As teachers and administrators strive to improve student performance and graduation rates, they're increasingly leveraging new Educational Technology (EdTech) to deliver a higher quality learning experience. To gain a competitive advantage, EdTech market players are integrating advanced technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and Blockchain that are set to be the largest revenue contributors to the education sector in the coming years. In the UAE, 1.2 million school and university students started their e-learning journey a year ago with the onset of the pandemic, which has fueled the surge of EdTech startups. The EdTech sector has been gaining significant momentum, leading to an acceleration of investments in 2020. For instance, the regional EdTech companies raised almost $4m in March last year.

Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything.

From introductory gen-ed classes to advanced graduate seminars, wherever classes online or on campus include more than a couple of students, we have struggled with finding ways to assure that all students are given personalized attention to meet their learning needs. This has led to differentiated learning models in which students are presented materials based on assessments conducted prior to the class. But that approach too often fails to adapt to progress during the semester and misses opportunities for exchanges and synergies among all learners. It is also most practical only when there are enough classes to support multiple sections at the differentiated levels or multiple groups within a single class. As expert systems and AI technologies have developed, the promise of personalized learning is now being tested.