From paper and pencil to screens and artificial intelligence, education has come a long way since its beginning.
In the past few years, technology has transformed education from a passive, lecture-based model into an active, personalized, and accessible experience. It has revolutionized learning by expanding the classroom, increasing access to educational resources, and offering a wider range of instructional tools.
These advantages serve as the pillars of flexible, self-paced learning, along with the help of interactive tools like artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality. As a result, the role of teachers has shifted from traditional lecturers to facilitators who guide students through more engaging and student-centered learning experiences. Thanks to these advantages, educational technology, also known as EdTech, soon flooded the classrooms.
The Growth of Technology in Schools
The use of technology in schools has grown significantly ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in K–12 education. Nearly all schools now incorporate digital tools, with over 96 percent providing students with devices such as laptops or tablets. About 89 percent of teachers report using technology daily for instruction.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this trend dramatically. Before the pandemic, during the 2019-2020 school year, only 23 percent of public schools and 14 percent of private schools assigned devices to all students for home use. By spring 2020, those numbers rose to 45 percent for public schools and 20 percent for private schools, with many schools rapidly expanding access to support remote learning. By 2024, the United States Department of Education (ED) had allocated over $30 billion to supply schools with screens.
The EdTech market is expected to grow exponentially, as the integration of technology in classrooms mutates from an option to a need. EdTech is expected to grow at 12.5 percent annually 2023 to 2033, increasing the market from $78.2 billion to around $253.9 billion.
Benefits of Technology in Education
That being said, technology can provide a wide range of advantages to education. Digital tools help schools make education more accessible and fair. Most schools give their students devices, which reduces socioeconomic gaps in the classroom.
With increased access to technology from a young age, students can develop technological literacy, enabling them to enter the modern workforce with greater expertise and experience. It also increases efficiency by simplifying administrative processes and enabling better communication.
Dan Schwartz, a professor of educational technology and faculty director of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning, calls technology the “game-changer for education,” as it, in his own words, “offers the prospect of universal access to high-quality learning experiences and creates fundamentally new ways of teaching.”
Schwartz also mentioned that EdTech is “opening up new possibilities for students producing material and for being able to identify children who are not average, so we can customize the curriculum for them. It’s an opportunity to think of entirely new ways of teaching—this is the path I hope to see.”
EdTech has allowed for the introduction of adaptive tools that help assess students’ needs and capabilities. A major adaptive tool is assistive technology (AT), which offers relief for students with developmental disabilities. In the school environment, AT enables all students to meet academic standards and balances factors that might affect students’ school life and performance.
As per the Assistive Technology Industry Association, “Assistive technology helps people who have difficulty speaking, typing, writing, remembering, pointing, seeing, hearing, learning, walking, and many other things. Different disabilities require different assistive technologies.”
The Rise of Artificial Intelligence in Education & Its Benefits
Another major tool in EdTech is artificial intelligence, whose role is becoming increasingly significant as it advances education.
AI went from a machine-learning system and logical problem solver to an adaptive system that learns from data and patterns and can create original content. It currently has tools that offer inspiration and summaries to assist with lessons.
However, there is a major gap in how students and teachers use AI. The Digital Education Council conducted surveys that found 86 percent of students have used AI for school—over half use it weekly and nearly one quarter use it daily. In contrast, only 61 percent of teachers use AI in their lessons, and of those, 88 percent report minimal use. This sharp discrepancy underscores the need for educators to better understand and engage with AI technology.
Student questionnaires reveal that 60 percent of students use AI to help them do research, 57 percent for brainstorming ideas and as a study companion for exams, 30 percent for written assignments, and 25 percent for translating language assignments.
Among those 61 percent of teachers, reports show that 37 percent use AI to prepare lessons, 33 percent to create worksheets, 28 percent to adapt lessons to meet students’ needs, 25 percent to make assignments, 16 percent for grading, and 12 percent to analyze student data.
Teachers have also reported major improvements since they first started using AI for their lessons; among these teachers, 64 percent agreed that AI improves the smoothness of lesson tailoring, 61 percent saw improvements in student insights, and 57 percent improved assignment feedback with the help of AI. This cascades into students’ education, benefiting them as well.
Students are able to quickly acquire information through AI, as well as improve their linguistic skills. They can also condense complex texts into easier-to-understand summaries, thereby increasing comprehension of the material.
Artificial Intelligence and Student Well-Being
Despite its benefits, the growing use of AI raises concerns about student well-being. Artificial intelligence, as per the Journal of Mental Health and Clinical Psychology, has been linked to a reshaping of student life, including both academic and personal perspectives.
AI can provide personalized support, improve communication, and even assist with mental health needs. However, it may also contribute to digital fatigue—a constant state of exhaustion, reduced face-to-face interactions, and technostress—a negative adaptation to the increasing reliance on technology. Over-reliance on AI can lead to parasocial attachments, a one-sided relationship with an entity that doesn’t know you exist; in this case, AI. Parasocial attachments often lead to increased feelings of isolation and anxiety, especially among students, as well as emotional dysregulation and social withdrawal.
Challenges and Concerns
With the integration of technology in education, several concerns have arisen, the most substantial being academic integrity. AI tools can easily be used to cheat or complete assignments. This defeats the whole purpose of assignments, since students are completing them without genuine understanding. Additionally, over-reliance on AI may hinder the development of critical thinking skills and intellectual independence.
Daniel Licardo, a freshman and sophomore English teacher at the Bronx High School of Science, confirmed this fear. Although he himself uses devices in his lessons, he doesn’t allow students to do so. “Sometimes you must sacrifice convenience to avoid distractions,” said Licardo.
Teachers, such as Licardo, fear that giving students the freedom to use technology in the classroom will allow them to ignore lessons and replace mastery of subjects with easy access to online answers. Mastery is essential because it enables individuals to critically evaluate content, ask meaningful questions, and identify inaccuracies or weak reasoning outside of school. Without this foundation, students may struggle to distinguish between high-quality and flawed information, leading them to rely too heavily on technology.
Furthermore, true innovation depends on deep disciplinary expertise developed through sustained effort and intellectual struggle; improvement occurs only after individuals have patiently mastered their field, gaining the context necessary to push boundaries. The National Library of Medicine says that students rely on technology too early; they may bypass this critical developmental process, limiting their ability to think independently and creatively.
There is also a distinction between using AI as a tool for inspiration versus a replacement for thinking. As per Licardo, AI is “a useful tool, like much of technology, but one that comes with too many temptations.” Students are more likely to be guided by AI than to direct it. This dynamic raises concerns that early and excessive reliance on AI could erode essential skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and disciplinary expertise. “Why would I send a robot to go to the gym for me? I need to work out,” said Licardo. Additional issues, including data privacy, digital inequity, distraction, and potential job displacement, further complicate the integration of technology in education.
Licardo says, “One of my students recently asked me if I use AI to prepare lessons. ‘Absolutely not!’ I said. I make my own artisanal small-batch lessons from organic ingredients. I try them out in class and make adjustments for next year. I learn from the creative process.”
In Utah, test scores immediately started plummeting after the state started offering devices to students. According to Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, author of The Digital Delusion: How Classroom Technology Harms Our Kids’ Learning — and How to Help Them Thrive Again, test scores dropped due to “easy access” to online sources.
Dr. Horvath also stated that technology has impacted cognitive capabilities so much that the current generation, Gen Z, is the first to fail to outperform their parents on standardized tests. “In other words, Gen Z is the first generation to be less cognitively capable than their predecessors.”
To this, Dr. Horvath stated that something must be done to improve human interaction with learning tools. He blamed cognitive decay on “indiscriminate digital expansion” rather than on the use of technology in schools.
Best Practices for Integration
EdTech is reshaping education in powerful and transformative ways. While it offers significant benefits in terms of access, personalization, and efficiency, it also presents challenges that must be addressed.
To address these challenges, educators and institutions must adopt thoughtful strategies for integrating technology. This includes carefully evaluating whether new tools genuinely support learning objectives and maintaining a balance between technological innovation and traditional academic rigor.
Ensuring that students first develop strong disciplinary foundations will be critical to preserving intellectual growth, fostering innovation, and preparing learners for a future shaped by automation. By mastering core concepts and skills first, students are better equipped to use AI as a tool for enhancement rather than as a crutch. In this way, AI can serve as a source of inspiration, support, and efficiency without replacing critical thinking skills.
“Why would I send a robot to go to the gym for me? I need to work out,” said Daniel Licardo.