What Is EdTech?

What Is EdTech?

Let me explain EdTech to you directly: it's a combination of 'education' and 'technology,' referring to hardware and software built to support teacher-led learning in classrooms and boost students' education outcomes.

You should know that EdTech is still in its early development phase, but it holds real promise for tailoring a curriculum to match a student's ability level, introducing and reinforcing new content at a pace they can manage.

Understanding EdTech

I want to address this head-on: EdTech can be a contentious topic, especially since much of the education system is unionized, and there are concerns that it's an attempt to phase out certain in-class duties to cut costs. The developers behind EdTech focus on its potential to enhance teaching, allowing teachers to shift into more of a facilitator role. With tight time constraints, it's tough for a teacher to stick to the curriculum, help lower-level learners catch up, and keep top students engaged—EdTech can automate ability assessments and difficulty adjustments, potentially leading to better outcomes for individual students and the whole class.

Technology in the classroom has come in two waves: first, the hardware like devices and screens, and now the focus is on software that coordinates and makes the most of that hardware. These software solutions are what we call EdTech, often cloud-based and drawing on educational research to create algorithms that advance students along learning objectives at the right speed.

Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, use technology to reach huge numbers of students worldwide. They have their issues, like low completion rates, but they're designed to provide education that fits the user's needs.

EdTech Concerns

Many fears about EdTech look ahead to a future where software might manage entire courses. Right now, it uses analytics to evaluate a student's competency in curriculum areas, letting them advance faster in strong spots and spend more time on weaknesses. As students work through customized paths, the teacher facilitates and troubleshoots, guided by software insights into each student's strengths and weaknesses.

In reality, EdTech is still early-stage for basics like math or reading and writing skills. It faces design challenges, especially adjusting for different learning styles—currently, it's mostly delivered via laptops or tablets in a read-and-respond format, which can disadvantage auditory or kinesthetic learners. Like any new tech field, EdTech will improve with more use and feedback.

EdTech also hits social hurdles: students and parents expect teachers to foster a social environment for group learning and dynamics that EdTech doesn't cover yet. The future classroom might rely on EdTech for heavy course design, but many still value the group setting beyond academics. Proponents argue that EdTech aims to improve the existing model, not replace it.

Example of a Publicly Traded EdTech Company

Take Stride, Inc. (LRN), which was formerly K12 Inc. until late 2020. According to their mission, Stride is an education management organization providing online education as an alternative to traditional brick-and-mortar schools for K-12 public students, plus career learning programs. They offer full-time virtual classrooms, single courses, and supplemental tools and courses.