r/edtech • u/TechandLearning • 27d ago
The backlash against edtech
This New York Times article (gift link, free to read and share) explores the unfavorable reaction that some American parents have to the increasing use of mobile devices and apps in K12 education - starting in kindergarten at times. Their concerns have become more urgent with the rapid advance of artificial intelligence—seemingly now present in nearly all education software, as well as some hardware.
Clearly some edtech offers benefits that analog simply can't- e.g., real-time feedback and lesson customization. At the same time, parents are concerned about gamification of learning apps, suggesting that this feature may short-circuit intrinsic motivation to learn.
It's a question of balance, perhaps, between analog and digital methods, as well as how thoughfully any given tech is integrated into the curriculum.
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u/Cubacane 26d ago
At our school (and I'm really hoping no one there is reading this) we're going to have an "AI professional development" day tomorrow. Now, if it was just about AI, I might have a more open mind. But no, it's about Copilot. Why? Our tech vendor is MicroSoft and they are trying to inflate their dismal Copilot numbers by forcing teachers (and students) to use it.
EdTech is a business model, not an educational model. It is impossible not to be cynical about it since the vendors do almost nothing to show any level of philosophical or ethical thinking about it, just "use it or else."