EdTech Digest

As students embrace AI tools faster than schools can adapt, a widening gap is emerging between how learning happens in classrooms and how it unfolds in the real world. GUEST COLUMN | by Bob Chopra AGNY ILLUSTRATION AI tools are everywhere, reshaping how people work, function, and learn. Yet, while the world is quickly changing, classroom learning has largely stayed the same. Education systems still hinge on standardized testing, where repetition and memorization are significant metrics of succes

Todd Brekhus on unifying data, AI, and curriculum to help teachers act on insights in real time. INTERVIEW | by Victor Rivero  A longtime leader at the intersection of data, literacy, and personalized learning, Todd Brekhus has helped shape some of the most widely used digital tools in K–12 education. Now, as a leader at Renaissance, he’s focused on a far more ambitious challenge: bringing coherence to an increasingly fragmented edtech landscape. In this conversation with EdTech Digest, Brekhus

Congratulations to edtech’s best and brightest innovators, leaders, and trendsetters! Finalists and winners for The EdTech Awards 2026 have been announced to a worldwide audience of educators, technologists, students, parents, and policymakers interested in building a better future for learners and leaders in the education and workforce sectors. Celebrating its 16th year, the US-based program is the world’s largest recognition program for education technology, recognizing the biggest name

How tech-focused graduate coursework can help teachers reclaim time, improve instruction, and move up the pay scale faster. GUEST COLUMN | by Jennifer Cooper KHOTIMATUZ ZAHRO After earning my degree to become a high school social studies teacher, I was thrilled to land my first job. The reality set in quickly: my salary barely covered rent and a car payment. To manage student loans, I worked weekend shifts at a restaurant. By my seventh year teaching, I hit a wall. My paycheck was going toward c

Students may be physically present but mentally gone. To fight “digital ghosting,” schools need a smarter approach to device use, student safety, and digital wellbeing. GUEST COLUMN | by Charlie Sander INTAN LUCIANA PERTIWI While physical attendance has long been the primary metric for school safety and success, a more insidious trend is emerging that data alone often misses. I call it “digital ghosting.” This occurs when a student is physically present in their seat but has complete

Mission Telecom’s Mark Colwell on closing the last mile of digital equity—and why seamless connectivity is becoming invisible infrastructure in education. INTERVIEW | by Victor Rivero DEWI AYU MARYATI For years, the digital divide has been framed as a question of access. Today, it’s a question of experience—whether connectivity is reliable, affordable, and truly ubiquitous for every learner. As AI and cloud-based tools reshape how, where, and when students engage, the stakes are rising fast. Mar

The 3 non-negotiables for K-12 IT leaders. GUEST COLUMN | by Jason Katcher ANDRII SHESHEL If you’re a K-12 IT leader right now, you are drowning in vendor pitches. Every demo features a shiny new chatbot promising “transformation.” Once a product passes your baseline checklist of privacy and security, how do you evaluate what else actually matters? After 13 years in edtech at organizations like Google, Dropbox, and small startups, I’ve learned that to survive the combined scrut

Pathify’s Shana Holman on digital belonging, the rise of Campus Experience Platforms and why the next competitive edge in higher education may be the campus app. INTERVIEW | by Victor Rivero Students today expect their digital lives to feel seamless, intuitive and personal — whether they’re ordering dinner, streaming a movie or managing their finances. But when they log into a university system and encounter scattered portals, multiple passwords and tools that don’t talk to each other, the contr

COMMON SENSE MEDIA Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming the backdrop of everyday life. It’s in the tools we search with, the apps we use, and increasingly the technologies students interact with at school and at home. For today’s families, AI isn’t something on the horizon. It’s already here. But how do families really feel about it? A new study from Common Sense Media set out to find out, asking both parents and teens ages 12–17 what they think about AI, how they’re already using it, and

Trust for the National Mall President and CEO Catherine Townsend discusses the National Mall Gateway, a digital platform that brings history, civics and immersive learning to students everywhere—just in time for America’s 250th anniversary. INTERVIEW | by Victor Rivero TRUST FOR THE NATIONAL MALL As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary in 2026, the National Mall is poised to become an even more powerful hub for civic learning. Through a new digital platform called the National Mall

District leaders often manage teacher learning and classroom coverage separately—but aligning these efforts could reduce disruption and improve planning. GUEST COLUMN | by Jennifer Duvall VECTORS LAB Across K–12 education, district leaders are balancing two urgent priorities: ensuring classrooms remain staffed while also supporting educators’ professional growth. Reliable absence management helps districts maintain stable learning environments for students, while professional development systems

Concentric CEO Molly Hebert Loyd explains why chronic absenteeism demands a human-centered response—and how technology can support, but not replace, real connection. After nearly two decades at leading edtech organizations such as Discovery Education and Defined Learning, Molly Hebert Loyd made a bold shift in 2024—leaving the sector to join Concentric Educational Solutions as Chief Revenue Officer. Concentric is on a mission to address one of the most urgent challenges in education today: chro

Career and technical education (CTE) teachers want assessments that are easy to create, flexible to customize and clearly aligned to instruction. With its enhanced Custom Assessments experience, iCEV delivers. Designed in direct response to educator feedback, the updated feature helps teachers spend less time building assessments and more time focused on student learning. A streamlined, step-by-step workflow makes the process intuitive and efficient from start to finish. Within the platform, tea

Here’s a delightful reminder that sometimes the smartest technology is the kind that quietly gets out of the way. Walkie Talkie turns any smartphone into a multilingual audio guide—no app download, no login, no friction. Visitors simply scan a QR code and start listening. That’s it. No setup gymnastics, no “please install our app first,” just instant storytelling. For museums, campuses, galleries, historic sites, and learning spaces, that kind of simplicity is pure gold. Behind the scenes, the p

While schools invest heavily in AI and classroom displays, a basic piece of hardware may be the missing link to better engagement and clearer learning. GUEST COLUMN | by Madeleine Mortimore In K–12 education today, most of the edtech buzz falls into two categories: AI tools and visual tools such as interactive whiteboards and content cameras. But one of the most essential solutions for students falls into neither of those. It’s worn on the head. A Missing Priority? Headsets are too often overl