The education technology industry (EdTech) was significantly boosted in 2020 when some 1.5 billion students worldwide were forced to switch to distance learning. At the same time, it became clear that public secondary and higher education programs could not meet such demand. Moreover, the current methods of education used in public schools and universities have not kept pace with the development of society. Now EdTech is highly popular and will see a bright future only with automation.
How Is EdTech Developing In Different Countries Today?
According to GrandViewResearch, the global EdTech market volume was estimated at $106.46 billion in 2021. Experts suggest EdTech’s CAGR of 16.5% from 2022 to 2030.
This segment of the market in 2020 has attracted increased attention from investors who have invested in the development of this area 13 billion dollars. Mainly Asian startups are developing EdTech. From 2017 to today, 72% of the total investment in this sector has come from local companies, organizations, and individuals. 90% of the EdTech market is occupied by the United States, China, and India.
Chinese startups have shown strong growth since 2014. Until recently, the local market accounted for up to 40% of all investment deals related to EdTech development. Today, five EdTech companies stand out in China with a total value of $1.29 billion to $15.5 billion:
- Yuanfudao
- Zuoyebang
- VIPKid
- Zhangmen
- 17zuoye
The Chinese segment of EdTech mainly specializes in distance education and English language training.
The Indian education technology market was taken over by one company – BYJU’S, reaching 15 billion dollars in value. It’s actively developing the market for remote learning by buying up start-ups that fit the bill.
In the U.S., there is no such difference among companies providing remote education services. In the American market, there is high competition in this segment, which comprises more than two thousand startups. But even here, you can count more than 10 EdTech companies with capitalization of more than a billion dollars, for instance, the StuDocu company being highly popular among students, teachers and startups.
Why Will EdTech Continue To Grow?
In addition to the impact of COVID-19, there are several other reasons why EdTech will continue to grow. The first is the constant change in demand in the labor market. Everything is developing quickly now: new professions, niches, and even industries appear. Accordingly, they require new skills and constant professional development.
According to the World Economic Forum, 85 million jobs will disappear in the next five years – robots and machines will replace them. Along with that will come 97 million new roles. The same organization emphasizes the main qualities of future employees – analytical thinking, creativity, and flexibility. EdTech provides the tools to learn new skills anywhere and anytime. And with the demand for new skills, the demand for EdTech will also grow.
The second reason is the desire to spend even your free time consciously and profitably. The modern person will choose a TED Talks lecture instead of a video blogger or a podcast about art instead of a series of Squid Games. People are selective about content consumption, favoring educational products.
The format of educational content is also changing. The most important resource of an adult is time. The endless flow of information distracts you. People do not finish reading books, do not finish online education, and miss lectures and webinars. That is why laconic bite-sized content is becoming more and more popular. It allows you to absorb large amounts of information through a simple format: infographics, video, or compressed book content.
Another reason is the development of Edutainment. It’s an approach that combines learning with game mechanics and generally changes perceptions of education. It turns from a boring and compulsory process into something you want to do in your free time after work. An example of Edutainment can be the 14-day and 28-day book challenge in which users can improve one area or increase activity in the app. Data Bridge Market Research shows that the growth can be 17.1% over 7 years.
Why Is The Future Of EdTech Automation?
It is complicated to fight for customers in such a highly competitive environment. EdTech companies have already implemented many innovations in their work, so it is increasingly difficult to surprise the customer. Automating is the next way to surprise the client and improve learning. Let’s understand how automation affects the learning process and why it is the future of EdTech.
EdTech Automation Unburdens Teachers From Routine
Teachers don’t just teach. They spend a lot of time on tasks such as grading tests or homework, filing the necessary paperwork, and controlling instructional materials.
All of this not only overloads teachers but can be a demotivating factor for quality teaching and mentoring. It deprives the desire to give students more than the educational program requires.
Artificial intelligence can automate administrative and operational processes. It gives teachers time to do their main work directly, without worrying about other tasks.
EdTech Automation Provides Round-the-clock Feedback
Artificial intelligence-powered chatbots can assist students around the clock, providing answers to queries, or advising any time. AI chatbots can answer the same questions repeatedly while remaining incredibly patient.
Back in 2019, this technology began appearing at universities in the UK. The first digital assistant of this type made its debut at Staffordshire University. Unlike the rest of the staff, the Beacon chatbot is on call 24/7, so it can repeatedly answer students’ questions – mostly the same ones, remaining incredibly patient.
Students can communicate with Beacon via text or voice messages. The more often it is used, the smarter it becomes. Subsequently, chats can remind students of classes and deadlines or grow with students. Scientists do not rule out the possibility that children will be accompanied from an early age by a personal assistant like Siri or Alexa, which will accumulate experience and self-learn with the child, understanding their characteristics and needs.
EdTech Automation Provides Convenient Learning For Every Learner
Each person’s learning curve is individual. We are all different, and everyone is comfortable learning at their own pace. An automated learning system allows students to learn at a convenient time and a comfortable pace. When they complete a course, the next section automatically opens. A control questions and feedback system helps the person understand the topic correctly.
Artificial intelligence can analyze when individual students don’t understand or don’t learn certain points of the program. And then signal it to the instructor to re-explain a particular topic or lecture. Also, the AI can point to where the courses/curriculum needs to be improved.
EdTech Automation Drives Personalization In Education
AI is used for personalization and so-called immersion learning. This is a new field of adaptive intelligent learning that allows you to analyze existing content and match it to the needs of each person.
Artificial intelligence can deal with the fact that people are finding it harder to read texts. People are getting worse and worse at absorbing ‘general’ information. It’s getting harder for us to read texts and watch long videos. And one solution that can help deal with this is personalized learning.
If AI realizes that the user has not learned the material well, it suggests new formats and approaches to learning. It also determines what the user will be interested in in the future.
Conclusion
EdTech automation is the introduction of technology into the learning process to which most of the routine activities previously performed by supervisors or guest experts are delegated. Artificial Intelligence is already improving the quality of education and making life easier for students in different countries through chatbots. Artificial Intelligence in education is not just about fancy holograms of teachers replacing real people or robots. AI tools are already among us and gradually changing how EdTech teaches.