Rethinking Education & Technology

The digital revolution has placed education in tension between nineteenth-century schooling and twenty-first-century technology. I see this tension daily: in classrooms, students encounter “just-in-case” learning, where content is taught because they might need it someday, while outside they pursue “just-in-time” learning, seeking knowledge at the moment of need through platforms like YouTube or Discord. Schools are often slow to adapt without embracing personalization, interactivity, and learner control technology affords (Collins & Halverson, 2018).

When my sophomore students use Figma to prototype apps, they are not simply engaging more actively; they are stepping into roles as designers and producers of knowledge. This distinction matters because it illustrates what Collins and Halverson (2018) describe as new learning ecologies, where learning occurs through authentic, technology-mediated practices rather than through the passive absorption of content. Research in digital game-based learning supports this shift, showing how structured environments can both challenge and motivate learners while allowing autonomy (Wu, 2018; Vlachopoulos & Makri, 2017). Wu’s typology illustrates how teacher guidance and student agency coexist, mirroring the balance education must strike if it is to evolve.

Yet adopting technology does not guarantee transformation. Schools often integrate digital tools without altering deeper structures of curriculum and assessment, reverting to the “factory model” of efficiency and standardization. This exposes a central contradiction: technology thrives on personalization, while schools are charged with equity. Reconciling these purposes, ensuring fairness and shared civic knowledge while enabling customization, remains one of the most difficult challenges of educational reform. The issue is not merely technical but cultural, as teacher beliefs and institutional structures can resist change even when tools are available (Li et al., 2019).

The historical framing of learning through practice, universal schooling, and lifelong learning clarifies why this transition feels so unsettled. My career reflects these stages, first apprenticing as a consultant, then teaching within structured curricula, and now pursuing a doctoral degree that incorporates hybrid components requiring adaptability, reflection, and integration with professional practice. Students today also live in this mismatch, moving seamlessly between interest-driven learning online and traditional classroom routines that often feel disconnected from their realities.

One visible sign of this generational shift is the fluency many students demonstrate with technology compared to adults. I sometimes notice them troubleshooting or adapting platforms more quickly than I can, a reflection of how informal experiences build practical skills. As noted, “for the first time in history, children are more comfortable, knowledgeable, and literate than their parents about an innovation central to society” (Tapscott, 1998, as cited in Collins & Halverson, 2018, p. 146). This inversion challenges the authority of schools to remain the primary gatekeepers of knowledge.

Rethinking education, then, requires more than adding devices or software. It demands reimagining the purposes of schooling considering environments where learners already function as producers, collaborators, and self-directed participants. My role is to negotiate this space, resisting the pull of traditional models while integrating tools that allow students to cultivate autonomy. This dual role is challenging but necessary if schools are to stay relevant in a world where learning extends far beyond the classroom.

References

Collins, A., & Halverson, R. (2018). Rethinking education in the age of technology: The digital revolution and schooling in America (2nd ed.). Teachers College Press.

Li, L., Murnen, T., Zhou, Y., Wu, M. L., & Xiong, Y. (2019). Globalizing technology education for teachers: The dual challenge of strengthening skills and changing perceptions. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 27(1), 5–27.

Tapscott, D. (1998). Growing up digital: The rise of the net generation. McGraw-Hill. (as cited in Collins & Halverson, 2018)

Vlachopoulos, D., & Makri, A. (2017). The effect of games and simulations on higher education: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 14(22), 1–33. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-017-0062-1

Wu, M. L. (2018). Making sense of digital game-based learning: A learning theory-based typology useful for teachers. Journal of Studies in Education, 8(4), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.5296/jse.v8i4.13022