WHAT'S GOING ON IN EDTECH?

AI Integration in Higher Education

Adelaide University Mandates AI Education for All Students

Starting in 2026, Adelaide University will require all students to be educated in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data technologies, aiming to align graduates with contemporary industry needs. Approximately 3,000 academic staff are updating existing programs to incorporate AI components across 300 degrees. The initiative emphasises proper AI usage and entrepreneurial skills, while maintaining the importance of on-campus experiences alongside enhanced digital elements.

Developments in Learning Platforms

iSpring Suite 11.8 Launches

On November 2, 2024, iSpring Solutions released iSpring Suite 11.8, a tool designed to help educators build professional, responsive courses with ease.

Open LMS Introduces AI-Assisted Editor

Open LMS announced a new AI-assisted editor for TinyMCE, aimed at empowering educators, trainers, and administrators with enhanced content creation capabilities.

Industry Recognitions

Schoox Named a ‘Top Enterprise LMS’

In October 2024, Schoox was recognised as a ‘Top 10 Enterprise LMS’ in the 2024 Talented Learning LMS Awards, highlighting its role in elevating learning engagement and performance across diverse audiences.

Institutional Changes

Adelaide University Phases Out Face-to-Face Lectures

By 2026, Adelaide University plans to eliminate traditional face-to-face lectures, transitioning to self-paced digital learning activities. This move aims to provide a consistent and flexible learning experience. It has faced criticism from staff concerned about the potential loss of campus life and direct student interaction.

Corporate Developments

BibliU’s Rapid Growth in Digital Textbooks

Founded in 2015, BibliU has experienced significant growth, providing universities across Europe, the U.S., and Asia with licensed digital textbooks and courseware. Following its 2023 acquisition of Texas Book Company, BibliU now assists universities in managing both physical and digital campus stores. Notable clients include the University of Phoenix and Coventry University.

Corporate Learning Industry Sees Significant Investment

General Atlantic, a backer of Duolingo, has agreed to acquire Learning Technologies Group (LTG) for £802.4 million. LTG provides corporate training tools and has faced challenges as generative AI leads companies to reduce content creation costs. This acquisition aims to help LTG adapt to AI-driven changes in the corporate training market.

Conversely..

EdTech Investments Decline Amid AI Surge

Global investment in online education companies has significantly decreased, dropping to $3 billion in 2024 from $17.3 billion in 2021. This decline is attributed to the end of the pandemic, which halted subscriber growth, and the rise of free generative AI tools offering similar services at no cost.

Conversely, investment in generative AI surged to $51.4 billion in the same period. EdTech companies are now integrating AI into their platforms to remain competitive.

Bett 25 News

Stephen Fry Was In Attendance

Anne-Marie Imafidon sat down with Sir Stephen Fry exploring AI’s potential and challenges. The discussion covered its impact on industries, education, and the evolving skills needed for the future workforce.

Bett’s Big Assembly With Tech She Can

The incredible Tech She Can teaching team delved into the evolution of gaming technology and the vast opportunities in gaming careers. Students from all over joined this dynamic and engaging session.

Microsoft Launch Project Spark

Microsoft recently released its collection of Copilot+ PCs, featuring AI-powered Windows devices. At Bett, Microsoft announced Project Spark, a free AI-enhanced learning app designed for the Copiliot+ range, launching later this year. It enables educators to create personalised, interactive lessons quickly, using their own materials or built-in resources, reducing manual effort and technical barriers.

Developed with OpenStax, NASA, Figma, Minecraft Education, and Kahoot!, Project Spark offers ready-to-use interactive lessons. While lesson generation is exclusive to Copilot+ PCs, all Windows users can access and share lessons. Designed with responsible AI principles, it ensures learning is inclusive, engaging, and safe, transforming classrooms with cutting-edge AI technology.

Canva For Education

The browser-based design software company showcased Canva for Education, offering free access to premium features and thousands of templates for any subject, grade, or topic, to make lesson creation easy and engaging. Educators can use images, fonts, videos, and animations to design interactive activities for in-class or online learning.

Teachers can share, review, and give feedback in real-time, including text and visual sticker comments for more engaging responses. Canva seamlessly integrates with major classroom tools like Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Moodle, and Blackboard, streamlining lesson delivery.

In the arena talk, Canva’s Head of Education, Carly Daff, highlighted how AI can create transformative moments, empowering students to become inventors, storytellers, and problem-solvers.

Grammarly Authorship

On the Grammarly stand, they were talking about their recently-released Authorship feature in Google Docs, that tracks and categorises text sources in real time. It distinguishes between typed text, pasted content from web sources, and unknown origins, ensuring transparency in the writing process.

It also identifies AI-generated text, differentiating between content modified by Grammarly's generative AI and traditional edits like grammar fixes, clarity rewrites, and word choice suggestions. this helps users demonstrate the authenticity and origin of their writing.