English (United Kingdom)
As districts enter 2026 facing tighter budgets, evolving enrolment patterns and growing demands for personalisation, eSchool News brought together leaders and experts in primary and secondary education to share predictions on where education technology is headed next.
Among the 49 industry perspectives featured, SMART Technologies’ Education Expert, Kris Astle, offered a clear, grounded look at how AI and classroom technology will move from experimentation to everyday impact, without losing sight of the human side of teaching and learning.
Astle’s 2026 outlook signals a shift from AI experimentation to impact – where technology is judged by outcomes, not novelty:
- AI goes mainstream: With clearer guardrails, AI moves from pilots to everyday classroom use.
- Real problems, real scale: AI helps address learning gaps, disengagement and mental-health pressures at a scale schools urgently need.
- Personalisation becomes the norm: Instruction adapts in real time to individual student readiness.
- AI supports – not replaces – teachers: Short, targeted AI tutoring helps relieve workload while giving students timely feedback.
- Novelty gives way to value: Districts prioritise tools that measurably improve student outcomes and wellbeing.
Across her predictions, Astle reinforces a consistent theme: technology should strengthen human connection, not replace it, helping educators spend more time supporting learners and less time managing complexity.
As schools navigate a defining moment for educational technology, Astle’s insights reflect a broader shift toward purpose-driven innovation, balancing equity, access, security, and automation while keeping teaching and learning at the centre.
Read the full article on eSchool News to explore all 49 predictions and what's next for primary and secondary education.