Educational Technology Research Patterns in the Realm of the Digital Knowledge Age

Educational technology (EdTech) is a dynamic, evolving field and as such, in identifying and mapping research patterns in this field, a systematic approach is required. Starting from when the World Wide Web became publicly available, this study conducts a systematic review of educational technology research patterns. The review showed that after 1993, there was a sudden increase in the number of educational technology publications, and that in terms of subject areas, social sciences dominate the field, which suggests that there is a need for more interdisciplinary research. Regarding the geographical distribution of the research, the review found that most of the contributions come from the same developed countries. The following themes from over the course of almost three decades were identified: 1993–1999 multimedia learning and instructional design; 2000–2004 convergence of educational technology, distance education and online learning environments, and educational technology integration in traditional learning settings; 2005–2009 revising curriculum for educational technology, educational technology in higher education and distance education, and the bottleneck of the significant differences in educational technology research; 2010–2014 online learning and higher education, integration of ICT and full potential of educational technology; and 2015–2019 data-driven, smart educational technology, big data, and learning analytics. While critical views are increasing, this study also observed that some discourse, such as arguments that EdTech will change education and replace teachers, are constantly articulated throughout the literature.