The term ‘technology in education’ encompasses the application of technological advancements, including diverse equipment, materials, software, and hardware, for educational purposes. A highly experienced executive leader plays a crucial role in shaping an institution’s technological environment. By adopting a comprehensive approach to managing and enhancing technology resources, the leader ensures that these efforts align seamlessly with organizational objectives and drive innovation.

Mark L. Miller, Ph.D., President and Executive Director at The Miller Institute for Learning with Technology, is responsible for its strategic vision regarding technology adoption and innovation. He helps conduct thorough analyses of clients’ educational philosophies and current technology infrastructure, identifying areas needing improvement and offering recommendations. Staying abreast of industry trends and emerging technologies is essential for Mark, enabling him to maintain business competitiveness and adaptability.

Mark plays a unique role in exploring the thoughtful adoption of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and physical computing. For example, helping client districts create a three-year Educational Technology Plan, a dynamic and critical tool, requires an extensive skill set, including compelling leadership, technical expertise, business acumen, and persuasive communications abilities.

Collaboration and communication are central to Mark’s responsibilities. He often serves as the liaison between technical teams, compliance teams and various stakeholders, including internal and external senior management (such as school district IT Directors and Chief Business Officials). This ensures that technology initiatives align with pedagogical goals, teacher professional development plans, budget constraints, and other business needs and priorities.

A Fascination with Computers

Mark completed his junior year at Coronado High School in 1967. That summer, he was invited to attend a National Science Foundation Summer Mathematics Program at San Diego State University, where he first encountered an emerging field called Computer Science. There, Mark was introduced to an IBM 1620 computer with 20 kilobytes of memory, which fascinated him and cemented his interest in a future in this field. That same year, in Coronado, he met Alice—the love of his life.

Mark and Alice attended UC San Diego together, where Mark double-majored in Psychology and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science; he minored in Electronic Music. He began working at the UCSD Computer Center and, later, in the Bioengineering Research Lab. At the end of their first year, while many friends attended Woodstock, Mark and Alice married. They have since raised three sons and now have a 5-year-old grandson.

As an undergraduate, Mark was fortunate to be hired by Professor Don Norman in the Psychology Department to help implement the Lindsay-Norman-Rumelhart computer model of human memory. Professor Norman encouraged Mark’s interest in how computational models of human thinking and learning could advance education.

From Inspiration to Innovation

Professor Norman suggested that Mark read Perceptrons by Marvin Minsky and Seymour Papert. This book was life-changing for Mark. Upon graduation, Norman’s letter of recommendation helped secure Mark the opportunity to study at the intersection of two emerging fields, Cognitive Science and Computer Science, at MIT.

While at MIT, Mark worked part-time at a nearby think tank called Bolt, Beranek and Newman (BBN). He explored the promise of advanced computing technology for education in both contexts.

At MIT, Mark worked in Papert’s Logo programming language group within the AI Lab. At BBN, he collaborated on Intelligent Tutoring Systems with Jaime Carbonell, John Seely Brown, Al Collins, and others.

Mark completed his doctoral dissertation in 1979, focusing on how young children could develop computational thinking through writing Logo code. His research involved a pedagogically oriented programming environment emphasizing the planning and debugging of authentic student projects. Observing young children using Logo solidified his conviction that computers could revolutionize children’s learning.

Breaking New Ground

After his time at MIT and BBN, Mark headed to Texas Instruments (TI). Their Speak & Spell product sparked interest in educational technologies and was soon followed by a home computer oriented toward educational applications, including Logo. TI had the engineering talent to lead the way and produced a hardware-based ‘Sprite Board,’ increasing the capabilities of TI’s implementation of Logo. However, their TI 99/4 architecture fell short of Mark’s vision of what an educational computer should entail.

Mark then co-founded a start-up called Computer*Thought, which aimed to use more capable technologies for adult programmer training, a less cost-sensitive market. Following this venture, he joined Apple, becoming part of its Advanced Technology Group, focusing on AI and other emerging technologies for education and training.

The arrival of the Macintosh made Apple a dream come true for Mark, and he stayed for almost a decade. However, Apple eventually faced stiff price competition from Windows software running on Intel-based hardware, leading to challenging times for the company.

A Vision for Equitable Education

Mark’s journey then led him to found Learningtech.org^®, an establishment affiliated with The Miller Institute for Learning with Technology. His vision was to operate as a non-profit, making decisions based on progress in the sciences of computation and learning and the resulting engineering possibilities. The mission of Learningtech.org is to help schools use technology more effectively for learning.

Over the years, Mark and his team have explored many promising ideas that inspire and motivate learners, especially in STEM fields. They have also struggled to help schools avoid regressive technology uses that merely attempt to automate the worst aspects of traditional instruction.

Mark noticed that schools serving less fortunate students tended to have not only the least capable technologies but also the least inspiring ways of using technology for learning. An essential part of his vision was to ensure that less fortunate children were not left out of the future due to near-term costs.

Integrity, Perseverance and Social Justice

The core values driving Mark’s work at Learningtech.org include integrity, perseverance and social justice. A prime example of this commitment is an emphasis on ensuring that schools have fast, reliable access to the Internet.

Much of Learningtech.org’s recent efforts have focused on helping schools serving communities with high free/reduced lunch populations obtain better internet access through a federal discount program called E-Rate. This essential program involves a complex application process, making it challenging for many high-needs schools to apply successfully.

Due to E-Rate’s combination of complex procedures and significant funding at stake, expert consulting help tends to be essential. Learningtech.org charges schools a fee based on estimated labor costs to provide such expert consultation. In contrast, many for-profit competitors charge a percentage of the funding that the school would receive, often resulting in substantially higher costs. Worse, the for-profit approach creates a potential conflict of interest, as consulting firms may be tempted to recommend more expensive products and services than are necessary.

Fueling Passion and Vision

Mark stays motivated and inspired in his role in two primary ways. First, he has always remembered that sense of wonder and excitement he felt when he first encountered an early computer and succeeded in getting it to perform calculations by writing clear instructions. This early experience continues to drive his passion.

Second, Mark is driven by a vision of a world where every child’s early curiosity and sense of wonder can be celebrated and enriched through the power of knowledge technologies. He remains committed to realizing this vision, continually inspired by the potential to enhance learning and foster enthusiasm in children.

Building Lasting Impact

Having been involved with AI since the 1970s, Mark has witnessed its cycles of enthusiasm and hype, over-promising, periods of stagnation, and eventual recovery. He observes that, as a society, we need to become more adept at thinking long-term. Investors shift their focus to the next ‘shiny object’ if an outrageous return is not achieved within a year.

Mark emphasizes that realizing the vision for AI and advanced educational technologies requires recognizing that scientific progress is more akin to a marathon than a sprint. He also stresses the importance of integrating expertise from various fields. Incorporating knowledge from the learning sciences and experiential wisdom from world-class educators will enable these advanced technologies to fulfill their promise to revolutionize education.

Furthermore, technology initiatives that overlook non-technical considerations, such as social-emotional learning and the collaborative nature of projects, will fall short of achieving transformative impact. Mark advocates for less hype and more humility in our efforts to advance educational technology.

Addressing New Educational Needs

Before the pandemic, Learningtech.org held regular summer camps and after-school enrichment programs, offering scholarships to the neediest students and securing grants to provide some programs for free. Additional grants allowed the firm to support special groups, such as foster youth, with tailored activities addressing their unique needs.

In response to the pandemic, Mark and his team further emphasized E‑Rate—a crucial initiative for addressing remote or hybrid learning. Mark also sought ways to expand the company’s research activities, such as an NSF project with Stanford involving student-programmable liquid-handling robots. While their primary community remains centered in San Carlos, California, Learningtech.org has helped hundreds of schools and districts in nearly a dozen states.

Balancing Personal and Professional Life

Mark maintains an imperfect balance between his personal and professional lives. Alice, also heavily involved with education, ensures both find time to connect with family and friends. Still, Mark found it necessary to take a break from his passion for martial arts during much of his tenure at Apple.

However, since transitioning to working from home, he has earned his Instructor stripe and resumed working toward his 2nd Dan in Tae Kwon Do. Although he has not yet found much time to return to playing music, he has recently begun practicing again.

Mark regularly plays chess online, though he rarely engages in over-the-board matches. He readily acknowledges that he remains behind in his reading. Over the past five years, he has taught Computer Science at Northeastern University’s Silicon Valley campus. This has offered new opportunities to engage in research and pursue related academic interests, such as starting to write a book based on one of his graduate courses. He also serves as a Chapter Leader for the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Computer Science Teachers Association.

Enhancing Efficiency and Expanding Impact

Internally, Learningtech.org has developed a database tool that significantly enhances E‑Rate consultant productivity. This tool is currently in beta testing, with older tools still in use as a safety net.

Since the transition to the new tool is nearly complete, Mark expects that Learningtech.org will be able to help more schools more cost-effectively. In parallel, Mark has been leveraging his role at Northeastern University to expand his involvement in research on the best ways to use technologies such as AI in education.

The Journey Matters

Mark emphasizes the importance of never forgetting the journey that led to one’s current position. He advises focusing on passion projects supporting the desire to make a meaningful difference rather than being driven by short-term profitability.

Mark believes in treating employees like family and striving to make every client a ‘reference account.’ He also underscores the value of remaining humble and kind while pursuing work one loves.