The past year saw a number of developments that were significant to educational technology. In this two-part look back at 2005, the editors of eSchool News count down what we believe are the 10 most noteworthy of these stories--many of which will continue to make headlines in the coming year.

10. Schools seek legal alternatives to peer-to-peer file sharing

One year after the entertainment industry began suing computer users suspected of swapping copyright-protected songs and movies online, the industry set its sights on college students in particular: In April, it filed lawsuits against more than 400 students for allegedly using Internet2 connections for illegal file-sharing activity on campus.

These latest lawsuits gave school leaders an even greater incentive to seek out legal alternatives to peer-to-peer file sharing networks. Already, a growing number of colleges and universities across the country had begun introducing services that enable their students to download music and movie files over their high-speed computer networks legally.

School leaders increasingly have come to view these services as a "win-win-win" situation: Students can access their favorite media in digital format; schools can use these services as a recruiting tool; and the entertainment industry--which has funded many of these projects--can shape the habits of future customers.

Schools looking to crack down on illegal file sharing across their networks also got a huge boost from the U.S. Supreme Court in June, when it ruled that internet file-sharing services can be held responsible if they intend for customers to use their software primarily to share content illegally.

But, despite a considerable rise in the number of schools that now provide legal music and movie downloading services for their students, many industry experts say the pirating of digital media continues to be a problem on campus.

Students who have tried these legal alternatives to peer-to-peer file sharing networks point to their rather limited options and terms of use, suggesting these services need to offer better choices before they will catch on widely among students--and pay off for schools.

See these related stories:

Digital downloads big media on campus
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=5613

Record companies target Internet2
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstory.cfm?ArticleID=5620

High Court rules against file sharing
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstory.cfm?ArticleID=5739

Illegal file-sharing continues on campus
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=5864