Bad use of technology is a symptom, not the problem.

When technology fails in education, we blame the tools. The platform is outdated. The AI tutor doesn’t work. Students are distracted by their devices. But these failures are not the root cause of the problem; they are symptoms of a deeper dysfunction in how we approach learning.

As we wrote in Manifesto 25:

Bad use of technology is a symptom, not the problem. Technology is not a solution by itself, but when used thoughtfully, it can unlock new ways of learning and creating. We must move beyond old practices and truly harness technology as a tool for transformation, rather than obsessing over the latest tools while neglecting their potential to drive change. Swapping blackboards for smartboards or books for tablets while clinging to old teaching methods is like building a nuclear plant to power a horse cart: wasteful and ineffective. Yet, nothing has changed, and we still focus tremendous resources on these tools and squander our opportunities to exploit their potential to transform what we learn and how we do it. By recreating practices of the past with technologies, schools focus more on managing hardware and software rather than developing students’ mindware and the purposive use of these tools.

A hammer is a simple form of technology. It can be used to build or destroy. How it is wielded makes a difference. We should apply the same thinking to education.

Education systems are designed for efficiency and control, not for the realities of a fast-changing, uncertain world. Schools and universities continue to operate on an industrial-era model, where knowledge is delivered from the top down, and success is measured by compliance rather than creativity. When new technologies enter these rigid structures, they are often used to reinforce, rather than disrupt, outdated methods.

Digital tools become glorified textbooks. AI is used to automate grading rather than expand human potential. Learning management systems organize content delivery rather than foster real engagement. Technology, instead of transforming education, is used to make traditional teaching more efficient. The result? Frustration, disengagement, and resistance—not because technology itself is bad, but because it’s being applied to reinforce the status quo within a system that was never designed for it.

Teachers, too, are often left without the support, training, or autonomy to truly innovate. They are told to integrate technology but are rarely given the freedom to rethink their roles as facilitators of learning rather than content deliverers. Meanwhile, students, unable to escape this world of rapid change and radical transformation, find themselves constrained by structures that demand passive absorption rather than participation and active knowledge creation.

If technology is failing in education, the solution is not to throw more tools at the problem. We need to redesign the learning experience from the ground up. That means moving beyond the idea that education is about knowledge transfer. This requires a refocus toward creating environments where students learn how to navigate complexity, solve new problems, and shape their own futures. Technology should amplify human potential, not replace it.

This requires rethinking the very architecture of learning. Schools and institutions must evolve from systems of control to platforms for exploration. Learners should have agency in how, when, and where they learn. Teachers should be empowered to act as designers of knowledge experiences, not just deliverers of content. Instead of automating education, we should be leveraging technology to support more adaptive, personalized, and meaningful learning journeys.

Bad use of technology is thus not the problem. The problem is that we keep applying 21st-century tools to a 19th-century education model. Until we address that disconnect, no amount of "new technology" will fix what’s broken.

Read and sign Manifesto 25 at https://manifesto25.org