Revolution or bubble?

The education conferences I attended during the dot-com bubble of the 1990s and early 2000s were fueled by optimism and venture capital. Those events radiated with the heady promise of education technology. These new digital tools were going to spark an education revolution, upending instruction and spurring students to achieve at ever higher rates.

In some ways, that promise was fulfilled. The internet provides information and resources, including interactive and multimedia-rich content, to students and teachers. It enables remote and personalized learning and creates avenues for collaboration.

In other ways, though, the hype was, well, overblown. Student achievement scores have been steady over the past three decades, while achievement and opportunity gaps between affluent and disadvantaged students remain.