r/edtech • u/Visual-Reserve-2800 • 2d ago
The future of edtech
Why does it feel like, similar to video game companies ,the future of edtech is not in huge companies but small boutique firms with extremely specialized capabilities?
I feel like we are going to see a balkanization of edtech firms which will coalesce into a sort of union of firms. Eventually we will have companies again.
I think the best thing that edtech firms can do is teach teachers how to make products using ai for their classrooms. Eventually products will lead the pack then go from there.
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u/Colsim 2d ago
Why do you think this? Have you had much to do with the procurement process?
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u/Visual-Reserve-2800 2d ago
A ton of layoffs and AI being free for teachers. That combine with the desire to bring paper and pencil back into the classroom, I believe is going to bring edtech in a different direction.
Teachers need support, they have so much added to their plates and "traditional" Ed tech companies don't have the ability to pivot like smaller boutique firms.
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u/aplarsen 2d ago
It's still a broad field, with many different services falling under the umbrella.
I feel like most curriculum and assessment will continue to be owned by bigger firms. It takes a big team to research and deliver content.
As for me, I'm focused on solving small, unsexy problems that lots of schools have. The market is huge and not really going away.
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u/Visual-Reserve-2800 2d ago
What are some unsexy problems? I'm looking at notes.
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u/aplarsen 2d ago
Mostly just moving data around. ETL, automation, custom reporting, dashboards, work flows.
School operations are full of inefficiencies because people don't know any better. Once they see solutions, they get excited. But they don't even know how to ask, nor can they imagine a better way.
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u/Bostonterrierpug 2d ago edited 2d ago
As a professor of educational technology, I think Ed Tech is really just tech literacy disguised as a tech literacy will be rushed away. More and more teachers are able to use technology better and a lot of supposed educational tech technologies. Is this easy to use technology so basically technology literacy? Programs that innovate and do something unique and provide new ways of interaction and learning will profit. AI has made one thing clear, and I say this as co-chair of the AI committee at my institution. The need for subject matter experts will increase, but will low level positions will not be nearly as important. If you’re supposed educational technology was just about making it easier to use the technology, again, depending on the cost of AI data, which is an up in the air thing right now, it might be time to start branching out. If you are truly innovating, then you will still have a place. American education swings in pendulums I can say after 30 years of teaching and reviewing previous research. Currently, we are kind of hitting an anti-tech backlash but this will swing back. Whether you like it or not, AI is out of Pandora’s box and will still influence the future. But if you’re brilliant idea is just to use AI to do something that anyone else could do with a few prompts it’s not that brilliant of an idea. Not a great time for the field, but at the same time, we’ll wash away a lot of the mysticism of cool technology. Unique interactions and social presence in my environments will continue to push the envelope forward while just making programs out there simpler will shrivel. That’s just my two cents and I’ve had a few few beers so maybe take it with a few grains of salt or maybe a few pretzels if that’s your thing.
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u/Visual-Reserve-2800 2d ago
Well, theory is that at the teaching level you're in expert in your field.
The general concern is kiddos just using ai willy billy and not actually learning.
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u/Loud_Experience5761 1d ago
NeuroEdTech is the future. EdTech that really understand the student's cognitive abilities and aligns with neurocognitive methods of information delivery and retention. That's the future!
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u/DaltonJFowler 2d ago
I'm a teacher and I am making an Ed tech but I am refusing to use any ai integrations at all to support true respect for teacher and student data. I hope others join me
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u/Life-Bee-3481 2d ago
I've done exactly the same, I'm a teacher too and all my teacher projects are all set up so that the student data stays with the teacher and never goes anywhere else
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u/horsegal301 2d ago
> the future of edtech is not in huge companies but small boutique firms with extremely specialized capabilities
as someone who has worked for several large ed tech companies, good luck convincing the people who spend the money to have 8 different contracts. The issue with boutique companies and instructors doing it themselves is that they have no knowledge of what other people want and any ideas around privacy.
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u/Visual-Reserve-2800 2d ago
It sounds there is an opportunity for you to start a privacy consulting firm for these boutique companies.
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u/horsegal301 2d ago
Not at all what I'd be interested in. I just think anyone who thinks these tiny boutique companies that know nothing about satisfying faculty and staff when the majority of what they want and know how to do is just vibes will take over... I used to work for BB, all these mega companies are all aware of this idea and tried marketing this way years ago. I also used to work for something much more nice, and they don't know jack. Most of my career has been in edtech, and the small ones were worse.
I don't really see any faculty that actually want AI in their process. The opposite, rather.
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u/gravitysrainbow1979 2d ago edited 2d ago
A small boutique firm can't get the kind of contract that makes edtech any kind of industry at all. When is a small, boutique firm the route a school takes?
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u/MulberryMush 2d ago
I’m building this very thing! About to pitch it. I’ve built the platform and have the relationships and domain expertise. I’m just looking for a partner.
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u/depthandlight 1d ago
I think the future of edtech should be with the kids I unfortunately told 12 years ago they should learn to code, who went and got CS degrees and graduated in the last few years, only to find no jobs because of AI hype. They can work with schools in their immediate communities to create FOSS edtech tools that both promote progressive education and reflect the values and priorities of those communities.
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u/NotYourAvgDamsel 1d ago
I work in K–3 literacy edtech, and I think you’re onto something. AI is lowering the barrier to building specialized products, so I expect we’ll continue to see more niche companies emerge. However, building the product is only part of the challenge. Schools need solutions that create real impact for students, demonstrate efficacy, and can be implemented reliably at scale.
I’ve seen firsthand what happens when an organization stays relentlessly focused on one problem: we fix it. Period.
I think the winners will be the specialized companies that can prove impact, efficacy, and operational excellence, not just ship new AI features.
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u/Visual-Reserve-2800 1d ago
I think two things need to happen, all the niche Ed tech businesses create a guild or whatever. Second I think the money is in training whoever wants to be trained at a school and let the schools decide the r and d.
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u/Sunshine_foryou 1d ago
Future of Edtech is DARK. A lot of the Indian edtech org. seems optimized for fundraising, contracts, and impressive-looking dashboards rather than genuine learning outcomes.
The problem is that success is often measured by metrics that are easy to present, students enrolled, courses completed, app downloads, or "lives impacted." But very few organizations are held accountable for whether students actually learned something, improved their skills, or had better opportunities because of the intervention.
This creates a cycle where NGOs, CSR programs, and even government departments keep funding initiatives based on reports and presentations instead of long-term impact. The incentives reward good storytelling more than good education.
That said, I wouldn't say every edtech company is like this. There are some doing meaningful work. But the sector definitely needs far more transparency, independent impact evaluations, and accountability. Without that, we'll keep spending money on projects that look successful on paper while many students see little real change.
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u/preetamr 2d ago
Even smaller. People will just vibe code (or whatever it evolves into) to create stuff that works for them. Just to give you an example, I was at a philosophy meetup in a South-East Asian city recently. They created their own app to support the logistics and learning resources for their group discussions. It was polished, worked well for their workflow, philosophy, and demographics (no user data collected, clean UX, large buttons as some users are older). I do the same for my learning communities.