We can only guess what the next big trend may be. But we know enough to be sure that the future looks bright in the field of edtech. Here’s why.

The Four P’s

Edtech trends are moving in the direction of teaching that is:

• The flipped/blended model is becoming more commonplace and teachers will soon reap the full benefits of education that can be customized for every student.
• Programs like the “Hour of Code” empower students to create their own apps and websites, transforming them from digital consumers to digital creators.
• Students increasingly take the driver’s seat in constructing their own educational experience rather than passively absorbing it.
• Algorithms will remove all guesswork regarding student skills and needs.

These changes will lead to huge benefits for students and open up the potential for a vast array of apps and devices to support these changes.

Better Research

Educational technology can accomplish many of the administrative tasks of higher education, freeing up students and professors to focus on meaningful research. Algorithms can assist with efficient recruitment of human capital, matching the best people to the best research opportunities, saving countless hours of time in tasks related to hiring and training. Collaboration among researchers will become ever simpler and more seamless, leading to spectacular discoveries and publications. Better research can result in breakthroughs in solving long-standing challenges such as climate change and chronic illness.

Virtual Reality

We all know the value of VR in the classroom. It brings abstract concepts to life for students, transforming esoteric knowledge into hands-on, interactive experience. The next step will be empowering students to create 3D worlds of their own. The potential for this technological development is only just beginning to be explored by teachers and edtech companies.

Lifelong Learning

When did we decide that learning had to stop once students were outside school walls? When did it become the norm for a diploma or a degree to become the death sentence of all further learning?

The reality is that most of us abandon learning as quickly as possible because we just have never found it enjoyable. We equate it with passively taking notes while listening to a teacher lecture. But learning no longer has to be that way. Technology adds an emotional dimension of excitement to learning, so that the process is stimulating and enjoyable, as it was always meant to be. Students will not want to stop learning and will continue the process their whole lives.

In all these contexts, edtech has a clear role for transforming education from a mindless chore to a thrilling adventure.