What do the Latest EdTech Trends Mean for Your Students?
Our education system is changing. There will be promising trends that fall flat, and there will be unexpected trends that surprise us all. Right now, EdTech is changing and adapting faster than ever before, and there are a couple key EdTech trends I think you should keep your eye on. And I especially wanted to point out the trends that have a significant impact directly on students. While there are simply too many trends to include in this list, I’ve chosen five that I think have the most future-focused model for integration and success of EdTech apps in classrooms.
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
This has the potential to be the most contested EdTech trend. Bringing VR and AR into the classroom fundamentally changes what’s available in the classroom itself. They can transform their space momentarily to conceptualize something that would’ve otherwise been very difficult to understand. For example, students can sit in their English class while taking a tour of the places the author gained his or her inspiration for the setting of the story they’re reading. There are endless possibilities for how educators can use VR and AR to expand their teaching and support their student’s goals, and I expect that this trend will continue to develop in our education systems.
Social-Emotional Learning
It’s common for social-emotional learning (SEL) to be pitted against the use of technology in the classroom. More technology means fewer interactions, right? Actually, not at all. EdTech is a supportive piece of a successful class, not the only piece. SEL and EdTech aren’t mutually exclusive, and the future of EdTech is making sure that developing emotional intelligence is a strong aspect of the field. SEL can be taught and reinforced through collaborative games, apps, and lessons where people interact with one another and learn how to self-regulate emotions and understand others.
Adaptive Learning
As similar to personalized learning, adaptive learning is adjusting for each student’s needs. By collecting data about their learning styles, adaptive learning tweaks content so that students are challenged to think differently. This information also helps teachers build stronger one-on-one connections with their students. They can see what their students learning styles are and what will most likely push them to use complex thinking productively.

Educator Support & Professional Development
EdTech has traditionally been focused on developing new software and hardware, but not necessarily on how teachers can integrate those resources. However, that’s beginning to change. From administrators to EdTech companies themselves, providing improved and sustained support for EdTech in the classroom is gaining focus. Supported educators have the potential to create a more successful EdTech environment in the classroom for themselves and for their students.
Integrated Learning Spaces
Technology connects students and educators while also creating a new, shared space for people to expand interests and find new learning areas. This is becoming a focus, especially as supporting global classrooms become more popular. These shared spaces make room for extended discussions, more connections, and stronger global camaraderie. As technology connects students, looking at how their spaces are changed will continue to gain traction.
There’s clearly a lot going on in EdTech, and these trends are some that I find promising. As always, keep your eyes open and heads up for the changing educational landscape.
