The lived experience of using educational technology is embedded in a specific social and cultural context. This study aims to investigate the meaning of the lived experience of the pesantren community using technology for education in their learning environment. This study used the hermeneutic phenomenology method to interpret the meaning of the experience of the pesantren community. Eight people from a pesantren for college students were purposively selected as participants. They were asked to describe their experiences using technology for education, how they used it, and what it meant for them. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts was then carried out to obtain interpretations of the meaning of the participant experiences. The analysis results reveal the meaning surrounding maintaining the pesantren subculture, the disruptive impact of technology, and the struggle for inclusion and social mobility. This study concludes that technology can be used to adapt the culture of pesantren education. The contribution of this research strengthens the theoretical implications of the linkages between educational technology and culture by providing empirical evidence from the experience of the pesantren community as a subculture.

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