The educational technologist are seen to be tech-obsessed, light on pedagogy and prone to obscure abbreviations; while the academics are stereotyped as waffley anti-technologists with a love of chalk-and-talk. Adding to this complexity, each sphere tends to be characterised by a distinct culture and common language.
Often times the divisions are so clearly delineated that, despite units merging on paper, the two spheres operate largely independently of one another.