Assessing (Educational) Technology: Separating the Context-Rich Learning Applications From the Mere Spectacle

Abstract

The role of technology in education has become salient due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As in-person instruction halted to mitigate the spread of the virus, online classes helped students continue their education. While the benefits of technology in education are clear, is it possible that institutions have gone too far? The dominant forms of new media and technology—radio, television, video cassette recorders, and more recently, the internet—have all been heralded as great boons to pedagogy. Have students and educators benefited from these advances in technology? Why do students from lower socioeconomic groups continue to fail out of the system? Will nascent technologies like virtual and augmented reality change the future of education?