While many industries struggled to stay afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Edtech market saw steep growth. As education moved from the classroom into the home, students, educators, and parents alike turned to new education technologies to receive necessary support during this new transition.
These are the factors that have aided the growth of Edtech:
Felt and Stated Consumer Need: With the proliferation of technology and ease of access – regional, economic and social barriers have blurred to give a greater number of people access to a greater amount of content.
Proliferation of Handheld internet: As of Jan 2021, there were 4.66bn active internet users worldwide- which 59.5% of the global population. The unprecedented growth in access to the internet on handheld devices has brought more users to learning portals.
Globally declining Data prices: Data network pricing has been reducing both as a factor of scale as well as competitive forces in the marketplace. In emerging economies, the data network is available at pricing as low as $0.20 per GB of data, with India providing some of the lowest data pricing in the world in the post-Jio era.
Declining device cost: Between 2008 and 2016, the average price of an Android device has halved. This means, economically speaking, there would be more than twice as many takers of connected devices now as compared to that a few years ago.
Personalized Educational Experiences: Edtech opens up opportunities for educators to craft personalized learning plans for each of their students. This approach aims to customize learning based on a student’s strengths, skills and interests.
The Edtech market is majorly dominated by North America and Asia. There are 31 Edtech unicorn companies worldwide, out of which fifteen are based in the US, seven in China and three in India.
Here are some technological trends in Edtech that we are looking forward to:
ONLINE EDUCATION: This mode includes online courses and online examinations are slowly and surely becoming popular due to the interest shown by the working professionals to learn new things and expand their knowledge about technology.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI): Education sector has got many useful implementations of AI. There are many use cases in terms of exam security such as identification of cheating during online exams, AI-powered auto proctoring, chatbots, etc. Technology can empower to conduct exams without any physical human intervention of the traditional physical invigilation process.
BLOCKCHAIN: Blockchain is providing great collaboration and secure data exchange opportunities for the organizations as well as individuals. Security protocols followed in blockchain are unique and difficult to hack.
VIRTUAL REALITY (VR): It is becoming a cost-effective tool to experience active learning rather than a passive form of learning. VR creates a simulated environment which is similar to the real environment.
INTERNET OF THINGS (IoT): Internet of Things refers to small objects which can be connected through internet to transfer or collect data. IoT is helping many sectors for automation and control. It is likely to be used in higher education as well.
Increased adoption of online learning technologies amid the pandemic, combined with strong public market conditions, has paved the way for a bevy of notable public exits in the category.
Here are some challenges faced by Edtech industry:
PRIVACY CONCERNS: The personal data of a student’s home is now visible to the entire class and institution. Students and teachers alike are at risk of security issues and screen-hijacking, which allows a user to share inappropriate content.
MENTAL HEALTH: In addition to the privacy and security concerns that could lead to potential litigation, we also need to consider the student experience. Everyone, including students, are unfamiliar with remote learning and are struggling mentally and emotionally to adopt the swift change.
These are few prominent key players:
Global Edtech is paving the way for a brighter and more inclusive future, with revenue expected to rise exponentially over the coming years and decades. With new innovative and creative educational platforms, the Edtech market has undoubtedly revolutionized the educational sector and is becoming ubiquitous and a necessity for nations all over the world.
Crispidea estimates the global Edtech and smart classroom market to reach around $190bn by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 16.12%, between 2020- 2025.
For details on Investment trends and region wise analysis please feel free to refer to the following Ed tech Industry report from CrispIdea:
