Failure to Disrupt

A Science "Reading List for Uncertain Times" Selection

"I'm not sure if Reich is as famous outside of learning science and online education circles as he is inside. He should be. Reading and talking about Failure to Disrupt should be a prerequisite for any big institutional learning technology initiatives coming out of COVID-19."
- Inside Higher Ed

"Reich lays out the embarrassing cycle of copied ideas, massive hype, enormous wasted funding, and the unmet promises of edtech. A must-read for the education-invested as well as the education-interested."
- Forbes

"The desire to educate students well using online tools and platforms is more pressing than ever. But as Justin Reich illustrates, many recent technologies that were expected to radically change schooling have instead been used in ways that perpetuate existing systems and their attendant inequalities."
- Science

Proponents of massive online learning have boldly promised that technology will radically accelerate learning and democratize education. Much-publicized experiments, often underwritten by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, have been launched at elite universities and elementary schools in the poorest neighbourhoods. The New York Times called 2012 the "year of the MOOC." A decade later, the promise of disruption seems premature.

In Failure to Disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can't Transform Education, Justin Reich delivers a sobering report card on the latest supposedly transformative educational technologies. Reich takes us on a tour of MOOCs, autograders, "intelligent tutors," and other edtech platforms and delivers a sobering report card. Learning technologies—even those that are free to access—often provide the greatest benefit to affluent students and do little to combat growing inequality in education. Institutions and investors often favour programs that scale up quickly at the expense of true innovation. Technology will be key to the future of education, but no killer app will shortcut the hard road of institutional change.