The definition of education technology (edtech) can vary based on competing experiences and understanding of what technology is and what education is. The Association for Educational Communications and Technology defines edtech as “the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources” (Hlynka & Jacobsen, 2010). One can arguably suggest that this definition can be examined further to understand the fundamental principles that made education technology possible. It sparks curiosity in understanding how modern-day education technologies evolved over time.
Martin Weller (2020) discusses the “historical amnesia in education technology” in his book 25 years of Ed Tech. One can arguably suggest education technology dates to the 8th century (Elamin, 2024). This era encompasses prominent Islamic and Arab scholars that laid the foundation of education technology, one that is built on to make edtech’s evolution possible. There is a disconnect between the history of education technology to early Arab and Islamic scholars. Colonialism shaped what edtech is and how one perceives it (Koole et al., 2024). Elamin (2024) explains “while the Islamic Golden Age’s Contributions have been monumental, they have often been overshadowed by Eurocentric accounts of scientific progress. This neglect obscures the pivotal role played by Islamic scholars in shaping global knowledge systems.” Education technology then is built on this monumental foundation and arguably persuades for a “more balanced and inclusive understanding of history highlighting the interconnectedness of civilizations in advancing human progress” (Elamin, 2024).
Weller does not fall short of mentioning Western or European influencers that shaped education technology, however, it fell short in mentioning some prominent Arab and Islamic scholars. One therefore wonders if the history of education technology is hegemonic to Western and European scholars and findings.
With a deep-dive lens on the history of education technology, prominent Arab and Islamic figure such as Muhammad Al-Khwarizmi laid foundational knowledge and structures that education technology is built on today. Al-Khwarizmi was a Muslim mathematician and astronomer that introduced algebra, Hindu-Arabic numerical system including the number zero and step-by-step solutions to solve problems (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d.). Current day technologies that education technology heavily relies on such as computer programs, software and applications as well as artificial intelligence (AI) rely on Al-Khawarizmi’s foundational work yet is failed to be recognized through the evolution of education technology. An article By the Numbers from the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo stated that “later Enlightenment-era European scholars claimed some of those advances as their own, without always acknowledging the Islamic influences on their supposedly new findings” (University of Waterloo, Faculty of Mathematics, 2021).
These findings introduce a new debate, is education technology only advanced technology or does it date back to fundamental findings that evolved into modern day technology. This debate sets a new discussion in the world of edtech.
References
Adam, T., Sarwar, M. B., & Moustafa, N. (2023, July 13). Decolonising EdTech: A resource list for tackling coloniality and digital neocolonialism in EdTech. NORRAG. https://www.norrageducation.org/decolonising-edtech-a-resource-list-for-tackling-coloniality-and-digital-neocolonialism-in-edtech/
Elamin, M. O. I. (2024). Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi: The pioneer of algorithms and his enduring legacy in artificial intelligence. Journal of Ecohumanism, 3(8), 1859–1880. https://doi.org/10.62754/joe.v3i8.5896
Hlynka, D., & Jacobsen, M. (2010). What is educational technology, anyway? A commentary on the new AECT definition of the field. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 36(3). https://cjlt.ca/index.php/cjlt/article/view/26395
Koole, M., Smith, M., Traxler, J., Adam, T., & Footring, S. (2024). Decolonising educational technology. Education Sciences, 14(10), 1070. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14101070
Muslim Intellectual Network for Empowerment. (2024, September 9). Al-Khwarizmi: The pioneer who shaped mathematics, algorithms, and the modern world. Medium. https://mineglobal.medium.com/al-khwarizmi-the-pioneer-who-shaped-mathematics-algorithms-and-the-modern-world-ac50eb9e58de
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Al-Khwarizmi. Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Khwarizmi
Weller, M. (2020). 25 years of Ed Tech. Athabasca University Press. https://doi.org/10.15215/aupress/9781771993050.01
University of Waterloo, Faculty of Mathematics. (2021, August 6). Top 8 facts about the Islamic mathematician Al Khwarizmi. https://uwaterloo.ca/math/news/top-8-facts-about-islamic-mathematician-al-khwarizmi
Transparency Statement: Generative AI, ChatGPT, was used to create the reference list and in-text citations only.
29 August 2026 at 2:52 pm
Great post, Asma!
Your post offers a critical and necessary expansion on the scope of educational technology history. By surfacing the foundational contributions of 8th-century Islamic Golden Age scholars like Muhammad Al-Khwarizmi, you highlight how Eurocentric narratives have obscured non-Western knowledge systems that directly enable today’s digital infrastructure.
I fully agree that the story of edtech extends far beyond the digital era. Tools as fundamental as writing utensils were radical technological innovations in their own right, proving that edtech is deeply historical. Recognizing non-Western and Indigenous approaches to knowledge acquisition is vital—not only to counter the “historical amnesia” Weller (2020) cautions against, but to ensure we authentically acknowledge and avoid appropriating foundational learning frameworks built by earlier civilizations.
Connecting Al-Khwarizmi’s work on algorithms to modern AI and instructional software effectively illustrates that the roots of edtech are truly global and deeply interconnected. Thank you for broadening this dialogue beyond the standard 1994 timeline!
30 August 2026 at 11:09 am
This is a sharper reading of Weller’s “historical amnesia” (2020) than most of us are working with. I read the same amnesia as ed tech forgetting its own decade: standards and platforms it built five years ago, then rebuilt worse. You’re describing something structurally different, not forgetting but never crediting the origin at all.
10 September 2026 at 2:51 pm
Hi Asma! I appreciate how you worked backward from Weller’s 1994 starting point to trace edtech’s longer history through a less Western-centric lens. This is much needed and thoughtfully extends Weller’s discussion of historical amnesia.