The Top 5 EdTech Trends 2019 — AI, AR, VR and more!
I started 2018 with the article Introducing the Top 8 EdTech Trends for 2018.
The article featured EdTech experts from different backgrounds and highlighted the top trends from the world of educational technology.
Fast-forward 12 months and now I’m excited to present the EdTech trends again for 2019! 🎉
This time I reached twice as many experts and asked them two key questions:
- Which Edtech trend/s are you looking forward to in 2019?
- What were your biggest challenge/s in 2018?
I’ll reveal the survey results later in the article. So stay tuned!
I’ve skipped the funding part this time as it pretty much remains the same as last year. You may read the 2018 article if you want an overview on EdTech’s valuation.
Let’s dive in then!
What are the EdTech Trends for 2019?
1. Making EdTech more accessible
Continuing from 2018, one trend which stands out again is to make learning technology more accessible to more people.
“Schools and teachers should be given exploration and innovation budgets.” Says Kristian Lundquist from Gro Play. This will see teachers getting more involved in EdTech product design and development.
Becky Sage from Interactive Scientific believes efficacy is the most important trend in EdTech right now.
“The metric of success is whether we are delivering an education ecosystem that gives learners the opportunities to thrive in 21st-century careers solving 21st-century challenges.” — Becky Sage
Lowering the cost of EdTech can help penetrate the developing world says Juan Manuel Pico from Education Soul.
“EdTech needs to address the needs of millions of students. Governments can help to implement different solutions as long as the cost per child is below $3. Today the average retail price per child is around $30.”
Mervi Pänkäläinen from Mightifier is concerned with the low adoption of EdTech licenses.
30% of the EdTech licenses are never used and over 97% of licenses are never used intensively in US K-12 districts. This is highly alarming and will push EdTech developers to focus on UX and pedagogical value for teachers.
Also, Märt Aro from Nordic EdTech Forum “N8” agrees that we should focus on making EdTech accessible to more people globally.
“I am convinced that we have all the means and knowledge available to significantly increase the quality of learning experience and provide access to education to everybody globally.” — Märt Aro, Nordic EdTech Forum
2. Augmented Reality
According to AR insider, there will be almost 1.5 billion AR-compatible smartphones by the end of 2020 and 3.4 billion by 2023. No wonder the adoption of AR in educational apps is growing every year.
Let’s find out what the experts have to say about ARinEdu!
“In 2019, teachers expect EdTech solutions that augment the reality of the classroom where the physical and digital realms can be seamlessly merged and a more holistic, multidisciplinary approach can be taken.” — Pouria Kay, CEO, Grib
Anshul Dhawan, Founder, Equally
Augmented reality is poised to be the next frontier of computing with big players like Apple, Google, Microsoft, putting their weight behind the development of this technology.
Milena, Product Owner, Learn Teach Explore
“I believe that 2019 will be the year when teachers focus on meaningful EdTech solutions that allow for the creation of new tasks which were previously inconceivable. Augmenting the classroom with immersive technologies and collaboration tools is a top priority for 2019 for Shapes 3D Geometry Apps.”
3. Virtual Reality
Another immersive technology which is gaining more and more momentum in Education is VR. Perhaps the most important value learners get from VR is empathy. And with VR going cordless– it may speed up immersion in learning.
Building an educational app? Find out how Setapp can help you deliver an exceptional EdTech Product.
Barbara Anna Zielonka a renowned English teacher from Norway and top 10 Global Teacher Prize Finalist hopes there will be more apps that will offer social VR experiences to students.
“I have been using Google expeditions as a teaching tool, but I am looking for more social VR platforms that could be used in teaching.“ — Barbara Anna Zielonka
According to Paola Paulino from XR Pioneer, in 2019, 5G + standalone headsets are going to level up the VR industry to new accessible heights.
Hege Tollerud from Oslo EdTech Cluster believes VR will become more accessible as the prices of the equipment will drop in 2019!
Margherita Berti from University of Arizona says:
“In 2019 virtual reality will become increasingly accessible with affordable, yet sophisticated, viewing devices. Higher education institutions will begin to implement virtual reality inside the classroom.”
4. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence in education will continue to mature in 2019.
“AI can help fill needs gaps in learning and teaching and allow schools and teachers to do more than ever before.” — Bernard Marr on Forbes.
Check out the full article by Bernard: How is AI used in education — Real-world examples of today and a peek into the future.
Jaime Donally, founder of ARVRinEDU and a renowned EdTech consultant is excited about the progression of immersive technologies that improve the user experience with artificial intelligence.
“The newer resources are continuing to move students from users to collaborators and content creators.”
At the same time Mika Kasanen from School Day Finland says:
“Analytics & AI will play a significant role in the early identification of both positive and negative issues at schools. At the end of the day, it’s all about giving students and teachers a voice and a channel for their well-being.”
Transparency and social impact of AI aided learning platforms are important to ensure the quality of education. That’s according to Meri Sestola from Metka.
5. Standardization in EdTech
Making EdTech standardized was a key trend last year. This year the trend continues.
Jannie Jeppesen from Swedish EdTech Industry says:
“EdTech is developing fast with many new interesting services being launched.”
“Our main challenge is building powerful, interoperable digital ecosystems where developing standards, information, and structured data can be processed on a larger scale.“
Niclas Mein from EdTech South East Sweden adds:
“I’m hoping for a more systematic approach to EdTech solution development and deployment. A move away from solutions that solve ‘everything’, to capable solutions that integrate with other solutions.”
Neil O’Toole from the organization EDvisor Finland has developed a quality assurance framework that prepares companies for the Kokoa Standard. Finnish pedagogy provides sound methods to integrate technology with everyday classroom practice, something EDvisor Finland views as critical to the future of EdTech.
Other trends to look out for in 2019
STEM
Both Sari Hurme-Mehtälä from Kide Science and Olli from Kokoa Standard believes companies focusing on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) will be in the spotlight in 2019.
I visited China at the end of 2018 and saw the insane fuzz around STEM education.” — Olli Vallo, Kokoa Standard
Extended reality in MOOCs
Antti Lähtevänoja from ZOAN expects schools to adopt extended reality technologies. Especially with MOOCs.
However, he points out that research in this area is vital. Every new device or technology used in schools must have proven results in improving learning or teaching.
I’m excited to see the progression of immersive technology improving the user experience with artificial intelligence. The newer resources are continuing to move students from users to collaborators and content creators. — Antti Lähtevänoja, ZOAN
Offline Solutions
Another aspect to focus in 2019 are offline solutions. Fast-reliable internet is still out of reach of millions of learners around the world. So building EdTech product which doesn’t need internet connection all the time will be key.
Svenia Busson, founder of Paris based EdTech accelerator LearnSpace agrees that offline solutions are the way to go at least in the near future. She adds “I am quite confident Edtech in 2019 will evolve more and more around evidence-based products and active learning.”
Survey Results!
As promised here’s the survey result from mini-research. In total, I got 40 respondents for the first question and 38 for the second.
1. Which Edtech trend/s are you looking forward to in 2019?
2. What were your biggest challenge/s in 2018?
Final thoughts
As you can see 2019 is looking bright for artificial intelligence and immersive technologies. Both educators and entrepreneurs regard these two technologies very highly!
On the other hand, the biggest challenge for educators in 2018 was funding, followed by technology and user experience of the educational products.
It seems those who succeed in balancing “Ed” and “Tech” will definitely make a positive impact in 2019.
Building an educational app? From UX to Design to development, Setapp can help you deliver an exceptional EdTech Product.
So how do you see the above trends unfolding in 2019? Let us know in the comments below!
In the end, I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to this article. Without you all, it wouldn’t have been possible. I enjoyed every minute of it and can’t wait to do it all again in 2020!
