Reflective Online Teaching: Enhancing Online English Teaching: Evaluating Digital Tools through the SAMR Model

Teacher Assessing Tools

AI-generated picture by Prof. Jonathan Acuña Solano in July 2025

✍️ Introductory Note to the Reader

In July 2023, I had the pleasure of taking the Teaching English Online course from the University of Cambridge on FutureLearn alongside my dearest friend and colleague, Dr. Alberto Delgado of the University of Costa Rica. Sharing this learning experience with him not only deepened our reflections as educators but also brought into focus a critical realization: digitizing a course does not inherently equate to meaningful learning. The tools may be digital, but without intentional design and pedagogical depth, the experience risks becoming hollow.

Nearly a year later, in June 2024, I had the distinct privilege of working directly with Dr. Ruben Puentedura—the very creator of the SAMR model—during a professional development course at the Centro Cultural Costarricense Norteamericano on integrating AI in language learning. Engaging with Dr. Puentedura firsthand allowed me to explore the nuances of his framework beyond theory, and to see how SAMR can offer a powerful lens for evaluating the true impact of technology in the classroom.

Now, as I write this essay, I recognize that these experiences—past and recent—have crystallized into something concrete. Here, I can finally see my thoughts in black and white, grounded in evidence, framed by experience, and shaped by collaboration. I hope that what follows will help other educators navigate similar journeys with clarity, purpose, and creativity.

Enhancing Online English Teaching: Evaluating Digital Tools through the SAMR Model

📄 Abstract

This essay explores how educators can effectively assess digital tools for online English teaching by integrating the University of Cambridge’s Basic Digital Tool Assessment checklist with Ruben Puentedura’s SAMR model. Each of the checklist's ten reflective questions is mapped to specific stages of SAMR—Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition—highlighting how technology can enhance or transform language learning. The essay includes metaphorical expressions and rhetorical devices to emphasize the stakes and possibilities of thoughtful digital integration. Aimed at empowering like-minded teachers, the essay advocates for intentional, pedagogically sound decisions when selecting tools that promote feedback, personalization, collaboration, and usability across diverse contexts.

📄 Resumen

Este ensayo analiza cómo los docentes pueden evaluar eficazmente las herramientas digitales para la enseñanza del inglés en línea, integrando la lista de verificación del Basic Digital Tool Assessment de la Universidad de Cambridge con el modelo SAMR de Ruben Puentedura. Cada una de las diez preguntas reflexivas se vincula con las etapas del modelo SAMR—Sustitución, Aumento, Modificación y Redefinición—mostrando cómo la tecnología puede mejorar o transformar el aprendizaje del idioma. El ensayo incorpora recursos retóricos para resaltar los riesgos y las oportunidades de una integración digital bien pensada. Dirigido a docentes con mentalidad innovadora, aboga por decisiones pedagógicas intencionadas que fomenten la retroalimentación, la personalización, la colaboración y la accesibilidad.

📄 Resumo

Este ensaio examina como professores podem avaliar ferramentas digitais de forma eficaz para o ensino de inglês online, integrando a lista de verificação do Basic Digital Tool Assessment da Universidade de Cambridge com o modelo SAMR de Ruben Puentedura. Cada uma das dez perguntas reflexivas é alinhada com os níveis do modelo SAMR—Substituição, Aumento, Modificação e Redefinição—destacando como a tecnologia pode aprimorar ou transformar a aprendizagem linguística. O ensaio utiliza linguagem figurada para ilustrar os desafios e possibilidades da integração digital consciente. Voltado para professores com visão pedagógica, defende decisões fundamentadas que favoreçam o feedback, a personalização, a colaboração e a acessibilidade em diversos contextos educacionais.

The shift to online English teaching has presented language educators with both opportunity and ordeal, requiring them to reassess the digital tools they integrate into virtual classrooms with renewed intentionality. Rather than allowing technology to evaporate in the ethersphere, adopted without purpose or impact on student learning, teachers must carefully evaluate its pedagogical value. A useful framework for such evaluation is provided by the University of Cambridge's checklist (see attached document), which includes ten reflective questions to guide educators in assessing digital resources for effectiveness and instructional alignment (University of Cambridge, 2021). When combined with Ruben Puentedura’s SAMR model (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition), language instructors can more systematically determine how a tool transforms their teaching practice and student learning. As Puentedura (2006) explains, “the goal is to move from enhancement to transformation,” helping educators use technology not just as a digital substitute, but as a catalyst for deeper and lasting learning. My intention with this essay is to offer an integrated approach, aligning the Cambridge framework with SAMR to assist educators in selecting tools that enhance, rather than merely digitize, their teaching practices.

To begin, the first question in the Cambridge checklist, whether the tool supports learning objectives, should guide teachers in determining whether the technology merely substitutes a traditional task or adds functional improvement (University of Cambridge, 2021). A failure to make this distinction may lead a lesson to meet its doom, buried under flashy but pedagogically hollow tools. For instance, when a teacher uses a digital worksheet to replace a paper one without enhancing its function, the activity operates at the Substitution level of SAMR. However, if that same worksheet includes automated feedback and performance tracking, it ascends to Augmentation. According to Puentedura (2006), at this stage, “technology acts as a direct tool substitute, with functional improvement.” For this reason, educators must ensure they do not merely follow behind in chase of innovation for its own sake; rather, the goal is to adopt tools that move beyond replication, improving both the efficiency in classroom instruction and scaffolding and effectiveness of learning.

Collaboration and communication, emphasized in the second Cambridge question (University of Cambridge, 2021), are central to the Modification and Redefinition stages of SAMR. A tool that enables authentic interaction such as breakout rooms in Zoom or collaborative platforms like Miro or Google Slides can modify traditional group work by fostering real-time, multimodal exchanges that are no longer bound by physical space or static materials. Yet not all collaborative tools are created equal. Some may appear promising but yield lumpy, disjointed interactions that lack cohesion or depth. In contrast, thoughtfully chosen tools support redesigns that are finished to the last stone, allowing every element of the learning task to serve a clear communicative or cognitive purpose. Puentedura (2006) describes Modification as a point where “the task is significantly redesigned,” and Redefinition as enabling “the creation of new tasks, previously inconceivable.” Teachers must therefore assess whether a tool merely facilitates communication or truly transforms how students engage with each other and with content in innovative, purposeful ways.

Feedback, addressed in question three of the checklist (University of Cambridge, 2021), aligns with both Augmentation and Modification in the SAMR model. Tools like Google Docs or learning management systems with built-in feedback mechanisms allow teachers to offer real-time, formative support, thereby enhancing the feedback loop and sustaining learner engagement. Puentedura (2006) notes that at the Modification stage, feedback can be deeply embedded into redesigned activities, enabling students to participate in iterative cycles of improvement. Without such integration, learners may be left to shrug their shoulders at vague comments or, worse, mutiny on the activities entirely due to confusion or perceived irrelevance. When digital tools deliver timely, specific, and actionable feedback, and when students can respond within the same environment, they become essential to scaffolding progress and fostering self-regulated learning.

The potential for personalization and extended learning, addressed in question four, invites teachers to seek tools that foster learner autonomy and support differentiated instruction (University of Cambridge, 2021). A platform like Edmodo, for instance, allows students to access asynchronous tasks, reflect on their progress, and collaborate with peers beyond the confines of scheduled class time, thereby modifying the traditional language learning structure. When used effectively, such tools channel even the most boisterous classroom energy into purposeful, self-directed activity, rather than letting it dissolve into distraction. As Puentedura (2006) explains, Redefinition tools should enable the “creation of new tasks,” such as student-curated multimedia portfolios or interactive storytelling experiences. These digital opportunities, unimaginable in a conventional classroom, help students become co-constructors of knowledge. When such platforms are underutilized or poorly guided, however, they can give the teacher the creeps, filled with half-finished posts, off-topic chatter, or silence where engagement should thrive. Purposeful digital design is key to unlocking their full transformative potential.

Usability and device compatibility, outlined in questions five and nine, relate directly to the practicality of integrating a digital tool into the classroom environment (University of Cambridge, 2021). While these considerations may seem merely logistical, poor usability can act like a disruptive force, ready to barge in on even the best-designed lessons and derail learning. The Cambridge checklist rightly emphasizes that tools must be “easy for you and learners to use” and should “work on multiple devices” to ensure accessibility and inclusion (University of Cambridge, 2021). As Puentedura (2006) reminds us, even tools functioning at the enhancement stage must “support productivity and accessibility” to be effective substitutes or augmentations. When a platform’s interface is unintuitive or incompatible, it can hurl the lesson plan into a chasm of confusion and wasted class time. A well-designed user experience, by contrast, keeps both teacher and student cognitive load focused on learning rather than on troubleshooting, allowing pedagogy, not platform, to lead the way to language learning.

Lastly, cost-effectiveness and versatility, addressed in questions seven, eight, and ten, concern how flexibly a digital tool can be integrated across varying teaching contexts (University of Cambridge, 2021). Teachers are prompted to consider whether the tool can “be used in multiple ways and in different types of lessons” and whether “there is a better alternative” to achieve their instructional aims (University of Cambridge, 2021). A tool that cannot adapt, that falters when moved from one context to another, may leave even the most patient educator wroth with its limitations. In contrast, platforms that offer both synchronous and asynchronous functions, support diverse input and output formats, and can be used across a full gamut of activities, from grammar practice to creative writing to assessment, are far more likely to support task redesign or the creation of entirely new language learning experiences. Puentedura (2006) reinforces this perspective by encouraging educators to “use technology in ways that are context-sensitive and scalable,” ensuring that digital tools remain pedagogically relevant rather than situationally constrained.

In conclusion, evaluating digital tools through both the Cambridge checklist and the SAMR model empowers educators to select and use digital resources with strategic intent. The ten reflective questions encourage careful scrutiny of a tool’s instructional value, while the SAMR framework offers a structured lens through which to assess how deeply a given technology transforms the learning experience. In a rapidly evolving digital language landscape, it would be unwise to wager one’s head against the need for pedagogical clarity and purposeful design. By aligning these two frameworks, teachers not only guard against superficial digitalization but also join a community of like-minded teachers committed to meaningful, learner-centered innovation. Such intentional practice fosters deeper language acquisition and sustained engagement, ensuring that digital tools enhance, rather than dilute, the art of teaching.

📚 References

Puentedura, R. R. (2006). Transformation, technology, and education. Hippasus. http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/000095.html

University of Cambridge. (2021). Basic digital tool assessment. Teaching English Online – FutureLearn. https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/online-tutoring