Top 20 ETIH stories of 2025: Counting down 2025’s biggest moments in EdTech – part two
From policy shocks and data breaches to open access, workforce shifts, and the creativity debate, the final ten stories reveal what 2025 really exposed about the state of EdTech.
Last week, we counted down stories 20 to 11, the developments that set the direction of travel for EdTech in 2025 as artificial intelligence moved from promise to pressure. In part two, we turn to the ten most read ETIH stories of the year, moments where that pressure met reality and forced difficult conversations across classrooms, campuses, companies, and governments.
2025 will be remembered as the point education hit the acceleration curve many had predicted but few fully believed. AI reshaped classroom routines, rewrote job roles, and exposed weaknesses in policy, infrastructure, and digital preparedness.
The year was not only about AI hype. It was defined by real-world stress tests: data breaches that shook trust, open-access movements that challenged long-standing publishing models, government mandates that divided opinion and the first clear signs of how Big Tech plans to shape the next decade of learning. So what do these stories actually tell us about where the sector now stands? ETIH reveals the ten most read stories of last year and what they signal about the wider state of EdTech.
10. Multiverse’s commitment to train 15,000 new AI apprentices
Multiverse’s pledge to train 15,000 new AI apprentices across the UK marked one of the clearest signals of how fast the workforce agenda shifted last year. The program brings employers like Skanska, Visa, Capita, and Legal & General into a coordinated national push, building on more than 2,200 existing apprentices already learning through over 200 organizations.
It supports the UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan and brings structured training in areas ranging from data governance and ethical AI to model deployment within real business settings. What stood out was not the headline number but the intent behind it. Companies began preparing for AI adoption at an operational level, not just in strategy documents, showing that the UK’s long-term ambitions depend on skills pipelines that can scale quickly and sustainably.
9. Chegg suffers a 24 percent revenue drop and sues Google over AI search impact
Chegg, the U.S.-based EdTech provider known for textbook rentals, homework support, and subscription Q&A services, became one of the most exposed companies in the shift toward AI-generated search results. Its antitrust lawsuit argued that Google’s AI overviews were providing direct answers on the results page, significantly reducing traffic to Chegg’s platform.
The financial impact was clear, with a 24 percent revenue drop, a 21 percent fall in subscribers, and a sharp decline in non-subscriber visits. The situation raised wider questions about the sustainability of EdTech business models that rely heavily on search visibility rather than deeper institutional contracts.
8. Google expands Gemini and launches new Chromebook features across the education ecosystem
Google’s expansion of Gemini for Education, alongside upgraded Chromebook tools, became one of the clearest examples of how AI moved into routine classroom practice last year. Gemini was added to Workspace for Education at no extra cost, offering AI-generated lesson content, study support, and audio-style summaries through NotebookLM. New Chromebook updates introduced more refined classroom controls and assessment options woven directly into Forms, strengthening Google’s position as a core digital environment for many schools.
The scale of these updates pointed to a broader shift in 2025, with major platforms building AI into the everyday workflow rather than offering it as a standalone add-on. Schools were increasingly navigating how these tools fit within their long-term digital plans, signaling that AI support is likely to become a baseline expectation across classroom platforms.
7. PowerSchool data breach exposes millions of student records
The PowerSchool breach was one of the most unsettling moments of last year, particularly in the United States where the platform sits at the center of daily school operations. Access gained through a compromised staff password allowed an attacker to download personal information held across its Student Information System, with claims of up to 62 million records taken.
The scale of the incident sharpened existing concerns about how much sensitive data is concentrated in a single cloud platform, especially when schools increasingly rely on third-party systems to manage attendance, assessment, and communication. For many districts, the breach raised uncomfortable questions about the safeguards behind the tools they depend on, and whether current protections are keeping pace with the growing volume of stored student data.
6. AWS launches new AI skills programs for students and early-career professionals
AWS’s launch of two new AI learning programs became a clear marker of how industry stepped further into the skills arena last year. The initiatives offered free routes into cloud fundamentals, generative AI, and model-building, with LLM League adding a competitive element where teams worked on real business challenges using prompt engineering and fine-tuning. Up to two million dollars in credits were made available to support learners.
The move sat within a broader shift seen across 2025, as employers looked for practical ways to build AI capability rather than rely solely on universities or in-house training. It captured how seriously major companies now treat AI literacy, positioning these programs as an accessible way for young people to gain credible, work-ready experience.
5. Uplift Aerospace develops new VR and AI division focused on workforce training
Immersive learning gained real momentum last year, and Uplift Aerospace’s shift into VR and AI training captured how quickly the space is evolving. The company, better known for its work in space manufacturing, set up a new division to create simulated environments where learners can practice technical tasks and move through workplace-style scenarios that colleges often struggle to provide.
It arrived at a moment when many providers were looking for realistic ways to widen access to specialist training without relying on expensive labs or limited placements. Uplift’s decision made clear that simulation is becoming part of mainstream skills development, not an optional extra, and that industries with high entry barriers are starting to treat virtual experience as a meaningful first step into complex careers.
4. Schools in England given AI-generated attendance targets
The UK government’s decision to issue AI-generated minimum attendance targets became one of the more divisive developments of the year. Each school now receives an individual baseline shaped by data on location, student needs, and deprivation, with struggling schools paired with higher-performing peers for support. Thirty-six new Attendance and Behavior Hubs are also being set up to share practice.
What stood out was the reaction from teachers who felt the policy missed something obvious. Many argued they do not need AI to tell them when attendance is poor and questioned whether targets alone address the deeper causes of absence. The story reflected a wider 2025 pattern, with governments around the world turning to AI as a quick fix rather than addressing the underlying issues facing schools.
3. United States mandates AI education across all K–12 schools
A bold policy moment last year came from the United States, which confirmed that every K–12 school would be expected to teach AI as part of a national effort to build digital confidence from an early age. The mandate set out guidance on core concepts, responsible use, basic model understanding, and classroom applications, aiming to give students a working grasp of the technology long before they meet it in further study or employment.
It also encouraged schools to introduce age-appropriate AI literacy across subjects rather than treat it as a standalone topic. The decision captured a broader shift seen throughout 2025, and will undoubtedly continue into 2026 as governments set firmer expectations around AI readiness and place structured learning at the center of long-term plans.
2. UPLOpen reaches 10,000 open-access titles and expands academic availability
One of the most widely read developments last year was UPLOpen passing the milestone of 10,000 open-access titles, a moment that spoke to the growing appetite for research that sits outside paywalls. The move brought together academic texts, monographs, and specialist publications from a range of partners, creating a larger pool of material that students, researchers, and institutions could use without subscription barriers.
It landed at a time when universities were increasingly reviewing the cost of digital library provision and exploring more flexible models for scholarly access. UPLOpen’s expansion captured a shift that defined much of 2025, with open resources gaining real momentum and prompting questions about how traditional academic publishing will adapt as expectations for free availability continue to rise.
1. MIT’s ChatGPT brain study and the new creativity question
If there was one headline that crystallized nerves about AI in the classroom last year, it was MIT’s study tracking what happens in the brain when students reach for ChatGPT too early. Researchers asked students to complete tasks with and without the tool, using brain imaging to compare how they worked. When ChatGPT was used from the outset, activity shifted toward shortcutting and streamlining, while the patterns usually linked to exploratory thinking and creativity were noticeably quieter.
Students still finished the work, often faster and with fewer visible errors, but the outputs were blunter, safer, and less original. For schools, universities, and EdTech companies, the study turned a vague worry into something more concrete and pushed the conversation into far more practical territory. Going into 2026, the point isn’t whether students use AI, that ship has sailed, but how educators shape the moments when it supports exploration and deeper thinking rather than shortcuts it.
