Robotics, AI & edtech news from around the world and across South Africa — with our take.
Commemorating South Africa's 485,000 educators on World Teachers' Day, the Department of Basic Education highlighted targeted literacy and numeracy training currently underway for 10,000 foundation phase teachers.
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Digital literacy frameworks must pivot from procedural software mechanics to critical evaluation and learner agency as AI agents transform standard computing interfaces.
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Google has launched new AI capabilities across Workspace for Education, integrating Classroom data with Gemini and adding AI scaffolding to student learning journeys.
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Injini and the Mastercard Foundation are hosting the 5th South African EdTech Week in Johannesburg, showcasing AI marking tools and offline coding games.
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A study by curriculum review nonprofit EdReports found that only one of 10 reviewed K-12 edtech and curriculum vendors provided third-party evidence that their AI features improve student outcomes.
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Independent curriculum reviewer EdReports is scrutinising edtech vendors over unverified efficacy claims as generative AI tools are rapidly embedded into K-12 instructional materials.
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While school AI policies typically focus on academic integrity and assignments, experts warn that student reliance on chatbots for emotional support and advice presents unaddressed safety risks.
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Selecting educational drone platforms requires K–12 districts to balance multiyear funding compliance, aviation regulations, and career readiness alongside classroom goals.
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Learning Commons has launched an open platform providing machine-readable K-12 academic standards, learning progressions, and evaluation tools for educational software developers.
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At the Reagan Institute Summit on Education, Jobs for the Future CEO Maria Flynn urged schools to treat AI literacy as an essential baseline skill alongside durable problem-solving abilities.
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Global job demand for generative AI skills increased ninefold between 2021 and 2024, exposing a widening gap in African universities where 40% of ICT curricula have not been updated in over five years.
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Six major education organisations have published the EdTech Quality Indicators Guide to help school IT leaders make evidence-based technology procurement decisions.
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Education tech leaders are exploring AI bills of materials to document training data, model versions, and third-party components behind algorithmic decisions in schools.
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Microsoft's third annual AI in Education report reveals that roughly 90% of surveyed students, educators, and school leaders have adopted AI tools for academic work.
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The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education has launched a national framework to guide how pre-service teacher training programs integrate artificial intelligence.
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Egyptian ed-tech startup 3C Coding School has raised $3 million in seed funding to expand into Saudi Arabia and accelerate development of its AI-driven learning platform.
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New reporting highlights how federal screen-time guidance overlooks pre-K learners and state-level device bans disrupt digital classroom projects.
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As Los Angeles Unified and 17 US states advance restrictions on classroom screen time, education leaders warn that blanket bans threaten purposeful, active digital learning.
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With only 30% of US eighth graders reading proficiently in 2024, educators are pointing to purpose-built AI tools to diagnose comprehension breakdowns and scaffold complex texts.
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Four high school students were named winners of the Me, Myself, and AI art contest at the America’s Youth AI Festival in Boston, reflecting on AI's societal influence through an MIT RAISE curriculum.
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Founded by the Deafzion Foundation, TechAble has trained over 40 youths with disabilities in AI and digital skills across three Nigerian regions, with plans for broader African expansion.
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New federal guidance advises school districts to evaluate classroom technology through demonstrated learning outcomes rather than login numbers or passive screen time.
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New U.S. Department of Education guidance urges school districts to evaluate edtech on verified learning outcomes and instructional value rather than screen time or login metrics.
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EdSurge examines the full footprint of AI adoption in schools, from teachers using 'vibe coding' to build resilient assignments to data center costs straining district budgets.
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School districts are formalizing AI integration for the 2026–2027 academic year, focusing on task-specific workflows, rapid differentiation, and administrative time savings.
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A coalition of six education organizations has launched a new framework to help K-12 districts evaluate and purchase technology, addressing widespread tech sprawl.
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As 34 US states issue AI guidance and introduce dozens of classroom bills, educators face the challenge of defining long-term career preparedness rather than regulating short-term technical skills.
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South Hampton K-8 school in Alabama has transformed its traditional library into a dynamic STEM hub through a strategic partnership with nonprofit Ed Farm, marking a first-of-its-kind renovation in the state.
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Educators Rita Finkel and Cobretti Williams argue that college degrees and the iterative process of writing offer developmental benefits that artificial intelligence cannot replicate.
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As schools face new curriculum mandates, edtech platforms often mistake basic interface translation for true bilingual instruction, leaving non-English speaking families behind.
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Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister Dr Nomusa Dube-Ncube has opened a new R24 million 4IR Centre of Excellence and three technical training facilities in Mossel Bay.
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At the ISTELive 26 conference, educator Andy Mann detailed a district-level STEM loaner library that lets teachers borrow high-cost equipment like $10,000 VR headsets.
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Cognitive research highlights why physical writing outperforms typing for early literacy, prompting a shift toward using classroom technology for teacher logistics rather than student screen time.
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As school STEM programs mature into advanced robotics and 3D modeling, educators are finding that standard student devices lack the local processing power required for industry-standard software.
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An international primary school teacher has successfully used "vibe coding" with large language models to build a personalized library recommendation system for their classroom.
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The KISS Institute for Practical Robotics is expanding its Botball and Junior Botball Challenge programs, utilizing standardized kits, early text-based coding, and a specialized multi-user controller to integrate autonomous robotics directly into the school day.
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The LEGO EV3 programming app reaches end-of-support on 31 July 2026, but the kits keep working. Community firmware like Pybricks, Python routes and repurposing keep old sets useful.
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At the May 2026 MICTSETA 4IR Symposium and IoT Hackathon, students built a smart farm and pitched it to the Minister of Higher Education. What that moment means for schools.
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The A301 backlash is really about transition management: grandfather hardware teams already own, be transparent on cost and timing, and treat non-US teams as first-class.
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A 2025 CSTA survey found most CS teachers never studied CS and half teach alone. The fix is not hiring specialists: it is curriculum, rehearsal, peer support and honest tools.
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SPIKE Prime is being retired, but FLL teams can keep competing on it through the 2027-28 season. Here is how to buy spares before June 2026, budget the switch, and protect your coding skills.
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At SchoolScape 2026 the classroom kit stopped being the whole product. The dashboard behind it, a live view of every connected device, is now its own buying category.
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Humanoid robots stole the show at the February 2026 WCED STEAM conference. Here is what they are actually for in education, and where a class set of desktop kits still teaches more.
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LEGO Education is retiring the entire SPIKE range, with sales ending 30 June 2026 and a pricier CS and AI kit as successor. Here is what schools with class sets should do now.
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FIRST says the 2027-28 SystemCore season will allow one legal actuator, the REV A301. Here is what standardisation, sunk costs and tight budgets mean for FTC teams planning purchases.
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SA EdTech Week 2025 put readiness in under-resourced schools first: design for power, connectivity and durability before software, and invest in teachers over tool count.
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The Raspberry Pi Foundation is right that kids still need to code in the age of AI. The stronger version of the case is physical computing: code that has to move something real.
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AeroGarden is winding down and its WiFi app is promised only until March 2026. The lesson for edtech buyers: buy hardware that still works offline when the vendor walks away.
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Belkin is ending Wemo's cloud and app on 31 January 2026. The lesson for anyone buying classroom tech: run the works-offline test before you spend, and buy tools you own, not rent.
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In early 2025 a small lab showed capable AI can be cheap and open. The lesson for schools is that AI literacy now belongs with the basics, for every child, not just future engineers.
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