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But globally, many thought technology would revolutionize education. Despite our collective administrative and pedagogical missteps, it has. Yet, the reasons technologies didn't work in those early lecture classes are the same reasons we continue to struggle with implementing them now. We are expecting too much of technology if we believe it will single-handedly fix problems with education. The majority of problems with education extend beyond the classroom: they are societal.

No matter how many laptops we put in classrooms or wi-fi networks we set up, if kids are in a district where schools are closing and class time is reduced due to budget shortfalls, learning is going to suffer. No matter how innovative the online textbook system, if kids are in classrooms where the teacher has received no training or even advanced notice that a new system is going to be used, learning is going to suffer. Regardless of how promising the innovation, it will suffer from the lack of technical support in a majority of districts or increasingly higher demands on teachers without appropriate increases in training and support.

" Technology alone is not going to move an organization or an individual from Good to Great. However, technology that is thoughtfully deployed can help us move a bit faster. "

"I am keenly aware that many of my colleagues are not, for various reasons, gung ho about educational technology. And it's interesting. Quite often, the teachers who are hesitant to adopt new technology are great - in fact, amazing - educators. They are frequently veterans and usually leaders in their academic field and within their institutions. In my role as tech advocate, I habitually find myself trying to coax these established educators to use new tools and incorporate new methodologies. Here are some ways I have found to be successful in this endeavor."

"At TeachThought, we tend towards the tech-infused model, but do spend time exploring the limits and challenges of technology, the impact of rapid technology change, and carefully considering important questions before diving in head-first. The following take on 21st century learning developed by TeachThought is notable here because of the absence of technology. There is very little about iPads, social media, 1:10 laptops, or other tech-implementation. In that way, it is closer to the "classic" approach to "good learning" than it is the full-on digital fare we often explore. The size of the circles on the map are intended to convey priority."

"As a teacher, it is a wonderful feeling to see students being engaged and interacting in their learning. Since our school's 1:1 iPad initiative in all Math and Science classrooms, I have become passionate about finding technology tools that will motivate and inspire my students to learn. Great use of iPads technology tools directly impacts the learning environment of the classroom. The following is a list of free apps and websites that I have found that really motivates and inspires my students to be actively engaged in their learning."

"A fabulous new infographic spells out exactly how undergraduate students are using technology, what they prefer, and how they want teachers to use tech. In other words, this infographic is beyond useful and worth passing around to your colleagues. Some of the stats might surprise you. I was personally surprised by the fact that more than half of students wanted their teachers to communicate more using face-to-face methods (as opposed to a digital manner). What surprises you?"

"Literacy has always been a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared among members of particular groups. As society and technology change, so does literacy. Because technology has increased the intensity and complexity of literate environments, the twenty-first century demands that a literate person possess a wide range of abilities and competencies, many literacies. These literacies-from reading online newspapers to participating in virtual classrooms-are multiple, dynamic, and malleable. As in the past, they are inextricably linked with particular histories, life possibilities and social trajectories of individuals and groups. Twenty-first century readers and writers need to "

A great spoken word poem that points out that there are gaps between what we can do with technology and what we are doing with technology. We can make powerful changes in the world using digital tools, but we aren't. Share this in the cause driven learning sessions I do.

"If the recent iPad debacle in Los Angeles teaches us anything it's that no amount of money and technology will change anything without a modern vision of what teaching and learning looks like when every student and every teacher has access to the Internet. As many of us have been saying for far too long, our strategy to deal with the continuing explosion of technology and connections can't be to simply layer devices on top of the traditional curriculum and engage in digital delivery. Unfortunately, far too few develop a vision that sees that differently."

"Participate in this activity for students to explore current issues using social media. Do Now is a weekly activity for students to engage and respond to current issues using social media tools like Twitter. KQED aims to introduce 21st Century skills and add value to learning through the integration of relevant local content and new media tools and technologies. Do Now gives students a chance to practice civic engagement and digital citizenship skills while they explore ways to connect topics in their classes to the present day. Here's a breakdown of how Do Now works: Do Now activities are posted every Friday evening at kqed.org/donow. There's a brief intro to the topic and a media resource that can be played directly on the website. At the top of the activity, there's a question for students to respond to after they go through the intro and media resource to deepen the understanding of the topic. Students should then respond to the Do Now either in the comments section on the website or they can tweet their response (each student must create a Twitter account)."

"There's been ample discussion in K-12 classrooms recently about the quality, or lack thereof, of students' online research skills. Such concerns came to a head late last year when a national survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project indicated that 60 percent of teachers believe digital technologies make it hard for students to distinguish between credible and noncredible sources online. But here's something you probably didn't know: One of the best and most robust resources for teaching digital literacy can be found on one of the Web's most persistent trouble spots: Google."

"new Pew Research survey of more than 2,400 middle school and high school teachers released today shows that, while teachers believe technology has helped with their teaching, it's also brought new challenges - including the possibility of creating a bigger rift between low-income and high-income students."

"Finding ways for kids to communicate information can be a bit of a challenge. Its easy to fall into the Power Point or Prezi track. Or even easier to not offer up any technology opportunities at all. There are loads of great creation/presentation tools out there. Voicethread, Google Sites, Animoto just to name a few are some of the creative ways in the past I've covered. But I am always on the look out for something new and easy to use. And I think I might have found that. Tackk. "

"The following is a guest post by Catlin Tucker, one of SimpleK12's presenters. Click here to watch Catlin's Webinars inside the Teacher Learning Community. Tech Tools Perfect for Teaching Common Core Math Standards MathTools1 The Common Core Standards for math stress real world relevance, creative problem solving, collaboration and communication. "One hallmark of mathematical understanding is the ability to justify…why a particular mathematical statement is true or where a mathematical rule comes from" (Common Core Standards). Encouraging students to engage with math actively is easier to do when educators explore technology."

"Poking through my Twitterstream the other day, I stumbled across a great quote from digital thought-leader Marc Prensky. He wrote: "Technology gives kids power that people their age have never had. Let's help them use it wisely." That's an incredibly important point, isn't it? The fact of the matter is that the kids sitting in your classroom - whether they are six or sixteen - don't have to sit on life's sidelines waiting until they grow up in order to make a difference in the world around them. Instead, they can be agents of change today. In my classroom, that agency starts and ends with digital tools. "

"Poking through my Twitterstream the other day, I stumbled across a great quote from digital thought-leader Marc Prensky. He wrote: "Technology gives kids power that people their age have never had. Let's help them use it wisely." That's an incredibly important point, isn't it? The fact of the matter is that the kids sitting in your classroom - whether they are six or sixteen - don't have to sit on life's sidelines waiting until they grow up in order to make a difference in the world around them. Instead, they can be agents of change today. In my classroom, that agency starts and ends with digital tools."

"To create your own Flipboard magazine you have to first create a free Flipboard account. Then install the Flipboard bookmarklet in your browser (Firefox, Chrome, or Safari). After you have the bookmarklet installed you can click it whenever you find something you want to add to one of your Flipboard magazines. You can also send items to your magazines from withing the Flipboard app as you read through your feeds. To do that just click the "+" icon while reading an article in Flipboard. You can create public and private magazines for as many topics as you like. For example, you could create a magazine about teaching mathematics and a magazine about school administration."

"Blogging is an important part of who I am as a professional. I can use this space to share resources with you, reflect on my own practice and try to figure out how to be a better educator. It is my public reflection on technology, leadership and learning. Think about when you were in school. You write an essay. Who read it? Most likely the teacher and that is where it ended. You pour hours and hours into reflections on Shakespear, the economic and political effects of wars on society or how plants have evolved over time, yet the only person who read your thoughts are the teacher. Maybe you shared with a close friend or even the class. But generally the world was unaware of your thoughts and feelings. Blogging changes that for kids. Now the audience is global and anyone can read, and in some cases respond and comment. Kids can post their writing, projects, thoughts and reflections. Teachers can provide prompts or starters and kids can pick up and run with it. More and more teachers and classrooms are embracing blogging in the classroom. You're thinking about it, but are unsure where to even start or how to get started. Lets take a look at some classroom blogging resources to get started with. There are lots of platforms to use. And the one you pick will depend on your district (blocked or not, policies, etc.) and how you want to manage them. Two very popular platforms are Edublogs and Kidblog. Both are very teacher friendly and ofter lots of features that make management easy. Edublogs has a great Getting Started section that will walk you through creation of your blogs and how to use them in the classroom. "

"If the best use of the technology at our disposal we can imagine is the evolutionary filmstrip and the evolutionary Scantron, our failure will be epic and tragic. - Chris Lehmann (via Joe Bower), in reference to YouTube's announcement that it is piloting a multiple-choice quiz feature"

"Technology has enabled us to interact, innovate and share in whole new ways. This dynamic shift in mindset is creating profound change throughout our society. The Future of Learning looks at one part of that change, the potential to redefine how we learn and educate. Watch as we talk with world renowned experts and educators about its potential to shift away from traditional methods of learning based on memorization and repetition to more holistic approaches that focus on individual students' needs and self expression."