Startup Digest Education - EdTech for Migrants & Screen Time Isn't All Bad

Unbundling and rebundling are happening in different parts of college and university education, through new forms of teaching and learning provision and in different parts of the degree path, in every dimension and aspect—creating a complicated environment in an educational sector that is already in a state of disequilibrium.

This is a long reading, but it’s worth if you want to understand what is happening in higher education.

“Edtech ventures are thought of as disruptors that are out to take over how learning happens. But contrary to prediction, MOOCs and Khan Academy haven’t yet replaced teachers or professors. Instead, area edtech efforts reflect a sector that’s out to boost teachers’ ability to help students reach academic goals, get youth interested in and ready for college and careers, and hone their problem-solving skills.

While venture capital funding for edtech startups rose 50%from 2013 to 2017, it’s going to fewer firms. The actual number of startups being funded dropped from about 230 to just 126 in that period.”

“The choice of edtech is mind blowing, but the price-tags are often budget-blowing, too. This leaves many of the most disadvantaged students behind.

In the developed world, 94% of young people aged 15-24 use the internet compared with 67% in developing countries, and only 30% in the least-developed countries. Most worryingly, almost 9 out of 10 unconnected youths live in Africa or Asia.

We have built technology that could enable us to provide an education to every learner. We need to ensure that we use our technologies to help us understand ourselves as learners, so that we can become smarter alongside our peers, both artificial and human.”

“Screen time and bad parenting are practically becoming synonyms. But banning children from using tech simply because a handful of Silicon Valley elite are doing so is a dangerous trend to follow.

That construct wildly oversimplifies the complex phenomena unfolding in homes and classrooms. Here’s the dirty secret: you can bet that when the affluent families sending their children to tech-free Waldorf or Montessori schools think that new online learning experiences could pay off — exploring topics not taught in school like foreign languages or robotics — screens are hailed as portals to enrichment.

There are upsides to demonized technology.”

“Edtech and eLearning, according to the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report, offer a huge potential to supplement migrant education, but numerous obstacles also stand in the way. Roughly 95% of displaced people live in areas that offer at least 2G mobile data coverage, while over 60% have access to 3G. Despite this coverage, only 40% of migrants have access to a smart phone.

The UNESCO report identifies numerous ongoing efforts that seek to provide education via technology to displaced people around the world.”

“What are the most popular trends in education?

What about the most popular trends in education in 2018 specifically? Well, that’s a tricky question.

Based on our search database trends, analytics data on content, and a decidedly unscientific but daily skimming of industry chatter, press releases, peer content, internal dialogue, and social media usage, here are–in light of the above–most popular 12 trends in innovative education for 2018.”