Digital transformation in educational platforms: pedagogical necessity or technological trend?

Digital transformation in higher education has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic, yet many institutions have adopted complex architectures, such as microservices, containers, and cloud-native systems, without clear evidence of pedagogical benefits. From this perspective, we argue that adoption choices are frequently shaped by coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures rather than instructional needs. Synthesizing documented cases and teacher testimonies, we show that poorly managed complexity can increase cognitive load, fuel frustration, and dampen motivation, with adverse effects on student learning and teacher well-being. We contend that the field should replace technological signaling with pedagogical relevance as the primary criterion. Accordingly, we outline a research agenda and policy recommendations that privilege evidence on learning, sustainability, and curricular fit over trend-following, so that digital transformation advances education rather than obstructs it.