • "Students publish their work for an audience beyond our classroom."
  • "We partner with a class in another city to gather and compare data."
  • "Students question a simulated expert, then audit its answers against sources."
  • "The class builds a live dataset that others can use."

Key words

authentic audiencepartner classpublish publiclylive datasimulationbeyond our walls

Ask your lesson plan

Five questions to put to the plan itself. The answers place the lesson; only you can decide whether that placement fits the learning goal.

  1. "If the wifi died, would you survive unchanged?"If yes, the technology is at Substitution or absent. That may be exactly right; just make it a choice.
  2. "What happens here that could not happen on paper?"Nothing points to S. The same task, made easier or better, points to A.
  3. "Did the task change, or just the tool?"When the activity itself is different because the tool exists, you have crossed into Modification.
  4. "Who sees the students' work besides me?"An authentic audience beyond the classroom is one of the strongest Redefinition signals.
  5. "Is the technology serving the learning goal, or is the goal serving the technology?"The one question that applies at every level. If the goal bends to fit the tool, step back, whatever the level.

Quick self-check

Which level is it?

Read the classroom scenario and tap a level. Many of these are judgment calls, so the explanation matters more than the score.