At this stage, technology is directly substituted for a more traditional teaching tool or method. It is a simple, bare-bones, direct replacement. For example, if you are teaching a government lesson on the Constitution, you might use an electronic or web-based version of the document instead of a hard copy. Students might also answer questions about the Constitution by typing them in Microsoft Word instead of filling out a worksheet with a pencil.

Substitution might also include a student using Flipgrid, Keynote, PowerPoint, Prezi, Slides, or a similar program to present information about an article or amendment to the class.

In this step, ask yourself what students stand to gain by replacing traditional tools with technology. Invariably, some situations will be better served by pen and paper.

The technology is again directly substituted for a traditional tool or method, but with significant enhancements to the student experience. Ask yourself if the technology increases or augments a student’s productivity and potential in some way.

Returning to the Constitution example, a student might use classroom technology to augment a presentation on the 14th Amendment with a video clip of how equal protection under the law was enforced during school desegregation. It could also include interactive links to relevant supreme court decisions, such as Plessy v. Ferguson or Brown v. Topeka Board of Education.

In this stage, you are beginning to move from enhancement to transformation using the SAMR Model. Instead of replacement or enhancement, this is an actual change to the lesson’s design and its learning outcome. The critical question here is, “does the technology significantly alter the learning task?”

A student presenting research on the 14th Amendment—to continue our example—might create their own unique graphic organizer for the class that not only includes the usual multimedia resources but represents a new product or synthesis of existing material. As another example, a group of students might collaborate in the learning management system (LMS) to propose a modern definition of equal protection under the law and solicit feedback on their proposals from classmates in the discussion section.

The last stage of the SAMR model represents the pinnacle of how integrated classroom technology can transform a student’s experience. In this case, you ask yourself if the technology tools allow educators to redefine a traditional learning task in a way that would not be possible without the tech, creating a novel experience.

For example, after completing their group work and soliciting feedback from classmates (both tasks that could be completed “offline” although arguably not with the same experience as in the modified format), students could use technology to network with students in another state to see how regional differences impact how others think about the Constitution. Taking it a step further, students could interact in real time with citizens in another country to examine key differences in constitutional philosophy and law.