Trends EdTech Industry Should Pay Attention To
Education technology is an industry that is expected to surpass RM 1.67 billion by 2028. The reason for this expected growth is the emergence of new technologies and the changing needs of students.
As social media and the internet continue to become a greater part of our lives, they’re also going to become greater parts of our education.
The pandemic has changed the educational landscape, and the EdTech market grew by nearly 21% year-over-year in 2021.
Here are 5 trends the EdTech industry should watch and prepare for:
1. Lifelong Learning
- We are living in a world where the skill you need today could be obsolete tomorrow.
- For example, it is often said 65% of today’s children will work in jobs that do not yet exist.
- Speed of technological advancement has accelerated, but there is also an increasing demand for knowledge and skills.
- The importance of lifelong education will increase and this will have a direct impact on education and training.
- The OECD reported that more than 55% of adults in Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden participated in job-related formal or non-formal training over a 12-month period.
- No matter how you learn new skills, your ability to remain employable and confident in your knowledge will be crucial in the future.
2. AI-Driven Education
- Artificial intelligence-driven education is expected to rock the market with its innovation and ability to bring teachers, students, (if necessary) parents and employers on a single platform.
- AI-driven education can provide an individualised learning experience to each student.
- By adjusting the curriculum at the class and individual levels, Al will have the potential to personalise education.
- This is something that could change the future of education as we know it.
3. Social Learning
- While the concept of social learning has been around for a long time, within the past two years it has increased in popularity.
- Social learning is often informal and occurs through social networks, communities and collaboration.
- In the context of education, social learning refers to students learning from one another, in addition to teachers, experts and formal sources of knowledge.
- In light of this trend, several competitors are entering the edtech market.
- Social education teachers will likely institutionalise and start collaborating with larger edtech platforms.
- Thus, they will not only be able to expand the number of learners but also use the technical and methodological competencies of bigger players.
4. Personal Development
- Recently, education has changed its focus from primarily teaching facts to also empowering students — aiding in personal development.
- EdTech companies must recognise that concepts and skills matter more than just facts.
- In the future, EdTech solutions are believed to be more focused on making things practical and real-life interactive.
5. Big Data & Adaptive Learning
- The big data revolution didn’t bypass the education sector, and it paved the way for a variety of new solutions.
- In education technology solutions, data such as students’ achievements and attention rates can now be used to predict their performance or customise their learning experience.
- Through offering limited adapted learning solutions, machine learning algorithms often used to automate this type of technology can provide educators with valuable insights.
What do these trends mean for EdTech leaders?
- Make sure your learning platform is agile.
- Your courses should meet the expectations of new students.
- Consider delegating some day-to-day tasks to AI.
- Watch out for disruptive approaches like social learning or new technologies like blockchain.
- In this way, you will be able to stay ahead of your competitors or at least maintain your position.
No one knows which trend will actually cause the largest shifts in education.
Some of these trends will emerge out of technological advancements, while others may result from progressive responses to customer performances.
