Educause is a non-profit group formed to advance education through the "intelligent use of technology." It was formed in 1998 by the merger of two other groups. Oblinger has a PhD in cytogenetics, has been a faculty member, an academic dean, then fell in love, she says, with PCs, eventually joining for a dozen years, before returning to education. She was the first CIO appointed for the University of North Carolina system.

She has been with Educause since 2004, heading the . She succeeds Brian Hawkins, who led Educause for nearly a decade. She took on her new job in part to help the education community to "know what they know" and be able to act collectively on that knowledge.

I spoke with her on the exhibit floor where she was talking to Educause members during the group's annual conference, this year drawing more than 7,000 attendees, up 12% compared with last year. She's a slight woman, with a firm, clear, but soft-spoken voice, a direct look and a ready smile.

It's cliché to say education and technology is teeming with change. Are there any changes there you dislike?

The thing I don't like is the assumption that solutions [to problems] start with technology. It's not just information or [information] technology, but what you do with it. If you don't know what the problem is, you can't solve it, with or without the technology.