NTLC was established by the Society for Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) (http://site.aace.org) to provide a forum for cross-disciplinary dialog about technology and teacher education.

SITE leaders and journal editors identified a need for dialog between the educational technology associations such as SITE and ISTE and the teacher educator associations. (See, for example, the editorial by Debra Sprague, editor of the Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, titled “Are We Talking to Ourselves?”)

NTLC has taken up this challenge. Currently the membership includes nine teacher educator associations representing the core content areas, educational technology, and teacher education. The coalition collectively publishes an interactive journal, holds an annual retreat each year, sponsors technology strands at the annual meetings of participating associations, and sponsors annual awards for exemplary work in this area.

The consortium also includes participation by the editors of leading educational technology journals, federal policy makers, and selected corporate partners. Current activities include proactive approaches to establishment of a research agenda for educational technology, collective identification of best practices, and advocacy for effective uses of educational technology, particularly as it pertains to in-service and pre-service teacher preparation.