The Ed-Tech sector

The Edtechs (educational technology) sector begins to gain importance and to bring hope to schools and universities that have been affected by the Covid-19 crisis.

In a final analysis of the sector, HOLON IQ affirms that venture capital investment in Ed Techs is going to triple in the last decade, meaning that this is just the beginning of what will be the constant growth in this sector.

What demands and challenges does all this pose for Edtech?

As the world has been pushed into the digital environment as a result of COVID-19, a new set of challenges has emerged.

  • High competition:The number of startups in the Edtech sector has exploded in recent years. In this sense, start-ups, to survive, are forced to create a unique value proposition that can differentiate them from the competition.
  • Privacy and data protection: The introduction of many connected devices with poorly protected applications in classrooms carries the same threats that exist in the consumer market.

Although the data is improving, concerns remain that student information could be sold to third parties or used to track them across the Internet.

The challenge in this case is to build a solid reputation around data security, investing more resources in software security is a real opportunity to stand out in a market full of poorly protected software.

  • Increase user engagement:In the first months of the COVID pandemic, many people had so much free time that they suddenly had to fill it in some way, learning a new language, improving some skills …

    However, soon the initial excitement and curiosity fades and motivation dissipates and user engagement diminishes.

    While the educational technology approach to learning still has its downsides, technological developments and innovation will undoubtedly continue to improve many aspects of educational technology products, making them even more accessible, immersive and relevant.

    • What are the technological trends that Edechs should take of advantage

    • Virtual reality in Edtech:where it will be possible to attend a class from anywhere and with an experience totally of what it was like to be physically in a classroom, which is why this totally breaks the paradigm of physical infrastructure.
    • Blockchain: focusing on the use of blockchain technology as a centralized identification system, verifications of grades, qualifications, administrative processes among others.
    • Robots: The benefit of including robots in classrooms as facilitators of learning activities, acting as educators’ assistants, is highlighted.

      The education report Horizon Report 2017 about school education (K12), highlights robotics as one of the trends with a near horizon.

    • Artificial intelligence: where AI can take care of tasks such as moderating small group student discussions for example.

      Conclusions

      Edtech companies are immersed in a very important dynamic of change. Regardless of their size and years in the market, they will succeed or fail based on their ability to embrace change in an age of constant evolution and where service providers play a critical role in facilitating that transition.