I'm not talking about programmers at all - rather the technology strategy and policy designers and implementers that come before them.
My background includes software dev in and around online education for almost 20y in both industry and academic.
Totally outside bubbles and following groupthink :)
The conservatism from technologists that you speak of.. in part comes from the politics at post secondaries and the resistance towards adopting technology.
There's no shortage of understanding in most institutions of the problems and how to solve them, only the political will, and leadership who cares.