The use of information and communications technology (ICT) in education is a relatively new phenomenon. Educators, researchers and thinkers have taken up the challenges of using ICT since the 1980s with varied success. The advent of the internet and the World Wide Web has pressured new productivity and service demands as well as expectations on these endeavours although research to guide best practice remains scant and elusive. This discussion about the trends occurring in ICT in education and research begins with a brief history. The brief history of ICT raises a number of issues that provide options for thinking about the future and the pathways that ICT may take in an education context.