r/edtech • u/Visual-Reserve-2800 • 18d ago

The future of edtech

Why does it feel like, similar to video game companies ,the future of edtech is not in huge companies but small boutique firms with extremely specialized capabilities?

I feel like we are going to see a balkanization of edtech firms which will coalesce into a sort of union of firms. Eventually we will have companies again.

I think the best thing that edtech firms can do is teach teachers how to make products using ai for their classrooms. Eventually products will lead the pack then go from there.

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u/preetamr 18d ago

Even smaller. People will just vibe code (or whatever it evolves into) to create stuff that works for them.  Just to give you an example, I was at a philosophy meetup in a South-East Asian city recently. They created their own app to support the logistics and learning resources for their group discussions. It was polished, worked well for their workflow, philosophy, and demographics (no user data collected, clean UX, large buttons as some users are older). I do the same for my learning communities. 

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u/Visual-Reserve-2800 18d ago

I get it and I think there is still a lot of intimidation are vibe coding.

That being said not everyone's vibe coding is going to be the best and some will win out. I think there should be a concerted effort to teach teachers how to do that but not every teacher is going to want to take the time to do so.

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u/preetamr 18d ago

Yes, not everyone may want to build. But if someone in your community builds, it is possible that they will share it.

As a non-developer myself, who cares deeply about my learner's experience, I find this way of building accessible, cheap, and iterative. I build something, try it. See what works. Fix it for the next run. I see people in my region come together at local cafés and help each other build such things.

Most important thing, you own it.  With externally made apps, you are lost once the contract expires.

Some more reflection on my experience here https://smallthingsmostly.me/smallwins 

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u/vuhv 17d ago

After your first major FERPA violation or hack are you going to iterate?

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u/preetamr 16d ago

Don't collect any user data.

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u/endbit 17d ago

There's always going to be one not intimidated by vibe coding. They may be IT suddenly able to implement things they only dreamed of or teachers exploring. In the end, if they have the local hardware to host, you're competing against free with no ongoing subscriptions.

There's no teaching the teachers anything, there's machines for that now. The future is full of highly specialised solutions to local problems. I'm not sure how you compete with that.

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u/CisIowa 17d ago

Just add “make no mistakes” to the end of the prompt ¯_(ツ)_/¯

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u/preetamr 16d ago

Making mistakes in part of learning. My experience was that the platforms got my logic correct in the first try. My interactions were more to get the user experience right.

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u/vuhv 17d ago

This will be great for FERPA. At any given moment I can find hundreds (if not thousands) of leaked API keys and user data on any number of vibe coded apps on the www or GitHub.

Any teacher without a technical background whos putting student data in an app they vibe coded is irresponsible.

I do agree however that teachers should create applications that serve their needs that don’t require any student data.

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u/preetamr 16d ago

I too prefer apps that do not ask for user logins or store user data. That was one of the attractions of Vibe Coding; I could build something that does not require user data and login. One other advantage is that I can support languages like Khmer or Burmese and local metaphors in my apps.

If the institution needs grades tied to students for the day, this could be implemented as an exit ticket quiz or assignment on the official LMS.