The rapid development of education technologies opens new opportunities for learners and teachers. With software for education, visiting class remotely or reviewing the performance of a group involving 50+ students is simpler than ever. Moreover, education technology development is still far from reaching its potential. New EdTech solutions appear almost daily, and educational technology trends change fast.
This eLearning software development market overview lists the most valuable trends in education technology. Here are the education technology trends that will shape the future based on our completed projects and years of experience.
EdTech market size and stats
The market of EdTech IT solutions will exceed over $240 billion in 2022. The long-term growth is even more impressive – over 900% since 2000. One of the most significant reasons for the dramatic rise of EdTech solutions is the real value they bring to learning. eLearning helps students to retain 25-60% more information . It also requires 40% to 60% less time than traditional classes.
Education software development is not limited to schools, colleges, and universities. Self-education and corporate learning apps also take a significant share of the market. Estimates show that 40% of Fortune 500 companies utilize eLearning to make their business models more effective. Besides, eLearning courses are completed 60% faster than regular ones, which makes the learning process more efficient.
The variety of educational solutions is also incredible. You can find online courses, education management tools, self-training solutions for students, virtual classrooms, and much more. EdTech unicorns offering custom learning solutions include companies from around the globe. Byju's, an Indian giant providing EdTech for all age groups, is a market leader with a 21 billion valuation, according to Statista .
Leading EdTech unicorns by valuation
Duolingo is the market leader in the language learning app sector. In January 2022, the app showed a peak in downloads, exceeding 10.2 million downloads globally . The leading learning app for children in the US, ABCmouse, generated 2.77 million downloads and Kiddopia took second place with 1.83 million downloads.
Top learning apps for children in the US by downloads
All such statistics show that eLearning software development is on the rise and highly demanded. Hence, the role of software developers in the education industry grows dramatically. With the technical vision and skill required for implementing the most promising ideas, these professionals become the primary drivers of the industry's development and perspectives.
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Key EdTech technologies and trends
Now that we understand the value of education technology let's discuss the most significant trends in education technology. Most of these innovations have been here for some time. However, they remain the most rapidly developing technology trends in the education sector.
- Learning gamification
Custom game-centered learning applications rapidly embrace the education technology domain. A vivid example of such software is Duolingo, a popular mobile learning app that helps users of different ages study foreign languages. Duolingo shows how the gamification trend in educational technology engages the users of learning solutions. It adds a competitive element to your learning app. For example, students can receive bonus points for decent academic performance or extra activities. Later, they will be able to exchange such points for particular benefits, such as bonus rounds or interactive content. Let the learners track their points in a virtual leaderboard showing other contest participants, and you will see how they become more engaged in learning.
- Management automation
Learners are not the only users of education technology trends and solutions. Custom software solutions may help teachers even more than their students. For example, an educator can use school management software to organize and research student data, manage assignments, and handle communication with learners. Besides, such a learning management system facilitates scheduling and allows teachers to track students' activities.
Specific facilities even apply such education technology solutions to get informed about their learners' extracurricular activities. Such data, collected with students' consent, allows them to understand the interests and specific demands of the learners. As a result, educators tailor the classes to the needs of their students. This helps the learners reveal and develop their talents.
- Big data-powered learning
As we have already mentioned the value of data in education software, let's proceed with the concept of Big Data . It is one of the leading trends in education technology. Big Data helps digitized learning facilities and software companies understand learners' requirements and problems. As a result, they make more relevant decisions about the education program. It may go either about launching a new supportive education technology or introducing changes to the curricula.
Big Data also easily integrates with learning management systems. For example, an educator can use Big Data analysis tools to organize the information on students' academic proficiency. Manual management of such data takes much time and effort. Meanwhile, a Big Data-powered learning management system will enable an educator to visualize the data or retrieve the most valuable insights from it. As a result, using Big Data can both facilitate the development of the education technology industry and optimize student management.
- E-learning networks
Many education software companies aim to increase learning efficiency by developing sophisticated e-learning networks. These systems connect native eLearning mobile solutions and complex web-based apps, such as school management software. Hence, interoperability is one of the dominating trends in education software development.
How does it work? For example, you can connect students' mobile learning apps to task management and scheduling education software. Therefore, learners will receive their assignments and class materials on time. They will also use their eLearning mobile solutions to return the completed papers or keep in touch with a teacher.
Besides, you can enrich your education technology system by integrating supplementary education software solutions. For example, add library apps or online video databases with helpful learning materials to your network. Also, integrate plagiarism-checking tools into your system to ensure student fairness. Just ensure you follow the technical standards and certifications for eLearning software to make every system component work smoothly.
- Virtual reality and AR
Virtual reality makes classes more interactive and, thus, attractive to students. You can use these education technology trends to make learners participate in digital learning activities. A virtual trip to a historic sight, the ocean surface, or the depths of the human body - is just a tiny part of what you can organize with VR software education. Such technologies excite the learners and blur the boundaries between play and learning.
Augmented reality is another technology trend in education that is similar to VR. While virtual reality solutions generate a constructed reality, AR technology provides an enhanced view of a real image. Students use a smartphone or tablet to see virtual examples of concepts. For example, the Complete Anatomy app provides human body structures as 3D models for medical students. It's like taking a dissection table outside the lab.
VR and AR are highly effective for remote learning and in the classroom. These EdTech trends in technology enable teachers to offer more interactive courses and provide textbook material support. Most importantly, AR/VR solutions have proven benefits on the learning outcome. 40% of the VR learners showed better confidence in their skills than classroom learners. Besides, they completed training 4X faster and expressed more satisfaction with their experience.
- Social media in learning
Social media has penetrated almost every field, becoming the latest tendency in educational technologies. Since 90% of teens use digital media, no wonder that educators attempt to benefit from this channel. Some of the ways to adopt this trend in educational technology are:
- Live lectures and discussions streamed through Facebook
- Twitter for group discussions
- Groups on social media for communication
- Educational events shared through social media
- Interesting ideas published on Pinterest
Besides, many software providers develop learning and training solutions with social media sharing capabilities. Such educational apps enable users to boast about their achievements online, encouraging them to learn harder. It also attracts new users to the apps and makes an excellent promotion.
- Artificial intelligence
The artificial intelligence EdTech trend means learning applications can perform the tasks that used to require human intelligence. These operations include speech recognition, content generation, translation, decision-making, chatbot communications, and more.
The primary use of AI in education is customized learning. Platforms analyze the student's achievements to adapt educational materials based on existing knowledge and needs automatically. This way, every student receives a personalized learning plan and exercises that nurture their skills best.
Besides, you can tap into AI capabilities to automate administrative tasks like grading, assessment, and student communications. It also enables you to implement virtual personal assistants to help students and teachers collaborate more productively.
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Use cases and companies that use educational technologies
The listed trends already have many practical implementations across educational facilities. These apps are changing individual and corporate education by optimizing the process. Here are some real cases:
BetterUp adoption for sales performance coaching
A cloud technology company wanted to transform its sales approaches and chose the BetterUp platform for coaching. They connected teammates with coaches through a subscription SaaS model.
For 12 months of unlimited access to coaching, the employees got trained through video chat, phone, text, and additional materials. As a result, the coached sales reps showed a 60% increase in direct reports who achieved quota. The increase in the value of their team's opportunities reached 20%. Read a detailed case study here .
Blockchain development for an education platform
The Japanese company decided to secure the issuing of verified educational badges using Blockchain. This technology would help ensure high data security and reliability of the generated badges.
Since Blockchain implementation required narrow expertise, the company hired Binariks as a software development provider. The engineering team created the backend using Java and built the front end with React. The developers also integrated Blockchain capabilities and added new features, bringing the platform to the next level. Read the full case study here .
Challenges to face in the future
Like all good things, EdTech adoption comes with challenges. Digital transformation may be problematic both for educational facilities and software providers.
Never-ending updates
After launching an EdTech solution, you will need to invest in its maintenance and updates. It's necessary to ensure the software works as expected. Besides, you will have to keep implementing new tech trends to keep up with competitors.
Resistance to change among educators
Teachers and lecturers who have worked for decades and follow traditional approaches often reluctantly switch to more innovative methods. Educational facilities also don't like drastic changes. That's why software providers may need to convince educators of the practical benefits of EdTech.
Insufficient tech expertise
Whether you develop a new solution or integrate an existing third-party app, you will need qualified tech specialists. Since the demand for engineers is high, finding one may be challenging.
Software interoperability
Educational facilities combine multiple third-party applications that may fail to work together correctly. Therefore, software providers must follow the unified tech standards, while facilities adopting EdTech solutions need to achieve interoperability.
Final thoughts
Now that you know about the value and the most popular directions of custom software development in education, it's just about time to leverage its potential. However, building a custom learning app tailored to the needs of teachers, students, corporate employees, or people interested in self-education requires solid technical expertise. If you feel insecure about your tech skills, rely on professionals.
Binariks is here to help you. We are an experienced technology partner with a solid portfolio involving custom app development projects in many industries, including EdTech. Our software engineers are ready to handle all stages of your software development lifecycle.
Sounds attractive? Contact us to discuss your needs and embrace custom EdTech application development.
