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The EdTech Revolution:
Education will never be the same, and this can be a cause for celebration. It’s been a long time coming...
The traditional education system as we know it has received vast criticism, often being labelled as “broken”, “dead” and “monotonous”. Curriculums are outdated and irrelevant, inefficient teaching techniques are used, alternative learning styles aren't accounted for, classrooms are overpopulated and student progress cannot be sufficiently monitored. Students aren’t able to gain the necessary skills in order to make an impact in the workplace. They are taught to ‘copy and paste’, instead of ‘consume, digest and apply’. At the end of their respective educational journeys, students have acquired a myriad of theoretical knowledge, coupled with no ability to practically apply it.
The world has been in desperate need of an educational reform, which is exactly what the EdTech (”Educational Technology”) Revolution entails. EdTech refers to the introduction and integration of IT tools into the classroom, which enables learners to be more engaged, included and provides an individualised learning experience. E-learning has the ability to increase learning retention rates by 60%, as well as provide interactive learning experiences.
EdTech advantages:
Increased collaboration amongst students and teachers
24/7 access to learning
Personalised learning experiences
Concise monitoring of student progress through data analytics
Gamification of problem solving - engaged learning
AI grading & monitoring of examinations
Simple classroom management
No need for physical classrooms - space for expansion isn’t an issue
Machine learning analytics help improve human learning
Many EdTech companies are focusing on short courses, in order to upskill students and bridge the gap between the theoretical knowledge acquired and the practical application needed in the workforce. We have also seen collaborations between industry professionals and EdTech companies, with the goal of up-skilling their current employees or equipping students with relevant skills to enter the work place, increasing immediate productivity and reducing training times.
We have seen significant attention from world-wide funders, as they attempt to seek out the next big EdTech opportunity. During 2021, the EdTech sector received an excess of $20 billion in venture funding. Investors are very attracted to the highly scalable Software as a Service (”SaaS”) models that EdTech companies use and we believe this trend will be around for the foreseeable future, although the initial hype to convert to digital during COVID has started slow down. We will be seeing various forms of hybrid education platforms, balancing in-person interactions with digital learning.
We have seen major success stories such as Coursera, Udemy, Masterclass, Lessonly and Teachable, which merely brush the tip of the iceberg. The industry is serially disrupting the traditional educational sector and will continue to do so at a rapid pace.
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