I recently returned from Cape Town, South African where I had the opportunity to visit two local schools. The first school, Christel House, was started by a private donor and designed to serve children from the poorest of poor families. You never would have known that these children sleep in corrugated metal shacks with 12‐15 people in one room, no nearby running water, no toilets, and gunfire as a constant companion.

At school they were star learners in an environment full of laughter, excellent teaching, and caring adults. The school graduates 97% of their students, their attendance rate is 98%, students meeting or exceeding grade level standards in language arts is 86% and in math it’s 82%.

Our second school was in the outskirts of Cape Town near a township. It is a public high school with limited resources. These children also live in a community rife with poverty, gang wars, and unemployment. We were given the opportunity to ask questions and I asked how many students were in the class we were visiting. “Forty,” I was told. I looked at the almost empty room and asked, “Where are the rest of your classmates?” to which a boy replied with a sheepish giggle “bunking.” Bunking, I learned on our way out of the classroom, means skipping school.

This school graduates only about 42% of the students who enter as freshmen. Of those, few go to college. The home environments of the children from these two schools are nearly identical. If there is a difference, the children in the second school might have a slight economic edge. But the future prospects of the children in these schools are worlds apart. I can’t say that technology is the only reason for the difference in these schools; it was more about a shared vision for how to give kids a chance to reach their potential. The staff and teachers in the Christel House school have the will and resources to carry out their ambitious vision. The first school used technology as a bridge to the world outside South Africa. The second school had a seven‐year old computer lab and no Internet access.

One of the primary purposes of my trip was to attend Microsoft’s Innovative Education Forum where teachers and schools from around the world come together to share ideas, learn together, build a global professional community focused on using technology. I was privileged to again serve as a judge for innovative teacher awards and came away inspired by the amazing things happening in classrooms around the world.

Access to technology alone is not enough to inspire students or deepen their learning, but my experience in South Africa helped me realize how digital technologies, paired with innovative and skilled teachers, can change lives. I am privileged to have the opportunity to travel the world on behalf of ISTE. I come back from these trips exhausted, but also inspired. It’s amazing to see what a difference a quality education can make in a child’s life.

Leslie S. Conery, CAE, PhD, Deputy CEO and ISTE Conference Chair, holds an MS degree in computer science and a PhD in curriculum and instruction with research emphases in the areas of educational technology and professional development. Dr. Conery brings a learner-centered perspective to her work on education transformation based on extensive classroom teaching and school administration experience. She serves on ISTE's leadership team for the NETS, the widely recognized and adopted educational technology standards. Conery has served on numerous boards and advisory groups supporting innovative educators on every continent and has collaborated with educators and policy-makers globally to bring about systemic change in education. Recent projects include increasing the representation of women in technology, developing assessments for digital age learning skills, and serving on the board of ICIE, ISTE’s affiliate in India. Conery serves as executive management responsible for ISTE’s membership, education leadership, conference, marketing and communications, and operations activities in the Eugene, Oregon offices.