EdTech in 2019: Experts and Founders Around the World Share Predictions (Part 2)

By Cait Etherington

December 08, 2018

Over the past year, eLearning Inside has interviewed dozens of founders, investors, and researchers in the edtech sector. As we look forward to 2019, we decided to reach out to some of the people we talked to in 2018 along with a few new voices to gather predictions on edtech for the coming year. In this two-part feature, we share five experts’ predictions for edtech in 2019. Today’s post includes perspectives from Ukraine and the United States.

Predictions for EdTech in 2019

Europe

Kirill Bigai, Founder and CEO, Preply, Ukraine

Preply was established in 2011 by Kirill Bigai and co-founders Dmytro Voloshyn and Serge Lukianov. Today, the Ukraine-based edtech company continues to grow. To date, the company has raised $5.6 million in seed funding and is currently undergoing an ambitious expansion in a bid to reach new language-learning markets around the globe. For this reason, it is no surprise that Bigai is optimistic about what 2019 has in store both for Preply and the edtech sector.

Bigai predicts that in 2019, the online tutoring market will experience massive growth. “I have been observing this trend for the past seven years,” says Bigai, “But I have seen specific growth acceleration the last few years.” Bigai also predicts that the U.S. market will undergo a surge in growth in 2019: “Next year, I think more and more Americans will try online tutoring for the first time. This trend will have other effects. As more Americans start learning online, we will also see more schools and universities adding online classes.”

In addition to Bigai’s 2019 market forecast, he predicts that over the coming year, we will see “a synergetic combination of micro-learning and more structured learning.”

North America

Gustavo G. Dolfino, Founder and CEO, myKlovr, United States

Gustavo G. Dolfino is the Founder and CEO of myKlovr. myKlovr is an AI-based platform that serves as a virtual counselor for college-bound students, including those who have traditionally struggled to access college counseling services. When we reached out to Dolfino to ask about his thoughts on edtech in 2019, he had many predictions.

“I think the way we communicate and access information at all levels will continue to improve, at a faster pace though,” says Dolfino. He also predicts that in 2019, “Teachers will continue to look for ways to access the combined devices students use and will be looking for apps that make that happen. The key thing here is that those apps are agnostic across different systems and platforms and that they work with the cloud.”

Many of Dolfino’s other predictions for edtech in 2019 focus on artificial intelligence (AI). “Analytics will guide AI to help teachers design coursework based on individual gaps,” says Dolfino. He also predicts that in 2019, “More systems and hardware will become AI enabled for interactive learning allowing teachers to predict a student’s learning behavior.” Finally, he is optimistic that over the coming year, “AI enabled teaching assistants, virtual reality, and augmented reality will finally converge to allow for accurate data collection and analysis resulting in accurate and predictive student assessments.”

On the downside, Dolfino also cautions that in 2019, “Security will become a bigger issue for administrators, as confidential data and privacy become exposed to the digital universe.”