Web site lets New York City parents track data on students
After several months of delays, a web site that offers an interactive portfolio of New York City public school students' test scores, grades, and attendance rates will be…
Month: May 2009
‘DTXTR’ translates teen text into English
Wot r ur students txting? If you're wondering -- or 1dering -- there's a new online translation tool that helps decipher the code, AFP reports.
Senate bill supports 21st-century skills
States offering students curriculum options that integrate key 21st-century skills would receive matching federal funds through an incentive bill introduced in the U.S. Senate May 13 by West…
Gates Foundation: Teachers trump class size
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation spent billions of dollars exploring the idea that smaller high schools might result in higher graduation rates and better test scores. Instead,…
Web site caters to student, faculty travelers
Caitlin Richelson was looking to save on a plane ticket to Puerto Rico for spring break. Richelson, a senior at Leslie University in Massachusetts, perused a handful of…
Kansas school stirs debate over outsourced classes
Just how much can a college outsource and still be a college? The question is no longer just academic at Fort Hays State University in Kansas. Under a…
Apple goes green, launches free recycling
K-12 schools and higher-education institutions can recycle their used computers and peripherals from any manufacturer free of charge, under a new limited-time offer from Apple Inc. Key words:…
Tennessee passes cyber-bullying legislation
Tennessee legislation aimed at preventing cyber bullying is headed to Gov. Phil Bredesen, who is expected to allow it to become law, reports the Commercial Appeal.
Bonuses for struggling venture rile some
Ten employees of the University of Illinois's Global Campus were rewarded with performance bonuses while the online program struggled to attract and maintain students, according to reports that…
Study: Virtual schools can help cut costs
New research suggests that more K-12 public school students will take classes online and will have longer school days in the next decade--and academic improvement and cost savings…
Obama names first Hispanic to High Court
President Barack Obama on May 26 named federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor as his choice to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter--making her the first Hispanic in…
Economic woes could reduce technology in K-12 classrooms
A report released by the American Association of School Administrators reveals that many school budgets will be cut during the 2009-10 school year because of reduced funding --…
Should teachers, kids be digital ‘friends’?
With online social networks and similar tools rocketing in popularity, some teachers have started using these tools to build rapport, update students on classroom activities, and keep an…
Learn about free eBooks that can supplement or replace classroom texts
"E-Books Directory" is an online resource that contains links to freely downloadable eBooks, technical papers, and documents, as well as user-contributed content, articles, reviews, and comments. Launched in…
Bill would fund internet safety education
A federal lawmaker has introduced internet safety legislation that, if passed, would authorize roughly $175 million--$35 million a year for five years--for internet safety education and training to…
New iPod rules touch off heated debate
A new policy by the University of Missouri School of Journalism requiring incoming students to have an iPhone, iPod Touch, or similar device has touched off a heated…
Microsoft’s DigiGirlz Day helps girls tackle tech
During DigiGirlz Day at Microsoft's New England Research and Development (NERD) site in Cambridge, Mass., 177 high school girls recently programmed miniature robots, made musical Play-Doh, learned about…
UI center provides software to help those with reading difficulties
Thanks to a free new software program, University of Iowa students, faculty, and staff who have difficulty reading online will now have help with BrowseAloud, reports Media-Newswire.com.
Researchers: Invest more in community colleges
For higher education in the United States to match the education levels of other countries, more federal funding should be spent on nurturing community colleges, said speakers at…
Duncan outlines school reform agenda
Rewarding effective teaching, expanding the learning time, collecting meaningful data, and transforming underperforming high schools are the four key areas the U.S. Department of Education (ED) plans to…
L.A. Unified makes computer science accessible
With President Obama calling math and science education the key to good jobs in our future economy, Congress was told May 20 that a pilot program in Los…
UN agency seeks protection for children online
The UN telecommunications agency is drawing up guidelines to protect children from sexual predators operating on the internet, cyber bullying, and the temptations of online commerce, AFP reports.
Sixth grader wins Google logo contest
Technology prizes for you and your school, worldwide exposure, and the Google empire at your beck and call, if only for 24 hours -- not a bad day…
California considers open digital textbooks
In what could be a first-of-its-kind statewide initiative, California education leaders are working together to compile a list of free, open digital textbooks that meet state-approved standards and…
New device saves money on color printing
A new Xerox Corp. printer that uses solid-ink technology and a sliding price scale might be good news for schools and colleges that are trying to cut costs…
Google CEO to grads: ‘Turn off your computer’
The head of the world's most popular search engine urged college graduates on May 18 to step away from the virtual world and make human connections. Key words:…
North Carolina lawmakers want kids out of Google images
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and legislators from Charlotte and Raleigh on May 19 joined a child internet safety group as one of its leaders called for…
New web site prepares Colorado students for life after school
The U.S. ranks 15th out of 29 developed countries in the percentage of college students who complete their degrees, and 10th in the world in the percentage of…
ACLU sues over blocked web sites
The American Civil Liberties Union and its Tennessee branch sued two Tennessee school districts in federal court May 19, claiming that the districts are unconstitutionally blocking students from…
Bill would limit credit cards for college students
Legislation passed overwhelmingly in the Senate May 19 would make it tougher for college students to sign up for credit cards, which often put young people in debt…
Report: U.S. students lagging in biosciences
Middle and high school students across the country are generally falling behind in life sciences, and the nation is at risk of producing a dearth of qualified workers…
Higher-ed IT costs continue to rise
Technology spending among colleges and universities has swelled in recent years, but experts project only minimal increases from 2009-13, according to a report documenting a wide range of…
Free webinar series for teachers tackles Shakespeare, marine science, and more
Social-networking site Classroom 2.0 has teamed up with PBS Teachers and Elluminate Inc. to provide a series of free monthly webinars designed to help K-12 educators learn new…
No guidance on how to rein in the flu
As schools continue to shut down in New York and elsewhere because of swine flu, health officials are asking a question for which there is little guidance, even…
SMART Ease of Use video
What does it take to transform teaching and learning in extraordinary ways? At SMART, we know it starts with simplicity -- that's why we build easy into everything…
Dell aims new netbook at younger students
Dell Inc., already the largest seller of PCs to schools worldwide, is trying to extend its lead with its first low-cost "netbook" designed for young students at a…
Higher-ed IT costs continue to rise
Technology spending among colleges and universities has swelled in recent years, but experts project only minimal increases from 2009-13, according to a report documenting a wide range of…
Scribd opens new market for online texts
Hoping to do for the written word what iTunes did for music, the online document-sharing service Scribd is opening an internet store that will offer new sales opportunities…
Inadequate support infrastructure: Adversely impacting students
After 42 years in education and 37 years as an educational technologist, I recently retired from my latest position, chief technology officer of an extremely large urban school…
Facebook users hooked in new ‘phishing’ scam
Facebook on May 15 was blocking links to bogus web sites set up to look like the home page of the popular online social network in a "phishing"…