The UNESCO report titled “Technology in Education” raises concerns about the potential drawbacks of using digital technology in classrooms, and I had a first-hand experience related to this. While outlining some important historical points during my Middle East politics class, I noticed a student engrossed in his tablet, apparently surfing the net rather than participating in the class. To my surprise, he interrupted me mid-lecture to affirm that an internet search engine had confirmed the information I was relaying. I was taken aback, realizing the influence of the internet on my credibility as an educator. However, the event also underscored the potential of technology for prompting students to actively seek knowledge resources.

The UNESCO report fuels a debate among educators about whether technology enriches education or conversely, makes it shallower and undermines quality for the sake of flashy gimmickry, and simultaneously widening the technology access gap. While the report offers no conclusive assertions or suggestions, it resonates with the feel that seasoned educators, including the myself, have long harbored, that the real verdict on the merits and value addition of digital technology in education is still pending.

However, when considering our growing dependency on technology, there are two sectors advocating for digital education that rightfully evoke skepticism. The first sector is the technology developers and marketers who often display more expertise in technology than in education, thereby failing to recognize the importance of individual learning needs. The other sector is comprised of those managing education, who, lacking educational experience or having lost touch with classroom realities, view technology primarily as a cost-slicing tool.

Recently, digital education investment seems to have supplanted investment in teachers, prompting the need to ensure teachers are effectively using digital platforms and dispelling fears of machine replacement. Unfortunately, those overseeing education are often unable to distinguish between quality and standardization, which digital education exacerbates, prompting bureaucrats to control these elements over promoting creativity and diversity, leading to a regrettable mediocrity of a one-size-fits-all approach that overlooks many students.

There are certainly cases where digital technologies have provided unprecedented access to educational resources. However, bombardment with boundless information without providing the skills to differentiate between reliable and false information is causing irreversible harm to knowledge acquisition and our understanding of the world. Additionally, the drastic discrepancies in access to digital resources only exacerbate existing educational inequalities. Unsurprisingly, praise for digital education mostly comes from those who develop the technologies, resembling the pharmaceutical industry scenario—only this time, minds are being harmed rather than bodies.

Digital technology also poses behavioral challenge risks such as inappropriate or excessive use among students, increasing already rampant concentration deficit, solitary learning habits and cyberbullying, all pointing towards the need for a delicate balance between technology and humanity in education. It may soon be propelled to a new level by artificial intelligence (AI). However, the key lies in ensuring that, in humanity's pursuit of knowledge, technology does not suppress our humanity to the point that machines and technology profiteers end up ruling us instead.