Our first instinct is to use technology to do the same things faster. I remember when my university first got word processors, we set up a dedicated area with special secretaries who did nothing but word processing. It was used as a faster kind of typewriter. Only later did people begin to realize that the computer and word processing enabled everyone to compose more effectively, and that having specialists who did nothing but keyboard wasn't the right approach. In schools, we've gone through this preliminary period, and now we're at a point where technology could really take off for us.
Some educators seem tired of the hype about new technologies.
Teachers are often expected to do something different, but they don't have the resources or the training to do it very well. One of the mistakes that we made in implementing educational technology was focusing first on students rather than teachers, because when the computers on students' desks are mysterious devices to teachers, it's unreasonable to expect effective integration into the curriculum. People begin to use a technology when it is readily accessible and also when important information becomes available only through that technology. For example, businesses can encourage the integration of technology by not sending around paper announcements anymore, relying instead on e-mail. That forces people to get into the e-mail world.