Education
6 EdTech AI trends: How artificial intelligence is reshaping education
Innovation has always driven education technology (EdTech), and in 2025, artificial intelligence (AI) is leading the next wave. No longer just an emerging tool, AI is becoming the fundamental infrastructure shaping how EdTech evolves—reshaping how EdTechs develop solutions, how educators teach, and how students learn. It’s no longer a question of whether AI has a place in education, but how deeply embedded it will become.
At Amazon Web Services (AWS), we work with EdTechs of all sizes, giving us unique insight into how AI is shaping the industry. Based on our work with EdTechs and educational institutions around the world, we’ve identified six key trends shaping the future of AI in education.
1. AI is evolving from a tool to core infrastructure
A major shift is underway: AI is moving from being an add-on to an essential layer of EdTech infrastructure. AI is no longer just a feature; it is becoming the backbone of both EdTech products and internal operations.
EdTechs are embedding AI directly into their platforms to enhance learning experiences at scale. Instead of one-size-fits-all content, AI-driven solutions can analyze student assessments and dynamically tailor lesson plans to individual needs. This shift makes education more personalized, efficient, and effective.
At the same time, AI is optimizing how EdTechs operate. Companies are using AI to streamline business functions, from sales and marketing functions like forecasting, email marketing, and upselling, to finance, human resources (HR), and customer support. By automating routine tasks and surfacing actionable insights, AI allows teams to focus on product innovation and improving the customer experience.
The big takeaway for EdTechs? AI is no longer an option—it’s a necessity for staying competitive.
2. Educational institutions are adopting AI faster than expected
Historically, education has been cautious about adopting new technology. AI is proving to be the exception. Schools, colleges, and universities are integrating AI-powered solutions at an unprecedented pace. In a 2024 Ellucian survey of 445 faculty and administrators from across the US and Canada, 93 percent expect to expand their use of AI in their work over the next two years.
Unlike previous technologies that required extensive retraining, today’s AI tools integrate seamlessly into the workflows educators and students already use. Plus, as AI demonstrates immediate results and educators see real efficiency gains, this has led to higher comfort levels and faster adoption across institutions.
Trust has been another key factor in AI adoption among educators and institutions. EdTechs placed an early emphasis on responsible AI development, involving education institutions in shaping AI tools from the beginning to align with ethical standards, data privacy, and real-world classroom needs. This collaborative approach helped educators feel more comfortable with AI and accelerated adoption beyond what we’ve seen with previous technologies.
At the same time, alternative learning pathways like microcredentials and skills-based courses—such as those offered by Coursera and other platforms—are seeing rapid growth, particularly in AI and machine learning. In fact, 40 percent of Coursera’s top courses in 2024 teach AI, with three million new enrollments in generative AI courses during the year—one every 10 seconds. These programs highlight both the demand for accessible, flexible learning and the speed at which AI-related knowledge is being disseminated outside of traditional institutions.
3. AI is shifting from reactive to proactive support
One of the most significant changes we’re seeing is AI moving from reactive to proactive support models. Early AI systems waited for users to ask questions. In 2025, AI systems can understand context, anticipate needs, and offer support before anyone asks.
This shift makes truly personalized support possible at scale. For students, AI can now analyze assessment results and create customized learning paths targeting specific knowledge gaps. For example, Curriculum Associates uses AI on AWS to offer assessment programs that analyze results and deliver tailored content based on each student’s individual needs.
This evolution complements a broader shift in education platforms, moving from content-library models to more collaborative, student-centric environments. Modern learning management systems (LMS) like Schoology, Moodle, and Canvas increasingly support personalization, collaboration, and analytics. When combined with AI, these platforms can become even more adaptive and responsive to students’ learning preferences and progress.
For educators, AI is transforming administrative work. Benchmark Education’s AI-powered grading tool helps evaluate open-ended assessments, giving teachers valuable time to focus more on one-on-one instruction and student engagement.
With the development of AI agents, we are see more automation in education systems—where AI not only recommends but executes next steps, such as dynamically adjusting lesson plans or proactively suggesting interventions for struggling students before an educator even notices a gap.
4. Addressing education equity in an AI-powered world
AI has the power to transform education—but only if students have access to it. According to the Pew Research Center, internet access in the US has increased from 85 percent to 96 percent in the past decade. However, global access remains considerably lower. If AI-powered learning tools create superior educational experiences yet remain inaccessible to underserved communities, existing educational inequalities could widen.
Public-private partnerships will play a critical role in addressing this challenge. AWS is actively working with nonprofit consortiums and governments to extend AI-powered tools to all students. For example, Amazon’s Project Kuiper aims to provide satellite-enabled internet access worldwide and has the potential to expand connectivity to underserved regions and remote areas, helping students gain access to the same high-quality materials as more connected regions.
Additionally, the AWS Education Equity Initiative, announced last December, is investing $100 million to support technologies, specifically designed for underserved students and markets globally. For EdTechs seeking to develop solutions for underrepresented communities, learn more about how to apply for the AWS Education Equity Initiative here.
5. Real solutions will attract investment
Venture capital investment in EdTech has declined since 2021, but that doesn’t mean funding has disappeared. Instead, investors are focusing on companies that solve real, measurable problems.
The era of building AI solutions simply for the sake of AI is over. Institutions are under pressure to demonstrate ROI, meaning they are prioritizing EdTech solutions that deliver measurable learning outcomes, time, and cost savings for educators, and improved student engagement and retention. EdTech startups should focus on niche solutions with clearly defined value propositions rather than attempting to build broad, one-size-fits-all platforms.
One example? Transportation challenges in education. I recently read that in Baltimore, about 25,000 students rely on public transit to get to school because the city doesn’t provide buses after fifth grade—leading to chronic tardiness and lost learning time. AI-powered solutions integrating route optimization with real-time traffic analytics to automatically adjust class schedules is one such possibility for these scenarios. Solving challenges like this requires both public policy and technology innovation to reduce costs and increase scalability, but it’s a prime example of the kind of impact-driven disruption investors are looking for.
6. AI could redefine learning itself
Beyond improving existing education models, the proliferation of AI is pushing us to ask: What could the future of learning look like? Just as the calculator transformed how students learn mathematics, and the internet transformed study and research, AI will force us to rethink learning. As the traditional education model of rote memorization and recall is made obsolete by on-demand information, moving forward, education models could prioritize critical thinking and creativity as core competencies, with personalized learning to match individual learning styles and career goals. AI also provides opportunities to lean into Generation Z and Generation Alpha’s preference for visual learning, instant feedback, and digital collaboration, making education more relevant and effective for modern learners.
AI won’t replace teachers, but it could redefine their roles. Educators could shift from content delivery to learning facilitators, helping students develop higher-order skills that AI cannot replicate. By 2030, we may even see new education models emerge, where AI-driven personalization and predictive analysis make traditional one-size-fits-all curriculums obsolete, while learners have an omnipresent AI tutor or coach supporting the learning journey. The challenge, then, is ensuring that innovation aligns with real-world needs and career pathways, so students graduate prepared for a world where AI is everywhere.
Looking ahead: What’s next for EdTech?
As we move through 2025, AI will continue transforming education in ways both expected and unexpected. For EdTechs navigating these changes, focusing on real problems with measurable outcomes remains the surest path to success.
At AWS, we’re committed to supporting EdTechs throughout this journey. Our dedicated EdTech vertical team provides comprehensive assistance, from technical solution development to go-to-market support, helping companies leverage the AWS Cloud to build the next generation of educational technologies.
Want to explore how AI can transform your EdTech solutions? Connect with an AWS EdTech expert today.
Read related stories on the AWS Public Sector Blog:
A common refrain about artificial intelligence in education is that it’s a research tool, and as such, some school librarians are acquiring firsthand experience with its uses and controversies.
Leading a presentation last week at the ISTELive 25 + ASCD annual conference in San Antonio, a trio of librarians parsed appropriate and inappropriate uses of AI in a series of hypothetical scenarios. They broadly recommended that schools have, and clearly articulate, official policies governing AI use and be cautious about inputting copyrighted or private information.
Amanda Hunt, a librarian at Oak Run Middle School in Texas, said their presentation would focus on scenarios because librarians are experiencing so many.
“The reason we did it this way is because these scenarios are coming up,” she said. “Every day I’m hearing some other type of question in regards to AI and how we’re using it in the classroom or in the library.”
- Scenario 1: A class encourages students to use generative AI for brainstorming, outlining and summarizing articles.
Elissa Malespina, a teacher librarian at Science Park High School in New Jersey, said she felt this was a valid use, as she has found AI to be helpful for high schoolers who are prone to get overwhelmed by research projects.
Ashley Cooksey, an assistant professor and school library program director at Arkansas Tech University, disagreed slightly: While she appreciates AI’s ability to outline and brainstorm, she said, she would discourage her students from using it to synthesize summaries.
“Point one on that is that you’re not using your synthesis and digging deep and reading the article for yourself to pull out the information pertinent to you,” she said. “Point No. 2 — I publish, I write. If you’re in higher ed, you do that. I don’t want someone to put my work into a piece of generative AI and an [LLM] that is then going to use work I worked very, very hard on to train its language learning model.”
- Scenario 2: A school district buys an AI tool that generates student book reviews for a library website, which saves time and promotes titles but misses key themes or introduces unintended bias.
All three speakers said this use of AI could certainly be helpful to librarians, but if the reviews are labeled in a way that makes it sound like they were written by students when they weren’t, that wouldn’t be ethical.
- Scenario 3: An administrator asks a librarian to use AI to generate new curriculum materials and library signage. Do the outputs violate copyright or proper attribution rules?
Hunt said the answer depends on local and district regulations, but she recommended using Adobe Express because it doesn’t pull from the Internet.
- Scenario 4: An ed-tech vendor pitches a school library on an AI tool that analyzes circulation data and automatically recommends titles to purchase. It learns from the school’s preferences but often excludes lesser-known topics or authors of certain backgrounds.
Hunt, Malespina and Cooksey agreed that this would be problematic, especially because entering circulation data could include personally identifiable information, which should never be entered into an AI.
- Scenario 5: At a school that doesn’t have a clear AI policy, a student uses AI to summarize a research article and gets accused of plagiarism. Who is responsible, and what is the librarian’s role?
The speakers as well as polled audience members tended to agree the school district would be responsible in this scenario. Without a policy in place, the school will have a harder time establishing whether a student’s behavior constitutes plagiarism.
Cooksey emphasized the need for ongoing professional development, and Hunt said any districts that don’t have an official AI policy need steady pressure until they draft one.
“I am the squeaky wheel right now in my district, and I’m going to continue to be annoying about it, but I feel like we need to have something in place,” Hunt said.
- Scenario 6: Attempting to cause trouble, a student creates a deepfake of a teacher acting inappropriately. Administrators struggle to respond, they have no specific policy in place, and trust is shaken.
Again, the speakers said this is one more example to illustrate the importance of AI policies as well as AI literacy.
“We’re getting to this point where we need to be questioning so much of what we see, hear and read,” Hunt said.
- Scenario 7: A pilot program uses AI to provide instant feedback on student essays, but English language learners consistently get lower scores, leading teachers to worry the AI system can’t recognize code-switching or cultural context.
In response to this situation, Hunt said it’s important to know whether the parent has given their permission to enter student essays into an AI, and the teacher or librarian should still be reading the essays themselves.
Malespina and Cooksey both cautioned against relying on AI plagiarism detection tools.
“None of these tools can do a good enough job, and they are biased toward [English language learners],” Malespina said.
- Scenario 8: A school-approved AI system flags students who haven’t checked out any books recently, tracks their reading speed and completion patterns, and recommends interventions.
Malespina said she doesn’t want an AI tool tracking students in that much detail, and Cooksey pointed out that reading speed and completion patterns aren’t reliably indicative of anything that teachers need to know about students.
- Scenario 9: An AI tool translates texts, reads books aloud and simplifies complex texts for students with individualized education programs, but it doesn’t always translate nuance or tone.
Hunt said she sees benefit in this kind of application for students who need extra support, but she said the loss of tone could be an issue, and it raises questions about infringing on audiobook copyright laws.
Cooksey expounded upon that.
“Additionally, copyright goes beyond the printed work. … That copyright owner also owns the presentation rights, the audio rights and anything like that,” she said. “So if they’re putting something into a generative AI tool that reads the PDF, that is technically a violation of copyright in that moment, because there are available tools for audio versions of books for this reason, and they’re widely available. Sora is great, and it’s free for educators. … But when you’re talking about taking something that belongs to someone else and generating a brand-new copied product of that, that’s not fair use.”
Education
Blunkett urges ministers to use ‘incredible sensitivity’ in changing Send system in England | Special educational needs
Ministers must use “incredible sensitivity” in making changes to the special educational needs system, former education secretary David Blunkett has said, as the government is urged not to drop education, health and care plans (EHCPs).
Lord Blunkett, who went through the special needs system when attending a residential school for blind children, said ministers would have to tread carefully.
The former home secretary in Tony Blair’s government also urged the government to reassure parents that it was looking for “a meaningful replacement” for EHCPs, which guarantee more than 600,000 children and young people individual support in learning.
Blunkett said he sympathised with the challenge facing Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, saying: “It’s absolutely clear that the government will need to do this with incredible sensitivity and with a recognition it’s going to be a bumpy road.”
He said government proposals due in the autumn to reexamine Send provision in England were not the same as welfare changes, largely abandoned last week, which were aimed at reducing spending. “They put another billion in [to Send provision] and nobody noticed,” Blunkett said, adding: “We’ve got to reduce the fear of change.”
Earlier Helen Hayes, the Labour MP who chairs the cross-party Commons education select committee, called for Downing Street to commit to EHCPs, saying this was the only way to combat mistrust among many families with Send children.
“I think at this stage that would be the right thing to do,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “We have been looking, as the education select committee, at the Send system for the last several months. We have heard extensive evidence from parents, from organisations that represent parents, from professionals and from others who are deeply involved in the system, which is failing so many children and families at the moment.
“One of the consequences of that failure is that parents really have so little trust and confidence in the Send system at the moment. And the government should take that very seriously as it charts a way forward for reform.”
A letter to the Guardian on Monday, signed by dozens of special needs and disability charities and campaigners, warned against government changes to the Send system that would restrict or abolish EHCPs.
Labour MPs who spoke to the Guardian are worried ministers are unable to explain essential details of the special educational needs shake-up being considered in the schools white paper to be published in October.
Downing Street has refused to rule out ending EHCPs, while stressing that no decisions have yet been taken ahead of a white paper on Send provision to be published in October.
Keir Starmer’s deputy spokesperson said: “I’ll just go back to the broader point that the system is not working and is in desperate need of reform. That’s why we want to actively work with parents, families, parliamentarians to make sure we get this right.”
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Speaking later in the Commons, Phillipson said there was “no responsibility I take more seriously” than that to more vulnerable children. She said it was a “serious and complex area” that “we as a government are determined to get right”.
The education secretary said: “There will always be a legal right to the additional support children with Send need, and we will protect it. But alongside that, there will be a better system with strengthened support, improved access and more funding.”
Dr Will Shield, an educational psychologist from the University of Exeter, said rumoured proposals that limit EHCPs – potentially to pupils in special schools – were “deeply problematic”.
Shield said: “Mainstream schools frequently rely on EHCPs to access the funding and oversight needed to support children effectively. Without a clear, well-resourced alternative, families will fear their children are not able to access the support they need to achieve and thrive.”
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “Any reforms in this space will likely provoke strong reactions and it will be crucial that the government works closely with both parents and schools every step of the way.”
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