A Functional Taxonomy for EdTech Integration

The definition of Educational Technology has undergone a profound transformation, evolving from the process-oriented frameworks of the 1977 AECT definitions to a modern, tool-centric synthesis that has blurred the boundary with ”Technology in Education”. In the post-AI landscape of the 2020s, the integration of systems like Generative AI and immersive simulations for industrial electronics education has shifted the focus toward technology as an active springboard for knowledge application. However, this convergence often obscures the socio-technical structures educators must navigate, necessitating a deeper investigation into the functional role of technology in fostering teacher agency. This study investigates a multidimensional functional taxonomy of Educational Technology through the lens of agency, utilising empirical data from the UK Department for Education (DfE) Technology in Schools Survey (TiSS) across primary and secondary education. Employing a deductive-inductive synthesis methodology grounded in the theoretical foundations of the AECT domains and the ”Chordal Triad” of agency, comprising Habit, Judgment, and Imagination, the paper successfully constructed a four-layer EdTech classification. The taxonomy effectively distinguishes between technology as ”Institutional Infrastructure” (the material and normative baseline) and ”Pedagogical Learning Design” (the site of active practitioner agency). The next phase of this research aims to validate this functional taxonomy through a global body of evidence.