Learn about the latest topics in edtech with the Learning Technology Center of Illinois, a program of the Illinois State Board of Education. Each episode will include discussions about integrating the most recent tech into classrooms, interviews with movers and shakers in education technology, and answers to questions from listeners.
The skepticism around EdTech isn't new. It just feels that way.
In this episode, hosts Linda DeYounge and Brian Bates step back from 2026 and walk through 120 years of technology in American schools, decade by decade. From the magic lantern to the mimeograph, from Sputnik to the smartphone, from teaching machines to ChatGPT — every era had its promises, its skeptics, and its moment of reckoning.
And every era asked the same questions we're asking today. Will this technology replace teachers? Is it actually helping students learn? Did we spend all that money for nothing?
The details change. The anxiety doesn't.
What's striking isn't just that the pattern repeats — it's how consistently we forget that it has. Every generation inherits the same debate and treats it like a new one. Every generation makes the same promises. And every generation eventually asks whether any of it worked.
If you work in a school, lead a district, or make decisions about technology and learning — this episode will change how you hear the current debate. Because when you see the full picture, the fears of 2026 start to look a lot like the fears of 1926. And 1956. And 1986.
New episodes available monthly wherever you listen.
Access our Season Four show notes (LTC.site/season4shownotes)
Access this episode's transcript (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qy7QC22gNYCRUQCl_8CkM-J2Xkg5yVpG9Od2H8FT-qY/edit?usp=sharing)
16 Sept 2026
The Growing Case Against EdTech
In January 2026, the Economist declared that EdTech is "mostly useless." It wasn't a lone opinion. Over the months that followed, the same sentiment showed up across major publications — different headlines, same conclusion.Then the U.S. Senate convened a full hearing on the impact of technology on young people. Expert witnesses argued that technology should be significantly rolled back from K-12 classrooms.For anyone who works in education and relies on technology to teach, it's been a lot to absorb.In this episode, we start where the debate starts — walking through the Economist article, the Senate hearing, and the testimony of neuroscientist Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath and screentime consultant Emily Cherkin. These are the loudest voices in this conversation right now, and we think they deserve a serious look.We also sit down with Adam Sparks --an educator, EdTech developer, and writer behind EdTech Confidential on Substack. After watching the Senate hearing, he went back to the actual reports and studies being cited, and published a two-part response contesting the four major claims made in the testimony. What he found is worth hearing.New episodes available monthly wherever you listen.
Access our Season Four show notes (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kD5M7eKQS6fT8Zw-JPFIgFGCtJn_KkT-BNsH6ws9wPU/edit?usp=sharing)
Access this episode's transcript (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bbhw1uFFmRh1zLiz84MRJj33TR7lUGFGTsxbY5N3fjo/edit?usp=sharing)
13 Aug 2026
Season Four Trailer: "EdTech is mostly useless"
In January 2026, the Economist published an article with the headline:
"Ed tech is profitable. It is also mostly useless."
It echoed a sentiment that had been quietly building in schools across the country. And educators who had built their practice around technology started asking hard questions.
So did we.
The One-to-One Podcast, produced by the Learning Technology Center, is spending Season 4 chasing the question: Is EdTech mostly useless?
We're sitting down with researchers, lawmakers, parent advocates, and classroom teachers — people on every side of this debate — to have a conversation about where EdTech is working, and where it's falling short.
If you work in a school, lead a district, or make decisions about technology and learning — this is the season we made for you.
New episodes available monthly wherever you listen.
Access our Season Four show notes ([LTC.site/season4shownotes](https://LTC.site/season4shownotes))
Access this episode's transcript (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V8veeCex2SqF07L9RYQBY7Uqlw0WC_Yzy78Vh1Ewc3M/edit?usp=sharing)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
62,927
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
7 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 57 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
59
Social presence
0
YouTube
76
Engagement
60
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