When we talk about education, it’s natural to conjure up scenes with students sitting in a classroom, arranged in rows of chairs with a teacher writing on the board for the students to copy the content. With technological evolution, particularly with the popularization of the internet since the 2000s, education has been impacted, and this image begins to look like a distant past, at least for part of the world.
To illustrate, between 2012 and 2019, the number of students in distance or hybrid courses grew by 36% in the United States, according to IPDES (2022). In this article we are going to explore how Edtech rose, the reason for its rise and its current outlook.
In this landscape, what we have agreed to call Edtech, a shorthand for educational technology, emerges. It is a field focused on the development and application of information and communication technologies in education. Its goal is to support, enable and implement teaching and learning processes in different contexts of education.
Edtech includes both hardware and software applied to education. It spans from technologies that support in-person learning to a fully digital education. Its target audience covers the entire educational ecosystem, from students to teachers, educational management system users, and parents or guardians (in the case of teaching young people and children). One of the first Edtechs was Blackboard Inc., created in 1997. To this day, it remains a reference in the sector, a pioneer in the use of LMS (Learning Management System), and used by various educational institutions around the world.
It is important to understand that the use of technology in education did not rise only with the internet. Distance education has existed for over 100 years and has utilized technologies available at the time to facilitate education. The fundamental concept of distance education is that the teacher and the student are in different locations and interact through technologies, either synchronously or asynchronously. It is interesting to note how technology influences the way distance education is conducted, from the evolution of correspondence, through radio and then television, CD room, to the current use of the internet.
Edtechs, in general, are not limited to the goal of facilitating the teaching-learning process, but rather aim to explore new solutions and incorporate them into the teaching routine, even changing the way of learning and teaching. Examples include companies that use Artificial Intelligence to personalize teaching or the use of augmented reality to teach medical students how to perform surgeries.
Here are some examples of Edtechs with global operations:
- Coursera is an online teaching platform that offers a wide variety of higher education courses, specializations, and even degree programs from renowned universities around the world. Its business model popularized MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course), which allowed millions of students to improve their skills and knowledge in a wide variety of fields;
- Duolingo is a language learning app that offers a playful and gamified approach to acquiring new languages. It serves both students who wish to learn a new language from scratch and those who want to improve their skills in a foreign language, for free;
- Khan Academy is a nonprofit organization that offers a vast collection of online educational resources, including video lessons and interactive exercises.
These three examples highlight how companies in this sector have the potential to make knowledge accessible and democratize access to it, provoking a true change in the educational mindset. In addition, this technological evolution will allow for a personalization of teaching at reasonable costs, where each student can have an experience tailored to their needs.
To understand its relevance and potential, the Edtech sector is estimated to grow annually by 13.6% until 2030, reaching $348.41 billion according to the report developed by Grand View Research. And this market may grow even more with the expansion of the 5G network and artificial intelligence. In other words, it is a market in full expansion, but already broad since its conception.
Edtech emerges as a dynamic catalyst, reshaping the landscape of education globally. As technology propels us into a future where traditional teaching methodologies give way to personalized, innovative learning experiences, Edtech stands at the forefront. From pioneering institutions like Blackboard Inc. to transformative platforms like Coursera, Duolingo, and Khan Academy, the sector not only facilitates knowledge dissemination but actively redefines the essence of education. Edtech is not just expanding; it is revolutionizing the way we approach and perceive learning, offering a glimpse into a future where education is accessible, adaptable, and truly transformative.
Reference:
IPEDS, distance education status as of all 2020, accessed March 2022.
History of Distance Education. (2001). Educational Technology Research and Development, accessed November 2023.
