Edtech was one of the largest emerging industries in terms of investment in 2014. The landscape of education is changing albeit slower and quieter than other industries. So what are the changes we’re looking at for educational technology in 2015?

As technology and the classroom become increasingly connected, the opportunity for personalized education presents itself. Data will become available to teachers that will allow them to focus on areas where their students are falling behind, and to truly understand which children need a little more help. This combining of technology and education is still very early in its development so there is still a lot of room for new innovation to help even more.

2014 was the year of wearable technology and perhaps 2015 will be the year entrepreneurs and teachers try to find if it has a place in the classroom. Perhaps the most applicable wearable tech to the classroom is Google Glass. It has been adopted by some industries and could lead to quick answers to tough questions. People learn a lot more being immersed in activities so smart watches and smart glasses could prove useful in that respect.

MOOCs started to gain popularity in 2014, look for that to continue into 2015. But two other online learning offerings should gain traction. Online courses and online tutoring should see a boost in users and become more mainstream as money continues to be pushed into these programs. The question is whether 2015 is the year where these programs earn some sort of accreditation.

Perhaps the most interesting thing we’ll see during a 2015 year-in-review will be everyday people sharing. There are so many platforms that facilitate this type of interaction between students teachers. Teachers sharing tips with each other is becoming more common, and pair-based learning has gained a lot of steam after numerous studies highlight the advantages of such techniques.

What changes do you expect?