EdTech Growth in Pandemic-Led Digital Revolution
Educational technology (EdTech) during COVID-19 has snowballed because it is remote-friendly and supports distance learning. And, the main growth lever for EdTech is internalization. For instance, an educational institute in the US can provide high-quality primary and higher education to students in some of the most marginalized parts of the world.
The pandemic affected learners globally. In 2020, a study conducted at a university in England found high levels of anxiety and depression among undergraduate and postgraduate students due to COVID-19 restrictions, isolation, canceled events, lack of exercise, financial conditions, more use of tobacco, and deteriorating personal relationships.
Schools, colleges, and universities remained shut until the government implemented a credible vaccination program. Parents also feared for their children getting infected. Educational institutes worldwide had to quickly introduce online teaching methods for students and get their technologically age-old staff up to speed on remote teaching.
These factors led to a global EdTech market revolution which is expected to be valued at $605.4 billion by 2027, compared to $254.80 billion in 2021.
Moreover, MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) greatly contributed to further advancing digital learning. With the low cost and global accessibility of MOOCs offered by platforms such as Coursera and Udemy, people started acquiring new skills to advance their professional development and adapt to changing industry trends.
This article will discuss the impact of COVID-19 on educational technology, how it grew during the pandemic, and affected remote learning worldwide. Moreover, we'll discuss some shortcomings of EdTech in the current global ecosystem and point out where this industry is headed in the future.
Table of Contents
➥ How EdTech Grew During COVID-19?
➥ Types of EdTech Applications
➥ EdTech Irregularities, Limitations & Missed Opportunities
How EdTech Grew During COVID-19?
In 2020, mass lockdowns led to the global school closure. World Bank data suggests that 1.5 billion children were left out of school, causing a lot of distress and frustration among the learners. As a result, governments all over the world took large-scale technology initiatives, which led to growth and innovation in digital learning and EdTech.
Governments and educational institutes took a multi-pronged approach to accelerate digital transformation in education and make it more accessible and inclusive for students in all regions. Many governments introduced educational platforms as a result of their COVID-19 education response. They used broadcast technologies like TV and radio, social media, e-books, and various print and digital technology mediums to support online teaching and remote learning.
Zoom, a video-conferencing application, turned out to be one of the biggest "pandemic winners" that grew its revenue throughout the last year as more corporate companies and educational institutes started adopting it for remote connectivity and enhanced collaboration among coworkers, educators, teachers, and students.
Google Hangouts was another commonly used video conferencing system that enabled online education for millions of students and helped them stay connected during the pandemic. Moreover, during the pandemic, many teachers communicated with students using WhatsApp groups dedicated to educators to ensure student success.
Besides video conferencing tools, institutes adopted various Learning Management Systems (LMS) such as Canvas, Edpuzzle, Moodle, Sakai, Google Classroom, and more. Moreover, many content assessment platforms and file management systems were launched during the pandemic. In many regions of the world, zero-rating educational content was made available to the general public using telecom operators and internet providers to increase student engagement with virtual learning.
Let's discuss some major types of EdTech applications impacting the education system globally.
Types of EdTech Applications
Educational technology is expanding beyond traditional learning and vocational education offered at schools, colleges, and universities. Moreover, on-demand resources and pay-as-you-go features allow students to learn at their convenience.
Many EdTech companies such as BrainPOP, Schoology, and Outschool are developing niche courses that target kids to provide convenient education and gamify their online learning experience. Moreover, platforms like MasterClass are onboarding world-class experts and celebrities to disseminate their expertise and knowledge using remote teaching. Platforms like Coursera and edX offer official courses from world-class universities like Harvard, MIT, and Stanford to increase student engagement and interest in digital learning.
Some other types of educational technology applications include:
- Interactive tutoring
- Corporate learning
- Language learning
- Online curriculum
- Study notes
- Test preparation
- Upskilling
- Alternative learning
- Career planning
- Education management
- School support
- STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics)
- Educational resources
EdTech Investment Soars
2020 and 2021 have been the "coming of age" years for online education and remote learning. On the investment front, EdTech startups quickly became a center of attraction for venture capitalists during COVID-19.
The first half of 2021 reportedly observed $10 billion of VC-backed EdTech funding. Compared to that, the first half of 2022 witnessed $11.2 billion in global venture capital EdTech funding.
However, VC funding is projected to slow down as the world continues to open up again. At the end of 2022, EdTech funding is projected at $17.4 billion, compared to $20.8 billion last year.
But growth in education technology will continue even as in-person education makes a comeback and the world goes back to normalcy post-COVID. EdTech founders are looking to build long-term sustainable business models through mergers and acquisitions. They are looking to develop hybrid in-classroom digital technology solutions to enhance the learning experience for teachers and students.
Big Tech companies like Meta and Microsoft are backing a lot of educational initiatives related to virtual learning. In 2020, Meta invested in an Indian EdTech startup, Unacademy, which offers an interactive student learning experience.
Moreover, Amazon launched AWS EdStart to accelerate the growth of education technology startups, which offers numerous guides, tutorials, and discounted AWS resources to empower entrepreneurs and enable them develop a robust learning system. In 2021, the ecommerce giant launched Amazon Academy in India to help students prepare for engineering examinations.
Overall, the EdTech investment ecosystem looks rich and healthy, backed by venture capitalists and big tech companies–at least for the near future.
EdTech Irregularities, Limitations & Missed Opportunities
Despite all the technological advancements, the EdTech sector has presented some challenges due to the sheer velocity with which educational applications were deployed during the pandemic.
Many educational technologies and applications are not mature enough to address privacy issues. Moreover, there are no EdTech policies and regulations in place for cancellation, refunds, or content quality auditing in many regions of the world.
Internet access and connectivity were (still are) major EdTech limitations during COVID-19. Low-income countries with poor broadband infrastructure hindered many students from accessing online education during these testing times. Moreover, the quality of digital education was affected due to untrained faculty who were either unable to use the educational technology effectively or adapt their teaching methodology accordingly.
Due to this digital divide and socio-economic factors, students face learning loss globally. A report suggests that even the students in the Netherlands observed learning loss, which is well equipped for online learning. However, those countries and institutes with better ICT facilities are more successful in implementing EdTech initiatives.
Moreover, post-COVID-19, educators have not improved their previous teaching methodologies. There is a general lack of reforms in the traditional curriculum as educational institutes are opening again. In terms of impacting the in-classroom teaching experience, EdTech might have missed the mark it was expected to hit due to the COVID-19 closure.
However, as technology continues to impact every industry, the education sector will continue to adapt to the changing technological trends.
The Future of EdTech
In 2022, we are gradually coming out of the pandemic. Governments are becoming more flexible with COVID-19 restrictions. EdTech companies are experimenting with different business models for sustainable growth. Moreover, EdTech will play a vital role in accelerating the progress of UNDP's sustainable development goal for quality education.
In the next ten years, we should expect the following advancements in the educational technology industry.
- As EdTech adoption grows, the development of classroom native technologies and personalized education will increase.
- Greater collaboration between EdTech producers, investors, and educational institutes to develop hybrid learning ecosystems.
- Stricker EdTech regulations (GDPR and CCPA-compliant) to protect the privacy of students
- Better staff and community training for using technology and adapting their teaching methods
- Lower cost and subscription models of digital education worldwide will favor people from all socioeconomic backgrounds.
- Investors will look to build educational applications for Metaverse
By the next decade, we'll have better evidence of EdTech's effectiveness, which is expected to result in wider acceptance and ubiquitous access to high-quality content.
Nextfiniti helps EdTech companies develop cost-efficient e-learning platforms and rapidly get their educational technology products out to market. Contact us today for a free consultation.