EdTech Top 40

U.S. school districts used an average of 703 different edtech products every month in the 2018-19 school year, according to the latest findings from EdTech Top 40 research, conducted across 1,000 schools around the country and covering more than 1 million teachers and students. 

This data represents a 28% increase from the 2017-18 school year, a dramatic rise that likely reflects the expanded number of tools available to learners, increased connectivity, and an increase in point solutions and supplementary tools. 

Alternatively, these findings could also point to the downside of technology’s rapid growth in education. As product use continues to expand at this breakneck pace, districts may often find themselves in the dark on what products are actually being used in their classrooms, if those tools are impacting student achievement, and whether they’re either safe or cost-effective. 

The EdTech Top 40 research not only seeks to analyze these shifts in edtech use, but also highlight the most popular tools being used by students and educators nationwide. This year’s list revealed a few surprises, as well as a few mainstays, including Google, whose series of offerings dominated the top 7 spots in this year’s list (up from the top 5 last year). 

Other changes include 8 new products making their EdTech Top 40 debut, as well as a 44% increase in the number of content related tools being accessed, including sites like CNN Student News and Study.com.