I have a background in IT and am not a teacher, but I am deeply interested in learning more about educational technology. I think it's important to understand the history of "education reform" and what has succeeded and what has failed in the past.

It seems to me that there is no "magic bullet" for applying technology to education. There's no app, no device, no specific technology that will really revolutionize our educational system.

There are at least two essential things that I've noticed in my brief time thinking about this subject.

1. The focus should be on "better education" not "more technology".

2. Engaging early adopters is critical to get anything done in a relatively short amount of time.

80% of teachers are too busy teaching with their existing, "tried and true" methods and aren't interested in whatever new technology is being presented this school year.

I really like the ideas that seem to be coming from Khan Academy where they are testing the best ways of learning, not just running with assumptions.