After a well deserved break and perhaps a bit of indulgence over the holidays, we are now back to the books and looking ahead at what 2013 has in store for education.

Last year we watched as school districts embraced mobile learning and universities relied more on collaborative technologies. Those that took the leap and accepted new tools and educational models were rewarded with improved student performance, accelerated partnerships and more.

With a landmark year for education technology behind us, now is the time to harness the momentum and drive innovation forward in 2013. So as we slither into the year of the snake, here are four high impact trends worth watching:

• Perfecting the Flipped Classroom: As more teachers do the flip, they will reconsider how to empower students and hone in on the most effective ways to use class time. In 2013, we'll be sure to see more innovation around this technology-enabled classroom model.
• Transition to hybrid learning:With online courses on the rise, educators will experiment how to best integrate them with traditional teaching methods. This year schools and universities will hone in on the most effective formats for learning in the digital age.
• Rise of the cloud:Schools and universities are more connected than ever. As trends like flipped and hybrid learning catch fire, IT departments will rely on the cloud to deliver services securely and reliably to the classroom and beyond.
• Bring-Your-Own-Everything:In 2012 we witnessed the rise of personal devices in government agencies, businesses and classrooms. As we embark on 2013, students will expect a unified classroom experience where they can seamlessly connect to information and resources anywhere.

Over the next few weeks, I'll take a deeper dive into each of these trends, but in the meantime -are you seeing other trends impacting education this year? Inside or outside the classroom?