Examining the concept of balance with instructional technology

Balance is often invoked in education as a comforting response to fears around innovation and the changes needed to see it flourish. It sounds sensible — like balancing diets or schedules — but in practice, it can signal hesitation about making meaningful change.

As a former district leader, I purchased, evaluated, and implemented numerous technologies. Reactions from teachers varied widely, often aligning with Everett Rogers’ (2003) Diffusion of Innovations model: Innovators and early adopters embraced the tools, while more skeptical educators — sometimes labeled “laggards” — hesitated. In many cases, their skepticism was warranted. Using new tech doesn’t guarantee improved outcomes, nor does using a new device or app qualify as a classroom innovation.

In Kendall Naceanceno’s (2025) recent Kappan article, he correctly advocates focusing on “good teaching” when determining how to incorporate technology into our next lesson for students. But I question whether balancing new tools with old methods is always best for students. When technology merely replaces traditional tools — like a word processor substituting for pencil and paper — there’s often little gain in achievement, but a high cost for the digital solution. John Hattie’s controversial, but still somewhat helpful Influences and Effect Sizes chart plays to this beautifully.