The organization formerly known as the International Society for Technology in Education has rebranded for the second time in four years, swapping "Technology" for "Transforming" in its acronym. CEO Richard Culatta announced the name change at the organization's ISTELive 26 + ASCD Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, held June 28 to July 1, revealing that ISTE+ASCD will now be called the International Society for Transforming Education — still ISTE, but with a different meaning. The shift comes as schools grapple with generative artificial intelligence and growing criticism over student screen time.
The rebrand follows a 2022 merger between the International Society for Technology in Education and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, or ASCD, one of the oldest and largest K-12 professional development associations. Since the merger, the combined organization operated under the temporary name ISTE+ASCD, co-located its mega conferences, and worked to define its mission as a centralized resource for educators navigating teaching and learning in the digital age. The organization's leaders promised to eventually unveil a new, permanent name after determining what the merged entity would become.
According to Culatta, "ISTE was never really about the technology. We were about accelerating innovation," while "ASCD was never about supervision and curriculum development. It was about transforming learning through providing good supports to school leaders." He explained that both legacy organizations "had names that were about what they did" and that the organization is "now shifting to a name that describes why we do it." Culatta added that the organization chose the word "transforming" because "we are in a moment where we need to transform learning," noting concerns that "there isn't enough of a drive to really rethink and reimagine some key parts of learning."
The timing reflects mounting challenges in education technology. Schools are wrestling with generative AI tools that can personalize lessons for struggling students but also enable cheating and create student-data privacy risks. At the same time, school districts nationwide are rethinking their technology use amid criticism from parents and bipartisan political pushback against increased student screen time. Culatta said the organization deliberately delayed the rebrand, explaining they received advice to "become what you want to be, and then you rename" rather than choose a name first and try to live up to it. The new name signals a shift from simply integrating technology to fundamentally rethinking assessment, teaching methods, and other core aspects of learning.