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,…
Latest posts by staff and wire services reports (see all)
- New research challenges fears about AI in the classroom - February 5, 2026
- How the FY25 funding freeze impacts students across America - July 24, 2025
- ‘Buyer’s remorse’ dogging Common Core rollout - October 30, 2014
Laws keep schools from using endowments
Universities and other nonprofit organizations in two dozen states face a frustrating quandary: They might have the money they need to save jobs, offer scholarships, invest in campus…
U. Minnesota plans new drinking policy
The University of Minnesota-Duluth is planning a new policy to encourage students to report drinking-related medical emergencies by protecting them from legal ramifications. Key words: college drinking, University…
Sidekick phones top a dubious category: theft
School and college IT administrators might want to warn their students about the latest hot target for thieves: T-Mobile Sidekick cell phones. Key words: t-mobile, checkmend, boston arts…
Colleges see donations decline
The legions of fundraisers colleges hired during the boom years have a new mission for these tough economic times: Go easy on the hard sell. Talk about financial…
Some colleges offering three-year degrees
The idea of offering a traditional bachelor's degree in three years instead of four has never really caught on, at least in the United States, but it might…
Obama to Congress: Education is key
In his first address to a joint session of Congress, President Barack Obama on Feb. 24 cited education as one of three keys to economic recovery and long-term…
Educators wary in wake of Nortel bankruptcy
Acutely aware of how the sudden change or demise of an important technology vendor can wreak havoc on their ed-tech programs, school leaders across North America are watching…
Economic crisis forces shift in college aid
The current economic crisis has ravaged college endowments and prompted a host of reactions among campus officials. One of the most subtle, yet potentially profound effects of the…
Colleges keep students in school with extra aid
Even as colleges and universities consider layoffs and enrollment caps in response to the economic meltdown, many are also investing additional money in financial aid programs in an…
Duncan wants stimulus to transform schools
President Barack Obama and his Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, want to do more than save teachers' jobs or renovate classrooms with the new economic recovery law. They're hoping…
Students’ exercise helps power university
Thousands of college students regularly hit the cardio exercise machines to work off stress after an exam or stay in shape. Oregon State University (OSU) is harnessing the…
Former student shot at Detroit high school
A former student, who sneaked past security, was shot on the second floor of a Detroit high school as hundreds of current students and teachers were ending classes…
Big district dumps grade levels — for starters
School districts across the United States are trying to improve student performance. But few have taken as radical an approach as Adams 50 in Colorado. Key words: Adams…
New ‘sensory tech’ could help teach piano
Talk about a helping hand: Researchers at Georgia Tech's Center for Music Technology are trying to reinvent how students learn to play the piano by developing a special…
School roofs collapse in two separate incidents
Two separate school roof collapses, caused by severe weather and snow, killed one woman and closed another school for repairs.
Stimulus deal addresses school modernization
Senate and House negotiators agreed Feb. 11 on a compromise, $789 billion economic stimulus bill that includes some funding for school modernization, a priority item for President Obama…
Schools lose in Senate stimulus ‘compromise’
Despite $1 billion in ed-tech funding and increases in college Pell Grants, education took a major hit when the U.S. Senate cut all $20 billion in proposed funding…
Alaskan schools prepare for volcanic eruption
Some Alaskan schools are making preparations in advance of what scientists say is an "imminent" eruption from the 10,200-foot Redoubt Volcano, about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage.
On Darwin’s 200th, a theory still in controversy
It's well known that Charles Darwin's groundbreaking theory of evolution made many people furious because it seemed to contradict the Biblical view of creation. But few know that…
Patent fight shows perils of ‘tech transfer’
The University of Missouri is suing one of its professors in a case that points to the pitfalls of "technology transfer," the growing enterprise in which university labs…
Porn charges for ‘sexting’ stir debate
As eSchool News has reported before, the growing trend of teenagers distributing nude self-portraits electronically--often called "sexting" if it's done by cell phone--has parents and school administrators worried.…
Congress postpones digital TV transition
After weeks of debate, Congress is giving educators and consumers four more months to prepare for the upcoming transition from analog to digital television broadcasting. Key concepts: digital…
New Google software tracks users’ location
Google Inc. on Feb. 4 introduced new "social mapping" software with several implications for schools and their students--from allowing friends to find each others' locations on or off…
Singularity U. wants to harness tech’s power
Technology is changing the world so rapidly that even geniuses need help making sense of it all. That's the idea underlying Singularity University, an unconventional school that will…
Free iPhone app expands college radio’s reach
College radio programs could get additional exposure from a new application that allows users from anywhere in the world to find and listen to student-run internet radio stations…
Schools affected as peanut-product recall expands
At least 365 schools and agencies in at least three states were shipped possibly tainted peanut products linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak as part of the federal…
Google Earth allows exploration of oceans
A new version of Google Earth will allow users to explore the oceans, view images of Mars and watch regions of the Earth change over time. Key concepts:…
Hackers’ latest ploy: Spoofing 911 calls
A new kind of high-tech telephone fraud exploits a weakness in the way the 911 system handles calls from internet-based phone services. The attacks--called "swatting," because armed police…
News groups seek webcast in file-sharing case
Fourteen news organizations, including the Associated Press and the New York Times Co., are urging a federal appeals court to allow online streaming of a hearing in a…
K-State admits data security lapse
Kansas State University is notifying 45 students who were enrolled in an agricultural economics class in spring 2001 that some of their personal information was inadvertently exposed on…
House OKs record $142 billion for education
The U.S. House of Representatives approved a historically huge $819 billion stimulus bill on Jan. 28 that includes some $142 billion for education as part of the Obama…
Anti-evolution forces gain ground in Texas
The Texas Board of Education has sparked controversy in the world of science with a move last week that would require students to evaluate the "sufficiency or insufficiency"…
New Smithsonian chief eyes ed tech
Warning that American education and research have fallen behind, the new head of the Smithsonian Institution has launched an ambitious effort to digitize its 137 million artifacts and…
Copyright settlement leaves questions
A closely watched copyright-infringement lawsuit with important implications for schools, newspapers, and other organizations that aggregate news content from other sources on their web sites or in eMail…
Report: Reinvent schools for digital age
Educators can't truly deliver 21st-century instruction in schools that reflect Industrial-Age designs, with rigid schedules, inflexible facilities, and fixed boundaries between grades, disciplines, and classrooms, according to a…
Gates Foundation to give $22M for education
In its efforts to ensure that students graduate from high school ready for college and success in the future workplace, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced…
West Point will tell soldiers’ stories on the web
Lt. Col. Paul Owen, West Point Class of '90, came back to the academy to tell his story about Iraq. Sitting before a video camera in his dress…
Colleges convert cooking oil into biodiesel fuel
Forgive the students at Sinclair Community College if they get the munchies when they pass the tractors that cut grass, blow leaves, or sweep snow on campus: Oil…
COPA dies quietly in Supreme Court
A federal law intended to restrict children's access to internet pornography died quietly Jan. 21 at the U.S. Supreme Court, more than 10 years after Congress overwhelmingly approved…