Teens honored for their science prowess
The Washington, D.C.-based Society for Science and the Public honored the 2009 winners of the Intel Science Talent Search on March 10, recognizing 40 high school seniors for…
Month: March 2009
New campus safety issue: Cell phone stalking
The college student had endured months of online and cell-phone harassment from her ex-boyfriend. She ignored the barrage of eMails, changed her phone number, and dismantled online profiles…
School scraps cell phone jammer program
Just days after testing a cell phone jammer designed to block students from calling and texting during class, a Spokane, Wash., area school has scrapped the program, MSNBC…
School shooter warned of attack, in chat room
The 17-year-old gunman who went on a rampage at his former school and killed 15 people before taking his own life gave a warning in an Internet chatroom…
New fed funding for ed tech nears $1 billion
New federal funding for education technology approaches $1 billion. The federal Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program will receive nearly $270 million for fiscal year 2009, thanks to…
Forum calls for better data use in education
Speakers at a forum about the use of longitudinal data in education stressed the importance of comprehensive data systems that follow students throughout their educational careers--from kindergarten to…
Schools should see stimulus funds next month
School districts should begin receiving billions of dollars in stimulus funding within a few weeks, and administrators are advised to "spend carefully" and keep detailed records of their…
Police shoot gunman who killed 15 in Germany
A 17-year-old gunman dressed in black opened fire at his former high school in southwestern Germany on Wednesday, killing at least 15 people before police shot him to…
Schools try separating boys from girls
Single-sex classes are being tried as an experiment to address sagging test scores and behavioral problems in a growing number of schools nationwide, reports the New York Times.
Montana legislators back K-12 distance learning
State lawmakers in Montana have endorsed a measure to create a new distance-learning program that would give students in every school district virtual access to both basic and…
Colleges mull new music royalty structure
The nonprofit group Choruss, one of the organizations promoting blanket licensing for the use of digital music, is meeting with higher-education officials to formulate a plan for the…
Reading, Writing, and Technology
While the promise of classroom technology offers great advantages, for many teachers it often seems like more of an inconvenience than a resource. Using technology to shape lesson…
Obama backs merit pay, early childhood education
With an emphasis on 21st-century education, President Obama called for better early childhood education programs, tougher teacher standards, and increased pay for outstanding educators and desperately-needed math and…
Obama decision on stem cells cheers scientists
President Barack Obama's decision to lift the contentious Bush-era restraints on stem-cell research came with a larger message for all scientists: Follow the data, not political ideology, reports…
Teachers say they might tape-record students
Teachers in El Paso County, Texas, say they might begin tape-recording students in their classrooms as a means of self-protection, reports the El Paso Times.
Lawsuit tackles school sports webcasts
The association that oversees high school sports in Wisconsin is suing the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and one of its papers, the Post-Crescent of Appleton, Wis., in a dispute…
Teachers pair up for March 11 space shot
Two science teachers who have spent the past five years under NASA's tutelage are about to graduate with high-flying honors. Key words: science teachers, NASA, space shuttle
Obama wants to increase federal role in lending
President Obama last week proposed a huge expansion of the government's role in making college more affordable and putting it within reach of more students. The move --…
Obama overturns Bush policy on stem cells
Reversing a policy established under George W. Bush, President Barack Obama on March 9 cleared the way for a significant increase in federal dollars for embryonic stem-cell research,…
Microsoft offers tech training to fill 21st-century jobs
During the National Governors Association conference in Washington, D.C., last month, software giant Microsoft Corp. announced a new initiative, called Elevate America, that aims to provide up to…
U.S. to nation’s schools: Spend fast, keep receipts
The New York Times reports that Education Secretary Arne Duncan sent a message to the nation's school officials last week saying, in effect: Heads up! We'll be sending…
Teen-created Muziic likely to irk YouTube
A 15-year-old has created a free-music service by harnessing YouTube's vast library of music videos--and that could rankle YouTube owner Google Inc., CNET reports.
How to get the most out of alert systems
Schools and colleges that invest thousands of dollars in emergency-alert systems also need to promote awareness of and participation in these systems for them to be effective, experts…
Texting in class sparks bill to ban cell phones
A debate over Iowa students and their cell phones has shifted from the classroom to the Capitol, reports the Des Moines Register.
Panel: Texas schools must embrace electronic textbooks
Advocates for more technology in the classroom, and fewer textbooks, are stepping up their arguments for change this year, trying to convince Texas lawmakers that the future of…
Podcast trumps lecture in one college study
The ability to pause and rewind podcast lectures gave the upper hand to college students in a recent study that compared the performance of students who attended a…
eSN-TV: AASA on ED’s outreach to supes
During the American Association of School Administrators' (AASA) annual conference held in San Francisco, Daniel A. Domenech, executive director of AASA, sat down with eSchool News' editor and…
Debate arises between proponents of ‘core knowledge’ vs. ’21st-century skills’
A small group of outspoken education scholars is challenging the assumption that students need to be taught 21st-century skills, saying the push for these skills is taking a…
District wants to provide wireless network to poor students
The Plano, Texas, school district is looking for a way to close the digital divide between poor students and their peers. School officials envision a wireless internet network…
Students school lawmakers on tech’s value
Students from four Georgia school districts were on Capitol Hill March 4 showing federal lawmakers how technology is being used to enhance teaching and learning in their classrooms--and…
“Use it or lose it” approach to technology garners impressive results
A distinctive trait of North Carolina's Cumberland County Schools (CCS) is not resting on our laurels, which explains why we went searching for a way to improve student…
Subscription-based cloud helps Pike County extend computers to more students
Through a subscription-based cloud-computing model, Kentucky's Pike County Schools brought its student-to-computer ratio down to 2 to 1 without spending millions of dollars. Key words: cloud-computing, student-to-computer ratio
Virtual Computing Laboratory delivers IT resources on demand
At North Carolina State University (NCSU), requesting IT services couldn't be simpler, thanks to cloud-computing. Key words: cloud-computing, higher education cloud-computing
630 servers, one machine: Cloud computing on a mainframe
An upstate New York college sees great economic advantage by running cloud computing on a mainframe. Key words: cloud computing, higher education cloud computing
School, district web sites lag behind competitors
School web sites should lead the way when it comes to showcasing student work and sharing school news and information.
Google Earth now allows exploration of oceans, Mars
Google Inc. has launched a new version of its Google Earth software that allows users to explore the oceans, view images of Mars, and watch regions of the…
SunGard division purchases K-12 software maker
Software company SunGard Data Systems Inc. said its Florida-based Public Sector business unit has acquired Performance Pathways Inc., which provides instructional management software for K-12 school districts, reports…
Web site turns school ties into job opportunities
In a job market contracting every month, professional connections can be the difference between landing an interview or continuing an arduous job search. That's why the co-founders of…
NCTE defines writing for the 21st century
The prevalence of blogs, wikis, and social-networking web sites has changed the way students learn to write, according to the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)--and schools…
AASA: Educate the ‘total child’
Three days after his confirmation as U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan reportedly called Dan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, to arrange a…