The Dangers of Pre-Packaged EdTech

You know those learning platforms that have a library of curated articles for you to assign your students to read or listen to, maybe even annotate, and then answer some standardized questions? No doubt, they’re convenient; but, honestly, what does anyone really learn from fishing in a stagnant pond?

Allow me to elaborate on this metaphor.

In the pond, the fish don’t swim — they float. That’s what it feels like when we ask students to engage with curated articles that are months old (if not older), sanitized of bias, or stripped of local relevance. It’s predictable and safe — but it’s not where real learning happens.

Meanwhile, students are already fishing in the ocean — on YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, and the open web — without much guidance on how to read the tides. They encounter breaking news, deep fakes, misinformation, and layered narratives every day. They need more than just pre-caught answers; they need the skills to cast, question, and navigate.

In order to make that happen, we need to prioritize platforms and practices that give students real-world challenges and real-time content. We need to trust (and even train) teachers to curate, adapt, and guide students through the messiness of learning in motion.

This “stagnant pond” metaphor is one I’ve been thinking about for awhile. And when it comes to this kind of educational technology, the author in today’s featured article sheds even more light on the pedagogical, financial, and cultural costs. So many floating fish…

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Talking the Read

Episode 5: “The Hidden Costs of Classroom Tech”

Show Notes

Today’s episode is based on the article “Technology might be making education worse” (Stanford Report, 10 April 2023)

Two Things I Learned in Producing This Episode

• Formulaic Transitions. Five episodes in, my brain can now easily spot the discussion formula between Chris and Liam. All the more reason I appreciate ElevenLabs’ editable transcript. I can re-word, add to, or completely remove these transitions. This allows me more creative freedom in how much (or how little) I wish to manipulate the discussion style and tone.
• New curiosity. Now that I have a pretty good handle on the speaking mannerisms of Chris and Liam, I find myself wondering: If I were to play with one or two other voices, will I get a similar set of mannerisms, or something different? In other words, are the formulaic mannerisms a product of these particular voices, or are the mannerisms a product of the overall software? That’s for episode 6 to find out.