Center for Digital Education names 2026 EdX Award winners

The Center for Digital Education has announced the inaugural Education Experience Awards, recognizing 11 public K-12 and higher education institutions using technology to improve student success, access, and support services. Seven winning projects include artificial intelligence, underscoring how schools are using tech to streamline operations and better serve students, families, and educators.

Why it matters: - The inaugural EdX Awards spotlight how schools and colleges are using technology to solve practical problems, not just adopt new tools. - The winning projects focus on enrollment, course access, graduation support, family engagement, and staff efficiency. - Seven of the 11 winning projects use artificial intelligence in a major way, showing how quickly AI is moving into education operations.

What happened: - The Center for Digital Education, a brand of e.Republic, announced the winners of the inaugural Education Experience Awards on October 21, 2026. - The awards honor 11 public K-12 and higher education institutions for technology projects that improve how students learn and how schools serve families and educators. - Brian Cohen, vice president of the Center for Digital Education, said the projects show what is possible when technology decisions start with the needs of students, educators and families.

The details: - The K-12 winners are Vail Unified School District; Jeffco Public Schools; The School District of Palm Beach County; NYCPS Division of Instructional and Information Technology; and Khan World School @ ASU Prep. - The higher education winners are Columbia University in the City of New York; Merced Community College District; College of Staten Island (CSI; CUNY); The Friday Institute at North Carolina State University; University of Hawaiʻi System; and The Technical College System of Georgia. - The winning projects aim to simplify school enrollment, expand access to courses, keep students on track to graduate, and help educators identify student needs sooner. - The projects also highlight responsible AI implementation as a recurring theme. - AI is being used to support classroom instruction, strengthen cybersecurity, improve access to information, and reduce time spent on administrative tasks. - The winners and their projects are available at the full list of award winners. - The Center for Digital Education describes itself as a national research and advisory organization focused on technology policy and best practices in K-12 and higher education. More information is available at the Center for Digital Education.

Between the lines: - The awards suggest education technology is being judged less on novelty and more on measurable impact for students, families and staff. - The large number of AI-focused winners points to a broader shift in how education systems are integrating automation and decision support. - The emphasis on responsible AI reflects growing concern about how schools deploy these tools.

What's next: - The winning institutions will likely serve as examples for other districts and campuses looking to improve service delivery and student outcomes. - The award program may help define which education technology use cases become the most visible and repeatable in the next year. - The Center for Digital Education says it will continue to provide events, content and communities focused on education technology policy and best practices.

The bottom line: - The first EdX Awards frame education technology as a tool for fixing everyday pain points, with AI becoming a central part of that effort.