New LearnPlatform by Instructure Report Finds A Slight Spike Of 1.7% More Unique Digital Tools Accessed by K-12 Institutions
The sixth EdTech Top 40 report shows the diversity of solutions is forcing organizations to manage an even larger edtech ecosystem
SALT LAKE CITY — June 26, 2023 — LearnPlatform by Instructure, named as the world’s most innovative edtech effectiveness system by Fast Company in 2023, today published its sixth EdTech Top 40 – the latest report on the usage of digital solutions, tools and resources in K-12 districts, schools and classrooms within the United States during the 2022-2023 school year. In addition to highlighting the top 40 education technology products with more than 4.1 million student and teacher interactions, the report provides insights on trends and categorical rankings.
According to the report, K-12 institutions are accessing 1.7% more tools aggregated annually from the prior academic year. Furthermore, since first releasing data on the average individual interactions of edtech by teachers and students during this school year, the amount of unique digital solutions accessed by educators decreased by nearly 20% while students interacted with 14% fewer unique tools, over the same time period.
“The numbers indicate that teachers and students are engaging with fewer edtech products to learn, but the diversity of options is forcing organizations to manage even more digital tools than last year,” said Karl Rectanus, SVP of K-12 Strategy at Instructure. “Organizations are now expected to proactively provide an ecosystem of interoperable, safe and equitable solutions for students and teachers to personalize learning. Based on these trends, evidence-based edtech and platforms will likely drive purchasing, decision-making, and effective teaching and learning.”
In other words, the report finds that school districts accessed an average of 2,591 distinct edtech tools annually. This translates to an average of 1,379 tools accessed each month during the school year, indicating districts are not using a consistent set of edtech tools throughout the entire school year but instead engaging with new tools consistently over time. Interestingly, while the number of unique tools accessed annually at the district level has increased slightly, the average number accessed by districts each month is down by nearly 3% compared to the 2021-22 school year.
Furthermore, from the perspective of an individual student or educator, the usage data from the report shows the volume of edtech tools used is down, year over year. Students accessed an average of 42 tools each during this academic year, ten less than the previous school year. Educators also accessed an average of 42 tools during this school year, which is down from 49, over the same time period.
When it comes to specific edtech tools, the top 40 tools remain remarkably consistent year after year with only a handful of new products joining the list each year. The three new entrants to the EdTech Top 40 this academic year include GoGuardian and Securly and Study.com, two of which are enterprise solutions related to data security.
Learner-focused tools have also remained exceptionally resilient, as educators continue to increase student engagement and enhance the learning experience through technology. This year’s EdTech Top 40 finds 58% of tools accessed were learner-focused, compared to 52% the prior school year. Traditional curriculum and content providers have also held steady in the top 40, year over year.
Similar to previous years, this report analyzed products performing specific functions to provide a deeper look at the top education technology tools within key segments. This year's categories include Classroom Response and Assessment, Courseware Platforms Learning Management Systems, Supplemental Platforms, Study Tools and the newly added Resources and Digital Collections.
The data used to calculate both the rankings and usage numbers was collected using LearnPlatform's Inventory Dashboard between September 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023. The Inventory Dashboard, which safely and quickly integrates with browsers and mobile device management systems, is freely available to any U.S. education organization to provide visibility to the edtech tools used by students and educators across an organization. The report includes an analysis of more than 57 billion engagements across 9,000 education technology products during the year.
Analysis, tools and reports are compliant with all federal and state student data privacy laws, including FERPA, COPPA, CIPA and PPRA. The Edtech Top 40 is based solely on quantitative analysis of engagement, and does not reflect user sentiment, effectiveness, or utility. (For additional detailed insights, evidence, and more information on any education technology, educators and leaders should access LearnPlatform by Instructure)
"Since 2017, the EdTech Top 40 has provided the most comprehensive data of K-12 education technology engagement across our nation’s districts, schools and classrooms," Rectanus concludes. “With tech-enabled learning here to stay, it’s mission-critical that institutions and the broader K-12 ecosystem build and share trustworthy, independent evidence which is now federally mandated, to efficiently modernize learning environments for all students to thrive.”
The report and an accompanying infographic are available at: www.instructure.com/edtech-top40.