EdCircuit StaffTable of Contents
The EdTech industry is an ever-developing and expanding community.
Over the past year, the EdTech industry has seen a boom in innovation and growth. New start-ups and legacy brands are releasing content, products, and support to K12 education at an unprecedented rate. As edCircuit contributors discuss EdTech industry trends, the edCircuit staff wanted to outline a few recent trends impacting edTech in 2022.
EdTech Industry Trend #1: Personal Development
Expanding on the long-lasting trends of career technical education, professional development, micro-credentialing, and social-emotional learning, personal development tools are rapidly expanding in K12 and continuing education. This focus on personal development answers many of the questions educators have concerning the role of schooling in the 21st Century. Although traditional skills in STEM, ELA, History, and Language are necessary, many education stakeholders want to see an expansion in developing students’ passions through a more individual-driven education.
With the popularity of personal development systems like MasterClass or Khan Academy, it is expected that ‘pathway’ based learning strategies will continue to expand in the EdTech industry, with individualized learning taking priority over overgeneralized group instruction.
EdTech Industry Trend #2: Accessibility
Over the past few years, a particularly well-supported movement has been to increase accessibility in EdTech tools. This accessibility can be seen in two primary variations: 1) making educational resources more equitably accessible based on socio-economics and 2) making tools more accessible to students with disabilities.
In terms of equity, many EdTech companies have prioritized equitably providing resources through grants, scholarships, and reduced pricing. These programs have allowed schools that traditionally could not access technology and additional resources to implement them in their classrooms to increase academic prosperity.
Especially with the increase in federal and state mandates, school districts across the country have turned to the EdTech industry to support students with disabilities. Many EdTech companies have answered the call and increased their investment in accessibility. New companies have created more products and content to support students with learning disabilities. However, existing companies in the space have also shifted their products to better include and support accessibility.
EdTech Industry Trend #3: Immersive Learning
Using immersive technology like VR goggles, phygital technology, and augmented reality simulators, students have access to many new resources and experiences previously inaccessible due to time, travel, expense, etc. Several companies have released more accessible versions of AR/VR with practical use in the classroom. This technology has been slow to implement in the everyday K12 classroom. However, as consumer accessibility to AR/VR technology increases, many companies will look to expand their development and implementation of immersive learning technologies in 2023 and beyond.
EdTech Industry Trend #4: Homeschool Resources
Due to the pandemic and many other factors, more students are being educated at home. According to a recent United States Census Bureau report, the number of homeschooled students has increased by 5.7%. Education technology companies have begun to increase curriculum and tech resources designed for homeschooling to address this increase. This is a change in an industry that has primarily focused on the district model but now has to cater to the wants and needs of families. As the effects of the pandemic diminish in school districts across the country, it will be an interesting trend to watch within the EdTech community.
EdTech Industry Trend #5: Artificial Intelligence
Like immersive technology, artificial intelligence has many applications in the classroom and school operations. Many edTech companies have implemented artificial intelligence in data tracking systems. As data-driven instruction has expanded across the industry, automation and artificial intelligence are key to the growth of both edTech start-ups and major players.
Moving The Conversation Forward
To better understand the recent market growth, edCircuit contributors will be discussing various trends across EdTech throughout December. Make sure to stay connected and join the conversation surrounding trends in the EdTech industry by subscribing to edCircuit. If you have thoughts on the shifting trends in EdTech, apply to become an edCircuit contributor to share your voice with our community.
