Contesting What Constitutes EdTech Success

With the rise of technology integration in education, much of its success is measured based on improving students' learning outcomes and experiences in Education Technology (EdTech)-supported classrooms and entirely online-based education settings, where access (for example, to a reliable network connection and laptop computers or smartphones) is implicitly assumed. Similarly, a large majority of the conversation about EdTech is dominated by notions of potential for high education quality, efficiency for teachers and administrators, and detailed learner data to inform quick decision-making. On the other hand, existing research is silent on including equitable access, replicability, institutional factors, and conditions as critical variables for evaluating EdTech success. In light of this, this paper contests what constitute EdTech success. It contends that to meaningfully reinterpret what success could (and should) mean for EdTech, it is necessary to first reframe one’s understanding of Tech from focusing on the latest high-tech towards a holistic concept of Tech. Based on this shift, the paper further asserts that success for such a reframed understanding of EdTech can (and should) include aspects of widening access and inclusion of previously excluded learners, rather than improvements for those already privileged with access to education. In the spirit of the International Society of Comparative Education Science and Technology’s (ISCEST) VIII Conference theme, ‘Reinterpreting Success,’ the paper aims to contribute to the still relatively small critical voice and perspective on education technology in a field dominated by an overall optimistic, if not euphoric, tone of potential and promise.