When Sandy Armstrong was studying to become a teacher, technology instruction was limited to learning how to use an overhead projector or run a reel-to-reel movie over a player's spindle. This was 1989. Computers and advanced technology just weren't part of the vocabulary or the curriculum in Armstrong's pre-service program at Auburn University in Alabama. Key words: teacher education, 21st-century skills, teacher technology use, classroom technology use

Zach Bonner is a smart kid, but he's a bit confused to hear that some adults still assume students in online schools are somehow worse off and spend all day chained to a computer, never learning to socialize in the real world. Key words: online learning, K-12 online learning, virtual learning, distance learning

In the same way a utility company delivers electricity, natural gas, or water--you sign up, then don't have to think about it any more--cloud computing delivers IT services to the end user. Advocates of this service model say it's simpler, faster, and cheaper for organizations to implement--which is why cloud computing is soaring in popularity amid the gloomy economy. Key words: cloud computing, cloud computing and higher education, cloud computing and K-12

New research suggests overworked and understaffed school IT departments are spending too much time reacting to technology problems--and not enough time on training and integration. Key words: SchoolDude, school IT staff, school technical support

Students in a South Texas classroom had taken on the role of employees at CleanWater Tech, a fictional U.S. company that produces water filtration technology, and were poring over the economic indicators of various unnamed countries, trying to decide into which nation the company should expand.

Within the pages of this special supplement to eSchool News you'll get expert advice on how to cut costs without cutting vital school services, learn about a new resource that can help you implement energy-saving strategies, a checklist of practices employed by savvy grant seekers, and discover ways to raise funds when the grants landscape dries up.

Project-based learning engages students and garners results, its proponents say; it is a successful approach to instruction for a variety of reasons: For one thing, it helps students retain the information they learn. For another, it engages students' interest and motivates them to learn. One of the main reasons kids drop out of school is because they're bored. With project-based learning, students are encouraged to explore their own interests and to make connections to the world beyond school.

In today's schools, where 21st-century skills are essential to a student's ability to compete in an increasingly global economy, internet connections are often taken for granted. But for employees in the multitude of schools who rely on the federal E-rate program to fund those internet connections, simply applying for funding can lead to a confusing process. Still, in a survey sponsored by eSchool News and E-rate consulting firm Funds For Learning, the majority of respondents said that despite the program's complexity, the E-rate is indeed helping schools and libraries connect to the internet. The survey responses address every E-rate issue, from a profile of the typical E-rate manager to the key challenges participants face in applying to the program. Find out where your school fits in, and review suggestions from survey respondents on how the E-rate could improve.

A revolution is taking shape that will alter forever how educators and others view and use technology--most specifically their personal computers. Gone will be today's most stubborn IT challenges: conflicting operating systems bulging with fat applications, duplicate programs that must be installed and maintained on individual computers, user-instituted security breaches that threaten whole networks. All these challenges that have drained IT resources and kept hardware costs high could soon be just quaint memories. Reason: The era of the virtual desktop has dawned. Read all about it--what it is, how it works, and how lighthouse school districts such as Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia and Georgia's Putnam County School District and Rockdale County School District are demonstrating the benefits of virtual desktop today. Welcome to the revolution. The Editors of eSchool News

For educators who buy or use projectors - those abbreviations (DLP = Digital Light Processing; LCD = Liquid Crystal Display) are of critical importance. Each technology has its strong points, but sorting through the conflicting claims is hard to do without expert guidance. Fortunately, guidance and analysis are just what you get in this objective Special Report from the editors of eSchool News.