EdTech myths: towards a critical digital educational agenda

Abstract

Myths are universal narratives linked to objects, shaping social and personal identities. Technologies generate modern myths, influencing choices and impacting our lives. The present study focuses on EdTech myths. From a qualitative methodological approach based on codesign, five relevant EdTech myths are identified. Subsequently, the analysis was carried out from (1) a hermeneutic approach, based on the authors’ experience in the field of EdTech, and (2) a review and contrast of relevant scientific literature. The results explain, firstly, why these myths arise and persist in EdTech; secondly, the study can help to demystify them. In general, EdTech myths impoverish digital technology-mediated education because they consider it from an extensively reductionist perspective, especially from EdTech capitalism. This is why we need to pay more attention to EdTech myths, to set up an educational agenda leading to action categories and the critical transformation of the education–technology relationship.