The relation between the education industry and technology is always in good standing. Whilst the new implementations arrive and spread extremely fast, the education business never hesitates to adapt and use them for education's teaching, learning, and even evaluation phases. In this blog, we discuss some of the top EdTech’s you should look out for over the next year as the progression of the industry continues to grow further.
As September brings in a new school year, from primary to post-grad, education will always be a top priority for millions in the UK who are continuing with their studies. Whilst the pandemic fundamentally changed what was considered "possible" in education, and complications now surrounding operational costs for schools, it puts pressure on the upcoming year - however, the edtech sector continues to seek innovative education.
The edtech industry is still on the rise, after receiving £527.3m in investments throughout 2021, which is a major increase from £142m seen in the year prior. Whether the industry is set to grow by that much again isn't yet clear, however, the many promising edtech start-ups in the UK looks to help carry the industry to new heights.
What is EdTech?
EdTech, otherwise known as education technology, is the practice of introducing information and communication technology tools into the classroom to help create much more engaging, inclusive, and individualised learning experiences.
Most classrooms today have moved beyond the chunky desktop computers that were once considered as the norm, and are now tech-infused with tablets, interactive online courses and even robots that can take notes and record lectures for absent students.
The rise of edtech tools is changing classrooms in a variety of ways. For example, edtech robots, virtual reality lessons and gamified classroom activities make it much easier for students to stay engaged through exciting ways of learning.
EdTech IoT devices are hailed for their ability to create digital classrooms for students, whether they're in school physically, on the bus or at home. Machine learning and blockchain tools are also assisting teachers with grading tests and holding students accountable for their homework.
The Importance of EdTech.
The goal of edtech is to improve students' skills - helping to enrich their knowledge and individual development, minimise the teaching and learning processes to remain traditional. The concept makes learning transform into a lifelong process and imperative to keep up with the updates.
The traditional academic world is always transforming with the help of technology and changing the educational expectations will be opening new doors to different learning methods along with new course materials and companies.
EdTech Start-ups Worth Watching:
FundamentalVR - are a UK edtech company founded back in 2012. Utilising virtual reality technology, FundamentalVR look to educate the next generation of surgeons with realistic training simulations. Student surgeons looking to safely gain hands on experience in a controlled environment are perfectly suited for this type of edtech - the simulations also use haptic feedback for added realism.
Multiverse - are another UK edtech start-up that was founded back in 2016. Founded by Euan Blair, the son of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Multiverse has taken off to be one of the most valuable edtech start-ups in Europe, valued at $1.7bn. The start-up was founded to help young people without degrees to find apprenticeships, with the focus to develop "skills for the future".
Multiverse has had a £176m Series D funding round in June earlier this year, which gave the company its well-deserved unicorn status.
Kano - is another London-based company that was founded in 2013. Kano Computing develops and sells DIY kits to help teach children coding and how to make computers. The company creates and sells motion sensor kits for kids that also includes animated characters, synthesised music, and games. Kano has since partnered with Microsoft in 2020, producing kits for 1,000 Windows-based PC's, and for support in global distribution.
Atom Learning - Founded in the UK in 2018, Atom is an online learning platform who uses AI technology to adapt the learning materials to the ability of students. An online alternative to private tuition, Atom Learning offers two different services, Atom Prime - for teachers - and Atom Nucleus for parents.
MyTutor - Was founded in 2013. MyTutor is deemed as a marketplace for online tutors. The platform offers tutoring solutions for GCSE, A-Level, IB, writing personal statements, medical school exams, and even university admission.
The tutors are current university students with A or A+ marks in their exams. Students can search for tutors based on subjects, location, and are able to shortlist these tutors based on their profile and their listed qualifications. All sessions are then recorded for students to replay at a later stage.
Perlego - Founded in 2017, Perlego is self-described as the 'Spotify for textbooks'. Their platform provides university students with an endless library of more than 800,000 textbooks in various languages. Perlego claim their business model simultaneously reduces the strain that's put on textbook companies by online piracy, whilst providing students with an affordable way to access educational resources online. They have also raised £38m in a Series B funding round back in March.
From the conventional classroom teaching, to digital age edtech learning, the education sector has grown rapidly. However, this isn't the end of the growth. Aided by technologies like Artificial Intelligence, IoT, and interactive mobile apps, there's still so much potential for growth in the edtech sector. Businesses across the globe are only getting started. Here at Talented Recruitment Group, we think that it's going to be extremely interesting to see the progression continue across the next few years.
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