Both TPACK and SAMR models are models used to describe the degree of integration of technology and instruction, and both are intended for use by educators, teachers, or instructional designers. The main difference between them both is the difference in the way of integration and the perspective of integration.

The SAMR model describes the manner and degree of integration of technology and instruction. In SAMR, the instructional designer integrates technology and instruction through the four steps of Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. This is a linear process from low to high, bottom-up. The designer can consider each of these steps in turn and decide which approach to use to integrate technology and instruction according to the needs of the instruction. At the same time, these four steps can be seen as the level of integration of technology and instruction. The higher the level of integration, the higher the level of integration. In addition, SAMR takes a more “technology” oriented perspective on how to help integrate technology with teaching and learning.

TPACK model describes the interaction of technology, pedagogy, and content. When using TPACK for instructional design, teachers or instructional designers need to consider their knowledge of the three areas and then integrate them in the same instructional activity. For example, when designing an English debate activity that trains English speaking and logical thinking skills, teachers or instructional designers need to consider their knowledge in the areas of debate topics, English speaking, and thinking training (content), their skills in instructional design, classroom organization, and debate facilitation (pedagogy), and their knowledge in the use of technology to support this debate teaching activity well (technology), respectively. Thus, in TPACK, technology is not the main perspective, but is considered by users in parallel with pedagogy and content.

Thus, TPACK and SAMR models can be used in combination. Designers can use TAPCK to guide themselves on how to integrate technology with instruction. At the same time, SAMR can also be used to examine the depth of their integration of technology and instruction.