Disney turns its focus to curriculum
Readers might associate Disney with its slew of animated features over the years. Now, the company is hoping educators will think of it as a provider of educational…
Month: April 2010
Are today’s students addicted to social media?
University of Maryland students who went 24 hours without TV, cell phones, MP3 players, and laptops reported symptoms you might expect from someone struggling with substance abuse, including…
Insurer won’t pay legal costs in Pa. webcam spying case
An insurance company says it won't pay legal costs for a suburban Philadelphia school district accused in a lawsuit of spying on students through laptop webcams, reports the…
University of Minnesota sends books to Google for digitization
The University of Minnesota libraries are sending their first shipment of books to be digitized to Google this month as part of the Google books project, reports the…
Online lockers keep school in students’ reach
An increasing number of students are using remote internet connections to complete their assignments and communicate with teachers and fellow students, while a portfolio of their work is…
Texting poetry inspires kids to learn
New York’s Chester School District is one of several districts that are taking bold steps in the use of new media technology in classrooms, reports the Times Herald-Record.
Computer forensics clicks with cops, colleges
Computer forensics is not a new field, but it is receiving a lot more attention in light of a slew of television shows—and now college programs are responding…
Universities look toward data to stabilize enrollment numbers
University of Kansas officials are considering working with a data-mining company to pinpoint strategies to keep students enrolled after a recent report showed that 28.7 percent of freshmen…
Solar power making a comeback among schools
Web surfers requesting a Google Earth view of the Athenian School in Danville, Calif., are greeted with an image of what school officials call the "solar A"—a mass…
For web’s new wave, sharing details is the point
Mark Brooks wants the whole web to know that he spent $41 on an iPad case at an Apple store, $24 eating at an Applebee’s, and $6,450 at…
Mobile TV: Better options coming soon
Mobile video in the United States is a sleeping giant that is just now waking up, PC World reports.
Intel CFO sees U.S. losing battle for high-tech jobs
CFO reports that the United States continues to lose ground in the battle for high-tech jobs because of its lack of outreach to domestic companies, Intel's finance chief…
Poor teachers may hamper good students: U.S. study
Researchers said an unusual genetic study supports the argument that good teachers make a difference and shows that poor teachers may do damage, even to gifted students, Reuters…
Survey: ‘Digital natives’ need more IT support
A recent survey shows even tech-savvy college students require more campus IT support than you might think.
Panel: Cell phones have much potential in classrooms
Teachers are finding creative ways to include mobile phones in instruction in an effort to bridge the divide between the technologies children use at home and what they…
McAfee antivirus program freezes school computers
Computers in schools, companies, and hospitals around the world got stuck repeatedly rebooting themselves April 21 after an antivirus program identified a normal Windows file as a virus,…
Cheating vs. collaboration: Fine line for computer-science students
A recent article entitled "Why computer science students cheat" hit a raw nerve for undergraduates, software professionals, and hiring executives, Network World reports.
Study: Brain games don’t make you smarter
People playing computer games to train their brains might as well be playing Super Mario, reports the Associated Press.
Museums take their lessons to the schools
To make up for a decline in visits, many museums are taking their programs to the classroom through traveling programs, ... Read more
Cornell will not ban the iPad
Contrary to media reports, Cornell is not experiencing bandwidth problems as a result of iPad use on campus, reports the Cornell Daily Sun.
Virtual Symposium examines worldwide growth of online access
Distance learning, open courseware, eBooks, wikis, and many other innovative technologies have forever affected education by connecting any topic in any discipline to any learner in any place.…
Microsoft, ePals team up on collaborative tools
In a move that could spur more widespread use of online tools for communicating and collaborating within K-12 education, software giant Microsoft Corp. has announced a strategic partnership…
Employee in webcam spying flap: Teen had no expectation of privacy
A school technology official at the center of a webcam spying scandal says the Pennsylvania student suing her employer should not have had any expectation of privacy, because…
Bill Gates kicks off college tour
While the world faces enormous challenges such as feeding its populations, developing clean energy, and fighting diseases, many of its best and brightest citizens are focused on other…
Report: Race to Top winners chosen arbitrarily
A new report by a non-partisan research institute alleges that Tennessee and Delaware, the first two states to win education funding through President Obama's $4 billion Race to…
Quiz Maker
The educational web site ProProfs.com has launched a free, easy-to-use quiz creation site that can help teachers enhance their lesson plans and engage students. Called Quiz Maker, the…
Apple rejects kid-friendly programming app
About 40 years ago, tech legend Alan Kay invented the idea of a lightweight tablet computer that children could use to learn programming. Apple’s iPad delivers on the…
Plano ISD hits the road with stimulus-funded mobile computer lab for parents
On April 20, the Plano Independent School District unveiled its new $300,000 mobile computer lab, an outreach effort to connect needy families with social services and better engage…
Rule change takes aim at loophole in Title IX
The Education Department no longer will allow universities to rely solely on electronic student surveys to prove they are meeting the requirements of the gender-equity law known as…
Data analysis tool offered to colleges free of charge
Faculty and students on 200 campuses nationwide will have free access to advanced data management and analytics software via cloud computing beginning in the fall 2010 semester, after…
Students soon could learn with handheld 3-D devices
Thanks to new developments in handheld technology, students soon could have glasses-free 3-D displays in the palms of their hands.
Survey: Teens’ cell phone use may cause tension with parents, schools
Teenagers have embraced text messaging as their main form of communication, but mobile phones are often a source of tension with parents and schools, a new survey found.
iPad too much for some campus networks
The New York Times reports that the iPad has been touted as the next big thing in higher education technology, especially as more textbooks make the digital conversation,…
Report examines violent attacks on U.S. college campuses
A report by federal law enforcement officers, released last week on the third anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre, offers the first comprehensive analysis of violent attacks carried…
Kindle to expand beyond Amazon?
It's a tricky little issue: What if you designed a piece of hardware and were also the only one who sold the software for it?
Teens prefer texting vs. calling … except to parents
For teenagers, texting on mobile phones has dethroned actual voice calls when it comes to connecting with their friends, according to a new report released today by the…
Health education gets a federal boost
Backed by a campaign launched by First Lady Michelle Obama earlier this year, some schools are using the same technologies that have many kids glued to their cell…
Supreme Court hears text-messaging privacy case
The U.S. Supreme Court appears likely to rule against public employees who claimed a local government violated their privacy by reading racy text messages they sent through their…
Colleges appeal to students with green policies
Small private colleges and large research universities alike have adopted green policies in recent years in an effort to trim energy bills, encourage sustainability, and lure environmentally conscious…
Open courseware 2.0: The next steps in the OER movement
Putting free courseware online was a first step in reimagining education. So what now? Wiki universities, smart courses, and—maybe—improved learning, reports the New York Times.