As the EdTech trend grows bigger, there’s a lot of talk on the EdTech trends that will lead the charge in 2024. Big EdTech companies acquired smaller ones to expand their offerings, while others attracted more funding to incorporate generative AI and wearable technologies in 2023. Undoubtedly, a lot is up on the EdTech front.
That’s why the EdTech industry is expected to be a $404 billion industry in 2025. Not only that, adaptive learning patterns and personalized learning paths are becoming the trend in the education system. Combined with the focus on byte-sized microlearning materials, the education sector is experiencing a seismic shift like never before.
Social learning, with its roots in collaboration and teamwork, is also taking center stage. Education is entering hybrid classrooms with AR and VR headsets that allow learners to have a first-hand learning experience while transcending geographical barriers. Let’s take a look at the biggest EdTech trends that are set to rule the roost this year:
Adaptive Learning
In 2024, adaptive learning will become one of the most dominant trends in EdTech. That’s because personalizing the learning experience for each student has massive potential as it addresses knowledge gaps, provides targeted resources, and ensures constant progress.
Adaptive learning can personalize learning at scale with the power of AI to create tailored coursework based on the strengths and weaknesses of a particular student. The concept of adaptive learning has been around for long. Earlier, teachers would host 1:1 practice lessons if a student was falling behind. Even games had models that would adapt to your game styles.
Adaptive learning, powered by AI, can give students the validation they’re looking for by meeting them in their learning journeys. Adaptive learning admits “no one size fits all,” and hence, EdTech giants like Pearson are acquiring adaptive learning technology to bolster their future offerings.
In 2024, we can expect EdTech business to incorporate:
- AI in crafting hyper-tailored adaptive learning paths for each student
- Adaptive learning to increase learning retention
- Gamification to assist adaptive learning platforms to boost engagement
- Real-time feedback for increased engagement and acquisition
Soon, adaptive learning might also be able to identify and analyze individual skills and help people progress in a particular career.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been appearing as a new star in many classrooms since the launch of Open AI’s ChatGPT in 2022. Hence, it’s no surprise that generative AI will be shaping the EdTech landscape in 2024.
AI will be a key player for EdTech companies providing hyper-personalized coursework to students or replacing traditional educational models that were too expensive, slow, and ineffective.
From a business perspective, EdTech companies can rely on AI to record student responses, create interactive presentations, and enable more engagement across students. It can then automatically insert this feedback into existing workflows to improve educational experiences.
EdTech companies can also take advantage of AI-powered virtual coaches or mentors to give more personalized training to students while giving them support and motivation through their learning journeys.
AI can also analyze vast amounts of data and make data-driven decisions towards deciding coursework or learning strategies. That’s to say, EdTech can rely on AI to power blended learning methodologies that’ll increase engagement levels. Businesses are also focusing on AI-powered applications like educational copilots or summarizations to improve learning processes.
Moreover, the adoption of AI would reduce human resource costs and save time. For example, video content can be generated instantly, and so can translation of coursework to multiple languages. Hence, it might not be too far ahead in time when AI synthetic avatars can replace traditional teaching models as part of this upcoming EdTech trend.
Competency-Based Learning
The LinkedIn 2023 Workplace Learning Report states that 50% of skill sets will change by 2027. That places a lot of importance on lifelong education and the need to keep upskilling. Business owners, employees, and adults prioritize hybrid learning models that don’t have time or location constraints.
Competency-based learning promotes flexibility through online modules and self-paced activities. Moreover, this EdTech trend focuses on mastery of skills relevant to a particular career or role. That makes it advantageous to adult learners who are looking for immediate value.
It can also target skill gaps and allow individuals to transition jobs or advance in their careers. In fact, it’s built on the principle of lifelong education: there’s always something to improve on.
In 2024, competency-based learning trends like the following might emerge:
- Data can be used to refine learning requirements for competency-based learning models
- Principles of neuro-education can be incorporated to help competency-based learning strategies
- Performance-based assessments, peer-to-peer collaboration, and micro-learning through quizzes and videos is sure to increase
Equity and Inclusion
There’s a growing demand for equity and inclusion in EdTech — equal opportunities, inclusive practices, and accessible learning models aimed at removing socio-economic disparities. Businesses, in 2024 and going forward, can increase the availability of devices to bolster learning for one and all.
In fact, affordable assistive technologies are also expected to come up to ensure education is no longer restricted to the table. EdTech solutions can leverage data to address equity gaps as well, as part of this EdTech trend.
EdTech startups are expected to diversify their offerings as they offer services to institutional customers like schools, colleges, and other businesses. These partnerships imply greater business value and longer retention periods for EdTech startups in the B2B segment.
EdTech startups are also offering several online programs for corporate employees that meet specific business objectives, like recruitment, digital marketing, or coding. While programs that help companies upskill their employees have been around for several years now, it’s expected to catch on with the help of AI, personalized training courses, and microlearning strategies.
Gamification
Gamification implies the addition of in-game elements like rewards, challenges, quests, or redeemable points to keep learners engaged and motivated. As traditional learning strategies can be ineffective and repetitive, this upcoming EdTech trend can help make learning more personalized.
In-time feedback and instant recognition can boost user engagement. While we might be a decade into this experiment, we’ll see more educational tools than ever in 2024 that are just games.
Minecraft, the sandbox-style game, has been used to write stories or stage performances, or teach students about DNA. Hopefully, there’ll be more adoption of this in the years to come. Adaptive and intelligent technologies like AR and VR can help in personalizing learning experiences for adults.
Gamification will add fun to learning, thereby increasing user retention and engagement over longer periods of time. More and more businesses are also incorporating gamification in their learning modules or SOPs and mandatory online training to get a higher enrollment and completion rate.
Hybrid Classrooms
Hybrid classrooms combine blended learning strategies like online video conferencing with offline sessions to enrich learning experiences and remove time-based constraints. The flexibility of hybrid classrooms has propelled the rise in popularity of adult education and professional courses in EdTech since 2020.
Hybrid classrooms take the education where you’re at and is quite beneficial for adults restarting education or upskilling themselves. They can be parents, caregivers, essential workers, or busy employees who can learn on the go.
Most skill-based learning is hybrid, at present, ensuring learners reap the benefit of education and collaborative measures in real time. In 2023, hybrid learning was one of the biggest EdTech trends because it was flexible, versatile, and had a personal touch as opposed to just online modules.
Hybrid classrooms also reduce infrastructural requirements for businesses and amplify content transmissibility. Businesses can transform recorded content into any format, in addition to creating knowledge bases that can be used for social media content or a variety of other purposes.
Microlearning
In 2024, our attention spans are at the lowest they have ever been. This is why microlearning has a chance to reach its peak among other EdTech trends. Microlearning is the use of quizzes, videos, or other short yet interactive learning methodologies that can help transmit information without being too long.
EdTech companies and businesses can leverage AI and ML to deliver hyper-personalized microlearning content in 2024. Moreover, short microlearning modules can be made more immersive, especially in higher ed or workplaces, with AR, VR, and MR to increase training effectiveness.
This will ensure training doesn’t take up a lot of time, thereby reducing waste of man-hours. Just-in-time training through microlearning modules can also help businesses get done with a lot more than with traditional training modules. In fact, companies can leverage microlearning for induction, onboarding, and upskilling.
Microlearning modules can also be quite beneficial in the health and safety training sector. A short video will do the job more than hours of paperwork! Moreover, it can be equally useful in the compliance sector, where there’s a question of regularly updated learning. If used right, microlearning can also benefit sales teams.
In 2024, learning experience platforms (LXPs) can incorporate context-aware recommendations and track learners’ progress to personalize learning paths and reduce content development costs.
Mobile Learning
As smartphones have become an inseparable part of our daily lives, it’s no surprise that mobile learning is one of the EdTech trends taking form. Smartphones enable students, as well as adult learners, to access educational materials from anywhere.
Mobile learning is more affordable, more accessible, and offers endless opportunities for content transmission. Mobile learning, in 2024, is expected to be combined with microlearning, as mobile sessions hardly last more than a couple of minutes.
If companies want to capitalize on the true strength of mobile learning in 2024, they should also incorporate offline functionality, thereby increasing reach. In fact, mobile learning can also be a great addition to personalized learning paths.
How? By allowing difficulty level adjustment in real-time or using AR to foster practical skills training in corporate, compliance, or safety settings.
Businesses can utilize mobile learning for the following in 2024:
- Instill continued learning in partners, employees, and customers
- Reach diverse audiences in emerging markets
- Reduce costs and overhead of training methods
- Improve learning delivery
Newer Niche Startups
A lot of newer niche startups have been coming up, and we’ll see more of this EdTech trend gaining momentum in 2024. Traditional modes of learning are going out of effect faster than we had anticipated. After all, learners have felt stuck with traditional learning methods or schoolwork for centuries.
Newer niche startups are revolutionizing the EdTech field with newer technologies. So, what are newer niche startups? These upcoming startups offer unique solutions for skills training or online learning.
For example, Kalam Labs is a game-streaming service for K-12 learners to play and learn. Whereas, Multiverse helps undergraduates with apprenticeship or internship opportunities.
There’s also Lepaya, an AI-powered skills training program for employees to help improve their performance. Incision is for surgical training online. These are just a few examples of how niche startups can offer specialized learning opportunities.
More of these are expected to take the EdTech world by storm and make learning accessible in 2024.
Open Educational Resources
Open educational resources (OER) remove societal barriers and economic biases from education. As educators opt for digital resources in EdTech, open educational resources have become an essential element. Also popular as massive open online courses (MOOCs), it democratizes education and makes it accessible to everyone!
But what does it mean for the EdTech trends in 2024? Open educational resources can be customized by educators and startups and shared to provide hyper-personalized coursework to students.
All EdTech startups are going to provide more open educational resources or massive open online courses (MOOCs) in 2024 with no mandatory attendance or time limit. That’s because it’ll help them expand their customer base and reach out to learners from different backgrounds. Additionally, it’ll also enhance their reputation and credibility so that users would want to purchase meaningful courses later on.
Moreover, it can also mean newer monetization strategies for EdTech companies. Companies already provide free MOOCs but charge a fee for certification. Hence, they can build on these business models and add premium features like microcredentials and bigger partnerships with renowned universities.
The data insights collected from MOOCs engagement and retention can be applied to understand learners, and meet their gaps.
Personalized Learning
Edtech is using AI to cater to individual learning patterns, preferences, and performance in 2024. Personalized learning paths, one of the EdTech trends to watch out for, are built on the understanding that every student/learner is unique.
In fact, we can count on EdTech companies to rely on predictive analysis systems in 2024 to identify students who are at risk of falling behind. Timely intervention and support can help learners stay on top of their game. Moreover, AI-driven virtual assistants can also provide 1:1 support to each student on their personalized learning journeys to increase engagement, focus, or motivation.
Companies will also explore automated grading systems for personalized learning paths in 2024. Additionally, we can expect more inclusive coursework or accomodation of different learning styles.
Instant feedback, recognition, and guidance – the three pillars of personalized learning will enable EdTech companies to engage and retain more learners, especially adult learners who are upskilling themselves or continuing skill-based training.
The social learning theory says that we can learn new behaviors or concepts by observing or imitating others. Social learning might be a driver for growth in EdTech in 2024. EdTech can leverage social media and online communities to create vibrant learning communities that are focused on collaboration and teamwork.
Technologies like video conferencing, instant messaging, and gamification can help make social learning a success in 2024. Discord Server for Students is quite popular in the social learning sphere, and so is Coursera Community Forums.
The concept of social learning in cohorts has existed for a while, but with newer technologies, EdTech companies can embed social learning to keep learners focused while helping them leverage their diverse knowledge and practices. We forget 70% of what we learn if it’s not reinforced, according to the Forgetting Curve theory of Hermann Ebbinghaus.
EdTech trends, embedding social learning, that can come up in 2024:
- They can propagate peer-to-peer learning in online communities/forums
- Learning circles on specific skills/careers can also be created
- Virtual events and talks can also be conducted
Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)
As our attention spans shorten, traditional learning methods are being proven ineffective. That’s where immersive learning is all set to revolutionize classrooms as one of the latest EdTech trends in 2024!
Powered by Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), EdTech companies can offer kinesthetic and visual learning styles that promote active participation. In fact, gamification can encourage repeated learning. VR and AR can make abstract concepts more concrete and realistic for learning.
VR and AR, with their game-like elements, can be adapted to personalized learning paths, among other EdTech trends. That’ll help adjust difficulty levels, give feedback, or offer content in different formats. These technologies can also make learning accessible to disabled folks, allowing them visual experiences they’re not used to.
There are anatomy apps that help users explore the human body using AR and VR. There are also VR platforms that take students on expeditions to historical sites or show real historical information about landmarks. 51% of EdTech companies have already incorporated VR ecosystems within training programs. We’ll see more companies taking this shift for increased user retention and engagement.
EdTech Trends of 2024 Will Transform the Education System
With the EdTech trends that are shaping 2024, one thing is clearer than ever before: the focus is on making education effective, accessible, and practical. EdTech trends like personalization, adaptive learning, AR and VR, social learning, or microlearning depend acutely on data. In addition to raising business conversations about storing and collecting data, EdTech companies will leverage AI to generate insights and personalized styles that fit every user.
In fact, I also believe that EdTech trends will make education seamless across devices. Cross-play will ensure integrated education experiences that give learners a hands-on, immersive learning experience while transcending geographical constraints. Learning with wearables like smartwatches or AR and VR headsets will gain more traction in offering skills-based training. Microlearning will also take center stage to cater to the diverse needs of learners.
In 2024, we’re sure to see more online and hybrid learning opportunities with AR and VR functionalities to take us beyond space and time.
