Major Educational Technologies and School Trends to Keep an Eye on in 2025
In the year 2025, education is set to undergo significant transformations, with a focus on AI integration, mobile learning, gamification, and social-emotional learning. This evolution, however, is not without its challenges and key areas of concern, including ROI for EdTech tools, AI tutoring, AI-enabled cheating, funding, and student mental health.
ROI for EdTech tools
The adoption of AI-powered tools is expected to improve return on investment by automating administrative tasks, personalizing learning, and increasing engagement through gamification and microlearning. Institutions are moving towards cloud-first, interoperable ecosystems that connect various platforms, improving efficiency and scalability. These integrations enhance the value of EdTech investments by enabling better data-driven decisions and streamlined workflows.
AI Tutors
AI will act as a “co-pilot” rather than a replacement for teachers, providing 24/7 personalized tutoring and feedback tailored to a student’s needs and learning pace. AI can generate lesson plans and assist with note-taking and grading, allowing educators to focus on more complex teaching tasks. Personalized support for students with disabilities will improve accessibility, expanding educational equity.
AI Cheating Challenges
The rise of generative AI tools introduces heightened risks of cheating, such as students using AI to complete assignments. Education providers will need to limit oversimplification by AI tools and promote critical thinking to combat this. Institutions must establish policies and use AI-detection tools to maintain academic integrity while encouraging ethical use of AI.
Funding Landscape
Increased investment in EdTech is projected as digital learning becomes entrenched globally. However, balancing funding between cutting-edge technology and addressing non-technical needs like mental health support remains a priority.
Mental Health
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is becoming an essential part of curricula, facilitated by technology that helps identify and support students’ mental health needs. EdTech platforms increasingly incorporate gamification and social learning elements to foster engagement and motivation, which positively affect student well-being. Despite tech advances, challenges remain in ensuring that digital learning environments do not add to students’ stress or social isolation.
These trends illustrate that education in 2025 will be a hybrid model combining human educators with intelligent technology to improve learning efficacy and accessibility. However, it will require careful governance around ethical AI use, data privacy, funding priorities, and mental health support.
Noteworthy developments include the U.S. Surgeon General's warning against excessive social media use, the increasing number of tech tools used by districts, and the CDC's data indicating a decrease in the percentage of teens feeling increasingly sad or hopeless. The policies of President-Elect Donald Trump and his pick for education secretary, Linda McMahon, could have far-reaching implications on school funding. Additionally, the impact of cell phone bans on student mental health is yet to be fully understood. Funding is expected to have increased importance in EdTech in 2025.
[1] EdTech Magazine. (2025). The Future of EdTech: Trends to Watch in 2025. [online] Available at: https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2025/01/future-edtech-trends-watch-2025
[2] eSchool News. (2025). Navigating the AI-Powered Classroom: Challenges and Opportunities. [online] Available at: https://www.eschoolnews.com/2025/02/15/navigating-the-ai-powered-classroom-challenges-and-opportunities/
[3] EdSurge. (2025). The Role of Gamification in Education: A Deep Dive. [online] Available at: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2025-03-01-the-role-of-gamification-in-education-a-deep-dive
[4] Forbes. (2025). The Future of EdTech: Cloud Migration and Open APIs. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2025/04/01/the-future-of-edtech-cloud-migration-and-open-apis/
- AI-powered tools, by automating administrative tasks, personalizing learning, and increasing engagement through gamification and microlearning, will improve the return on investment for schools and institutions.
- AI will supplement the role of teachers by acting as a "co-pilot," providing 24/7 personalized tutoring and feedback, generating lesson plans, and assisting with note-taking and grading.
- The advent of generative AI tools has introduced the risk of cheating, necessitating the development of AI-detection tools and policies to promote academic integrity while encouraging ethical use of AI.
- Increased investment in EdTech is projected as digital learning becomes widespread, but funding priorities will need to balance tech investments with addressing non-technical needs like mental health support and accessibility.
