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What Is EdTech? Definition, Technologies & Examples

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06/07/2022 |

6 min read

Dominika Reszke

Digital learning, online tutoring, virtual classroom, online courses, distance learning, learning management system (LMS), and EdTech – are some of the terms often used regarding present-day education that is one step ahead.

Of course, the XXIst century is the high-tech age and the use of technology in education is ever-increasing, too. Technology and education go hand in hand and can be a perfect match, indeed. We all know that both of them are vital these days, but EdTech (or education technology) seems to be a lesser-known aspect of the common switch towards high-tech solutions.

EdTech embraces both traditional, on-site, and remote learning processes, and helps support hybrid learning and virtual classrooms. Cutting-edge technology for teaching and learning, such as modern software, and equipment, are crucial as they complement or even enhance novel methodologies that can truly transform teaching and support students in more effective learning.

 

Table of contents:

1. EdTech in a nutshell

2. EdTech – major technologies & examples

3. Education technology – benefits

4. Educational technology – key takeaways

EdTech in a nutshell

Changing the way we learn resulting in digital equity improvement is what EdTech may be boiled down to. But it can also be explained as the „combination of IT tools and educational practices aimed at facilitating and enhancing learning”.

Certainly, this strategic shift is a good and effective step to take, and more and more governments, scholars, educators, and entrepreneurs see it and act accordingly. This way, education on all levels tends to become more and more adapted to the challenges of modernity.

If we were to summarize the ideas standing behind the EdTech, we may indicate:

  • information and communication technologies
  • asynchronous learning – when teachers and students communicate in a non-real-time way
  • digitalization and online learning

Undoubtedly, education is heading towards active learning where students are more engaged in the learning and teaching process than it was in traditional models. But to enrich learning and embrace the new in the area of education technology, the right toolset is required.

EdTech – major technologies & examples

Pushing the boundaries of traditional teaching is a process that has many facets and involves many resources, tools, and methods. These may cover learning platforms and management systems, knowledge databases, as well as media and social tools.

Traditional educational materials – usually paper ones – are being ousted by cutting-edge communication technology, and things like adaptive interfaces, gamification, interactive whiteboard, learning glass, hybrid learning, or digital storytelling. And a physical classroom is getting replaced by a smart classroom, a virtual classroom, or even a flipped classroom that inverts the traditional learning experience.

The technology used in education today is usually to enable Wi-Fi-powered learning. Very often, state-of-the-art technologies are involved, including cloud technology, mobile technology, Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Internet of Behaviors, Big Data, Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality, Wearable Technologies, and Rich Media Technologies as well as Learning Analytics, and the Blockchain Technology.

What they produce and how they make the lives of teachers and students easier and better is truly amazing. Some of the most notable educational technology examples cover:

  • digital readers and tablets
  • QR codes and scanners
  • video streaming platforms
  • interactive whiteboards
  • 3D printing
  • podcasts
  • VR headsets
  • language translation tools
  • voice search
  • cloud storage and file sharing

Education technology – benefits

The benefits of technology in education are something huge but some people may not be fully aware of the great advantages using EdTech in practice entails.

Some of them include:

  • enabling remote or online learning process
  • saving time and money (no traditional textbooks, a lot of free materials online)
  • promoting active learning, making students more engaged and creative
  • offering a more personalized learning
  • promoting collaboration and innovation
  • gender equity improvement
  • fighting children’s marginalization in education
  • faster development of communities and societies
  • supporting out-of-school and lifelong learning
  • meeting classroom needs of the XXIst century

There are many benefits of using EdTech in practice, as well as numerous beneficiaries of choosing such a path. These are not only pupils or students, educational institutions, businesses, and employees, but also teachers.

EdTech enables teachers to be more creative at work, craft individualized lesson plans, and eliminate a lot of paperwork, e.g. by using learning management systems, or a content management system. On top of that, both asynchronous learning and synchronous learning may be used, and teachers can help and assist students virtually whenever and wherever they need such help.

With EdTech, and solutions such as online classes or hybrid learning, teachers gain huge flexibility. The bottom line is that students learn at their own pace and access education not only on-site which gives them unprecedented possibilities for development and growth.

Educational technology – key takeaways

Undoubtedly, the future of learning lies in information and communication technologies, and the whole transition process can be enhanced and streamlined by EdTech. Particular students and organizations, as well as entire communities and societies, may gain a lot thanks to making use of digitalization in education.

Various EdTech technologies, procedures, and practices, such as a virtual classroom, hybrid learning model, or LMS can all be very beneficial, being at the forefront of innovation in many areas. But to use them properly, a common effort should be in use. This is a matter of smooth collaboration between governmental institutions, NGOs, EdTech businesses and start-ups, researchers, educational experts, business consultants, and investors.

And although the latter tend to seek opportunities in the education industry more and more (and the Covid-19 pandemic only accelerated the remote-first revolution in this regard), in Poland, they are still more eager to invest in health tech and fintech. However, combining business and pedagogy is certainly the wave of the future and EdTech already enhances student learning immensely. 

If you, too, want to grow and develop an EdTech project or product with a reliable and experienced partner, contact us now. 

In the meantime, check out our education technology case studies:

  • Language International – we provided performance consultation by a cross-functional team of backend and full-stack engineers, as well as DevOps, focused on identifying and fixing system performance and stability problems in the language courses service.
  • University4Industry – Codete’s frontend, backend and DevOps engineers work on streamlining the e-learning courses creation process within the U4I’s digital education platform for corporate clients.
Rated: 5.0 / 3 opinions
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Dominika Reszke

IT Content Writer with 12 years of professional writing experience. Prefers facts and figures to any kind of fiction.

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