Code that tracks users’ browsing prompts lawsuits
Sandra Person Burns used to love browsing and shopping online. Until she realized she was being tracked by software on her computer that she thought she had erased,…
Month: September 2010
University of Texas completes $32M data center
The University of Texas has completed a new $32 million data center meant to meet the school's growing information technology needs, the Austin Business Journal reports. The new…
Virtual desktops: Imagine the possibilities for teaching and learning
Moving from the current use of desktop and laptop computers to a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) creates many possibilities for teaching and learning. Imagine the possibilities if teachers…
Work with staff, parents, and students
Not long ago, the decision by a Northeastern school district to install security cameras in two high schools without any announcement to parents, faculty, staff or students stirred…
The best college course ever?
Playing the real-time strategy video game StarCraft isn’t just for frittering away afternoons in students’ dorm rooms. It’s now for college credit, too.
Report: ‘Top-third’ teachers essential to U.S. success
Improving teacher effectiveness has risen to the top of national education priorities, but the key to attracting, training, and retaining truly effective teachers may lie in the “top-third”…
A professor’s review of online cheat sheets
At this time of year, students are buying textbooks and looking for ways to avoid reading them. Nothing is new about that, the New York Times reports. CliffsNotes…
Texas education board to consider rule on Islam’s portrayal in textbooks
Just when it appeared the State Board of Education was done with the culture wars, the panel is about to wade into the issue of what students should…
Facebook denies it is secretly building a phone
The tech blogs were abuzz Sunday with a report in TechCrunch that Facebook is secretly building a phone. But the company says it’s not true, according to the…
Google Apps adds two-step verification
InformationWeek reports that Google on Sept. 20 plans to offer its users improved security through the introduction of a two-step login verification process. Initially, two-step verification will be…
Music instruction goes virtual
As online courses spike in popularity across the nation, students are finding that even the most traditional face-to-face courses offer virtual options that are just as thorough as…
Learning by playing: Video games in the classroom
A New York Times Magazine writer asks: What if teachers gave up the vestiges of their educational past, threw away the worksheets, burned the canon and reconfigured the…
Google tablets may pass iPad with more accessibility
Tablet computers running Google Inc.’s Android will start taking sales from Apple Inc.’s iPad this holiday season and may surpass it in a few years as device makers…
Midwestern states revamp teacher evaluations; Duncan talks education, technology
Illinois is not alone in the recent changes it has made to teacher evaluations. Several other Midwestern states are taking similar steps, reports the Catalyst Chicago. But a…
The School of Hard Drives
In a wide-ranging interview with the New York Times, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said, “I think every student needs access to technology, and I think technology can be…
Diaspora, Facebook’s potential rival, offers a peek
Mark Zuckerberg is having a bad publicity day. Despite a flattering New Yorker profile of the founder of Facebook (both in writing and in a rather Roman statue-esque…
Students: Video lectures allow for more napping
College students gave video lectures high marks in a recent survey, although three in 10 students said their parents would be “very upset” if they knew just how…
U.S. ramps up efforts to improve STEM education
A grant program that challenges students to design their own video games is one of several new initiatives announced by President Obama Sept. 16 as part of a…
Intel awards $1 million to schools
Things are looking up for America’s innovative and dedicated STEM schools, thanks to Intel Education’s over $1 million donation to six math and science schools as part of…
New STEM initiatives
“Youth Inspired Challenge” by a coalition of science centers and museums: 350 science centers and science museums, with leadership from ... Read more
Apple’s new iPad, iPhone software due in November
New software for Apple’s iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch is on the way that reportedly will take care of a key problem keeping the devices from being more…
eTextbooks expected to grow with iPad on campus
Video and color graphics are key to why many people think Apple's iPad and other tablets will usher in the era of electronic textbooks, Reuters reports.
Microsoft releases newest version of web browser
Microsoft has released the latest version of its web browser, saying that it would work at faster speeds, deliver better graphics, and be less obtrusive to users, Reuters…
Plagiarism a persistent problem on campuses
Ohio State University has revoked the doctoral degree of a 2006 anthropology graduate for plagiarizing significant portions of her dissertation, illustrating what has become a growing problem on…
Think outside the box: Doing more with less, Part 2
In my last blog, I wrote about the massive budget deficits facing most school districts, making it vital that everyone learn to do more with less. Yet, at…
Study: Online learning might be less effective for some
Higher education’s embrace of online courses could hurt the performance of some groups of students, according to a study that contradicts the findings of a 2009 report from…
Spell-check use on writing exam prompts debate
A decision by the Oregon Department of Education to let students use a computer spell-check feature when taking an online version of the state’s writing exam this year…
802.11n Wi-Fi making huge impact a year after ratification
Shipments of 802.11n access points have accelerated since the IEEE standard was formally approved one year ago, Computerworld reports—but what the numbers alone don't show is the new…
Google engineer fired for accessing teens’ Gmail, chat logs
Google this week confirmed that it fired an engineer who accessed the Gmail and Google Voice accounts of several minors and taunted those children with the information he…
School board questions legality of online forum
A demonstration of a new online forum for members of the Brush, Colo., Board of Education was cut short last week when board members questioned whether they could…
New Dell touch-screen flips from tablet to netbook
Dell showed off a 10-inch Windows-based hybrid tablet at the Intel Developer Forum on Sept. 14, boasting a slick design that allows it to be converted into a…
Philippines developing low-cost computer for schools
The Philippine government is working on a low-cost tablet computer that could bring an end to the days of children dragging heavy schoolbooks around, AFP reports.
New web site helps students explore STEM careers
Educators who want to help students better prepare for the technology careers of the future now have a new resource in the Math & Science Career section of…
$12,500 for budding scientists
Disney’s Planet Challenge is a free, project-based environmental and science competition for classrooms nationwide. The competition offers budding scientists the chance to use their imagination and creativity to…
Savings bonds and grants for environmental projects
The Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge educates, empowers, and engages students and teachers nationwide to become “Agents of Change” in identifying and solving environmental problems.
Classroom AV systems and cash prizes
The 2010 AVerMedia Interactive Classroom Video Contest asks teachers and educators to create a 2-minute or shorter “commercial-type” video as to how AVerMedia products have helped or could…
Almost $115K for high school essays
This contest explores the rights and responsibilities of American citizenship. Students are asked to share their thoughts on American citizenship by answering the following question: “What civic value…
Funds to help pay for Advanced Placement tests
The AP Test Fee program awards grants to eligible state educational agencies to enable them to pay all or a portion of advanced placement test fees on behalf…
Fellowships for educators to study Abraham Lincoln
This program offers 50 teachers a fellowship to study the life and legacy of our 16th president. The fellowship is open to any full-time teacher of kindergarten through…
$500 awards for youth gardening projects
The Subaru Healthy Sprouts Award recognizes and supports youth gardening programs focused on teaching about our environment, nutrition, and hunger issues in the United States. Through winning programs,…