iTunes Texas education channel launched
Texas students now can download podcasts, videos, and other multimedia lessons directly from iTunes through a new online program aimed at providing free, supplementary coursework that can be…
Month: August 2010
Class of 2014: eMail’s for old people
For students entering college this fall, eMail is too slow, phones have never had cords, and the computers they played with as kids are now in museums.
How to tailor your school site for mobile web users
With smart-phone use exploding in the U.S., it’s only a matter of time before having a mobile web site becomes a necessary component of school communications.
$3.4B for 9 states, D.C. in Race to the Top grants
More than 13 million students and 1 million educators will share $3.4 billion from the second round of the federal "Race to the Top" grant competition, the U.S.…
Replacing a pile of textbooks with an iPad
A new company called Inkling hopes to break the standard textbook model and help textbooks enter the interactive age by letting students share and comment on the texts…
Scholars test online alternative to peer review
The internet is calling into question one of academia’s sacred rites, reports the New York Times: the peer- reviewed journal article. For professors, publishing in elite journals is…
Missing eMails complicate special-education case
Disputes over special-education programs for youngsters with autism can grow complicated, but the case of a Hillsdale, N.Y., youngster who had attended a special school has taken an…
Columbia grad sues Google to unmask malicious poster
A business consultant wants a court to force YouTube and its owner, Google Inc., to reveal the identity of someone who posted what she says are unauthorized videos…
Oregon’s education board seeks rules on virtual schools
This week, the Oregon Board of Education took a small step toward resolving a five-year dispute over one of the thorniest questions of the virtual-schools movement, reports the…
More students need a laptop computer for the classroom
Back-to-school supplies for middle school students used to mean pens, notebooks, maybe a new backpack. But for a growing number of families, the list now includes a laptop…
Copper thieves continue to strike
Schools are not immune. I recently wrote about an Oklahoma district hard hit by thieves taking or gutting…
Opinion: Corporate policy making would result in a net loss
The future of digital-age learning could hinge on the boardroom deals being made by giant corporations as they seek to head off “net neutrality” regulations—and education leaders ought…
Back-to-school IT projects reshape campus life
The top back-to-school IT projects at 10 colleges and universities show a tidal wave of change in higher education, Reuters reports—and many of the changes could presage broader…
iPad: the new big gadget on campus
This fall, the hit course on some college campuses might very well be iPad 101, reports the Baltimore Sun. At the University of Maryland, administrators plan to hand…
Schools grapple with social media policies
Dallas-area schools open their doors today to tech-savvy students who probably spent their summer texting their friends and updating their Facebook pages, reports the Dallas Morning News—but should…
e-Textbooks are on the way, but not dominant in classrooms yet
The same digital revolution that upended the music industry and is transforming TV, movies, and books is slowly working its way into classrooms, reports the Austin American-Statesman—but when…
Connecticut district mulls RFID tracking of students
Connecticut’s New Canaan Public Schools have been invited to participate in a technology experiment that would involve potentially placing radio frequency strips on student or staff ID cards…
What’s more important: School buildings or the teachers who fill them?
A new public school building in Los Angeles that cost more than $500 million to build--at a time when the city has laid off more than 3,000 teachers…
Not getting the (text) message
It is a typical morning on campus, with students heading to class and professors and staff arriving for work, when suddenly there is an emergency. It could be…
Former governors fight for digital learning
To help schools implement digital resources effectively, former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida and former Democratic Gov. Bob Wise of West Virginia have put their party differences…
The web is dead. Who cares?
No doubt many netizens of cyberspace were surprised to hear this week that the World Wide Web is on death's doorstep while the internet is alive and well…
Math, science teachers get paid less than others
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that lawmakers and other Washington state officials have talked a lot about focusing more on science and math education, but researchers at the University…
E-reading: Revolution in the making or fading fad?
Four years ago Cambridge, Mass.-based E Ink Corporation and Taiwan's Prime View International Co. hooked up to create an e-paper display that now supplies 90 percent of the…
Tech industry holds closed door talks on open internet
An industry body representing some of the biggest names in technology has hosted a closed-door meeting to discuss the future of the open internet, BBC News reports.
Facebook Places could meet skepticism on college campuses
Facebook’s opt-in feature that lets friends check each other’s locations could be useful for colleges and universities tracking the most ... Read more
Mac-based districts could face SIS quandary
Education industry giant Pearson says its PowerSchool student information system will cease to support Macintosh database servers by Dec. 31, forcing Mac-using districts to make some tough decisions.
Intel to buy McAfee in $7.68 billion deal
Intel Corp. is buying computer-security software maker McAfee Inc. for $7.68 billion as the chip-maker adds to its arsenal of tools to serve an increasing array of internet-connected…
FCC: Web speed half of what is promised
A new FCC study is reporting dramatic differences between the "up to" figures touted by phone and cable companies in promoting their web connections and the internet speeds…
School administrator resigns over Facebook posting
A Massachusetts school administrator has resigned after she called residents of the town where she worked “snobby” and “arrogant” in a Facebook posting, reports the Boston Globe.
Massachusetts school district sues e-Rate consulting firm
The Nashoba Regional School District in Bolton, Mass., has filed a federal lawsuit claiming "breach of contract" and alleging a New York technology company misrepresented the quality of…
Fighting Obama education plans, colleges boost lobbying
Academia might be a bastion of liberal thought, but in the past two years, the higher-education industry often has lined up opposite the White House and congressional Democrats—and…
Good advice for campus administrators and law enforcement
The recently released report, Campus Security Guidelines: Recommended Operational Policies for Local and Campus Law Enforcement Agencies, prepared by the Major Cities Chiefs of Police Association, contains some…
More college marketing cash going to social media
Massive social media advertising campaigns have proven effective for colleges and universities large and small, and a new analysis shows that institutions that invest the most in social…
Superintendents turn to tech academies to boost skills
As the need for tech-savvy students becomes more pressing, school leaders' technology skills must also keep pace, and superintendents across the nation are enrolling in technology-focused professional development…
Given money, schools wait on rehiring teachers
The $10 billion in new money that Congress just approved for schools to rehire teachers, counselors, and support workers is instead being set aside by school districts worried…
Schools, tech companies tailor social sites for students
Colleges and universities across the United States are going beyond simply creating web sites and pages on Facebook for students to "friend" or "fan"; they’re also working with…
eTextbooks: Never mind iPad and eReaders, PCs still dominant
There are many benefits to students accessing their textbooks electronically, such as shared highlights and search capabilities. Surprisingly, though, it's not the iPad and other eReaders that are…
Your online profile might hurt job prospects, warns Google boss
The chief executive of Google, Eric Schmidt, said the enormous quantity of detail left online by users could come back to haunt them when they apply for jobs…
Step 1: Post Elusive Proof. Step 2: Watch Fireworks.
The potential of internet-based collaboration was vividly demonstrated this month when complexity theorists used blogs and wikis to pounce on a claimed proof for one of the most…
Feds: No charges in school laptop-spying case
No criminal charges will be filed against a suburban Philadelphia school district that secretly snapped tens of thousands of webcam photographs and screen shots on laptops issued to…
