The longstanding dream of many economies is to drive their developmental agenda by harnessing the power of technology. In our recent article (see Adarkwah & Huang, 2023), we highlight the growing demand for higher education to be the pacesetter of innovative and cutting-edge technologies for teaching and learning, thus spearheading the technologisation of society. As a result, instructional technology is considered an essential component of higher education. But as Ling and Fraser (2014, p. 75) questioned: ‘What is higher about higher education?’. According to the authors, the expectation is that higher education should involve higher learning outcomes such as the ability to produce graduates capable of transmitting solutions to unpredictable and complex problems. One way to accomplish this is through the use of educational technology (EdTech). EdTech brings new possibilities to learning and can offer a form of immersive, personalised and adaptive learning experiences.
Nonetheless, many higher education institutions (HEIs) aspiring to prepare learners for the job market have not (or have only partially) succeeded in grooming a digitally competent workforce. In our article, we identify three main challenges to Edtech advancement in HEIs have been identified to be the cause of unsuccessful information and communication technology (ICT) policies globally: technology addiction, technology abduction and technology adoption.
Technology addiction is the first challenge and is described as IT-seeking and IT-use behaviours that occur at the expense of other important activities. Addiction in psychology relates to a behavioural disorder. Applying it to EdTech, the user of technology is unable to control its superfluous use (such as internet addiction, smartphone addiction and social media addiction). Learners suffering from technology addiction often use their digital tools for non-academic tasks and are likely to experience a form of stress termed ‘technostress’ that negatively impacts learning.
