History has dealt computer and information science a special role in the inevitable restructuring of the educational system in the United States. In the coming decade computing and information technology will be the backbone of the most significant change in education in over 100 years. Rather than being an adjunct to learning and teaching, technology is facilitating a fundamental re-thinking of what should be learned and how. Such changes present the Communications readership with a unique opportunity and a serious responsibility. Toward meeting this challenge, in this column I will address some key issues in education and technology. For example, this first column examines how our basic notion of what needs to be learned is changing, and how this affects the ways in which technology is used. Subsequent columns will explore topics such as “programming's role in learning,” “multi-media, and nationwide, computer-based,” testing.