The rise of EdTech: how schools and MATs are changing in 2022 

Over the last couple of years, schools and MATs have faced a seemingly never-ending barrage of disruption, resulting in education technology (EdTech) becoming a lifeline for many.

After a period of such rapid change, can educators expect the same from 2022?

We’ve covered the EdTech changes we expect to see, examining how they’ll alter your day-to-day and what measures can be taken.

Cloud will no longer be a responsive measure

Cloud technology has been on teachers and SLTs’ agenda for a number of years, with the pandemic acting as a catalyst for many to adopt forms of it.

However, the widespread adoption has purely come from necessity, acting as a reactive measure.

In 2022, I believe we’ll see even more schools permanently ditching their outdated tech, instead proactively opting for cloud software that will future-proof their operations.

This point aligns heavily with the Department of Education’s key aim for all schools to have access to a modern broadband infrastructure to move to the cloud and better support blended learning.

So, with the foundations for modern software laid in many schools and MATs, 2022 is the year to capitalise and truly embrace the cloud, providing staff with more freedom and resilience.

See how our cloud solution, IRIS Ed:gen, can support you.

Automation will free up time

Now more than ever, teachers need additional time to focus on their students, ensuring they achieve positive outcomes.

But in 2021, research found that 44% of teachers didn’t have apps to capture work or assessments, and 61% of parents didn’t have the capacity to view student data.

These process gaps need addressing, as teachers are having to waste time and parents are lacking a centralised view.

One way to tackle challenges around visibility and admin-intensive processes is by adopting automation.

With modern EdTech solutions and an integrated tech stack, educators can utilise automation to remove excessive manual intervention and provide far greater access to data that will help them navigate a constantly changing environment.

Blended learning is here to stay

While blended learning was initially a safety measure introduced to tackle the rising cases of COVID, forms of it are now likely to become a permanent fixture.

Especially after the enormous amount of money spent on EdTech these last two years to facilitate blended learning – schools and MATs undoubtedly want to maintain some form to not waste investment.

However, the level to which in-person and digital learning are mixed will be dependent on a range of factors such as the year groups, available technology and further COVID-19 developments.

We’ve extensively covered the future of blended learning in a recent article – click here to read it.

Real-time data will create smarter schools  

We found 90% of school leaders view data and analysis as a major issue impacting their workload.

The education sector is still struggling to fully capitalise on data, with many only scratching the surface around making information-based decisions.

I expect this to change as with the enormous rise in EdTech, both teachers and SLTs will have much greater access to streamlined, real-time data that can integrate into their day-to-day activity rather than acting as a hindrance.

There will be far more schools and MATs utilising data dashboards and more powerful reporting to view and interrogate critical data such as attendance, assessment, wellbeing and behaviour.

See how real-time data can save lives here in our recent article.

EdTech, the future of education

You can’t underestimate the value and importance of investing in EdTech during these unpredictable times; being equipped with the right technology ensures schools and MATs can continue to deliver a vital service, no matter what the year throws at them.

Find out more about our award-winning, next-generation cloud-based MIS: IRIS Ed:gen.