School leaders face questions about bullying that led to suicide
School officials in South Hadley, Mass., are disputing claims that they had long known about the hazing of a 15-year-old student who committed suicide, reports the New York…
New York Times
Looking at the iPad from two angles
Apple’s iPad seems to be hated by techies and loved by everyone else—so New York Times technology columnist David Pogue has written separate reviews for the two audiences.
Business schools respond to demand for use of social media
As companies turn to social media to engage customers on a personal level, several top business schools are incorporating courses on social networks into their curricula, reports the…
Technology coalition seeks stronger privacy laws
A broad coalition of technology companies, including AT&T, Google, and Microsoft, and advocacy groups from across the political spectrum said March 30 that it would push Congress to…
Social media is changing the peer-review process
The rising popularity of uncontrolled peer-to-peer networking is having an effect on the classic role of peer review for research validation, one of the core functions of academic…
Mobs are born as word grows by text message
So-called “flash mobs” that form with the help of social technologies have become part bullying, part running of the bulls in Philadelphia as teenagers sprint through the streets,…
eBook sellers face a battle to win iPad customers
When it comes to buying and selling books on the iPad, we’re about to witness a strange dance between those who make or sell electronic books and those…
Rethinking sex-offender laws for youth texting
In most states, teenagers who send or receive sexually explicit photographs by cell phone or computer—known as “sexting”—have risked felony child pornography charges and being listed on a…
Are instructors obsessed by their rankings on RateMyProfessors.com?
It’s not just students who are obsessed with web sites such as RateMyProfessors.com, reports the New York Times: Many instructors are, too.
Viacom says YouTube ignored copyrights
Pointing to internal YouTube eMail messages, Viacom said in a court filing that the video site’s founders turned a blind eye when users uploaded copyrighted clips so they…
Court says parents can block ‘sexting’ cases
In the first federal appeals court opinion dealing with “sexting”—the transmission of sexually explicit photographs by cell phone—a three-judge panel ... Read more
RandomDorm: Chatroulette for the college set
Using the video chat service Chatroulette can be highly entertaining, but there’s always the chance of encountering something unsavory on the service, which randomly matches strangers for video…
Amazon threatens eBook publishers as Apple looms
As Apple builds its electronic bookstore, Amazon.com is trying to use its clout to hold on to its early lead in the market, reports the New York Times.
Obama administration seeks converts to education plan
Facing intense resistance from teachers’ unions, the Obama administration has begun trying to persuade union leaders, teachers, and the public that its proposals for overhauling federal education policies…
How privacy vanishes online
Using bits of data from social-networking web sites, researchers have gleaned people’s names, ages, and even Social Security numbers, reports the New York Times.
Online hate sites grow with social networks
According to a new report on digital hate speech, terrorists and racists are turning to online social networks and depending less on traditional web sites to recruit impressionable…
Fending off the ‘digital decay’ of archived resources, bit by bit
As research libraries and archives are discovering, "born-digital" materials are much more complicated and costly to preserve than anticipated, reports the New York Times.
Telling friends where you are (or not)
As Jordan Viator roams the conference rooms, dimly lit bars and restaurants here at the South by Southwest Interactive conference, she often pulls out her cell phone and…
Publishers question Apple’s rejection of nudity
About a year ago Sebastian Kempa, a freelance photographer who lives near Dortmund, Germany, embarked on a project to show how clothes “are our second layer of skin,”…
Deal gives new life to overhaul of student loans
The New York Times reports that Democratic Congressional leaders struck a tentative agreement March 11 that breathes new life into President Obama’s proposed overhaul of federal student loan…
Obama’s student loan overhaul in danger
One of President Obama’s top legislative priorities, an ambitious overhaul of student lending programs that aims to save money by shifting to direct government loans, is in danger…
Kansas City to close nearly half its schools
The Kansas City Board of Education voted March 10 to close almost half of the city’s public schools, accepting a sweeping and contentious plan to shrink the system…
Expert: Many nations passing the U.S. in education
One of the world’s foremost experts on comparing national school systems told lawmakers on March 9 that many other countries are surpassing the United States in educational attainment,…
Google’s computing power refines translation tool
Google’s network pushes the limits of translation technology and has become a favored source of translations for millions of people, reports the New York Times.
Apple iPad to arrive in stores on April 3
Apple announced on March 5 that the Wi-Fi versions of its long-awaited iPad will arrive April 3 in stores in the United States, reports the New York Times.
Math of publishing meets the eBook
In the emerging world of e-books, many consumers assume it is only logical that publishers are saving vast amounts by not having to print or distribute paper books,…
Redrawing the route to online privacy
On the internet, things get old fast. One prime candidate for the digital dustbin, it seems, is the current approach to protecting privacy on the internet, according to…
Rhode Island town fires all teachers at a failing high school
In one of the first tests of the federal government’s restructuring model for failing schools, the Central Falls, R.I., school board on Feb. 23 approved a recommendation to…
To impress, Tufts prospects turn to YouTube
It is reading season at the Tufts University admissions office, time to plow through thousands of essays, transcripts, and recommendations—and this year, for the first time, short YouTube…
Apple bans some apps for sex-tinged content
Apple has started banning many applications for its iPhone that feature sexually suggestive material, including photos of women in bikinis and lingerie, reports the New York Times—a move…
Schools in China say they weren’t behind hacking
Two prominent schools in China are disputing allegations that hacking attacks on Google and other firms originated from them, reports the Associated Press. The New York Times reported…
Textbooks that professors can rewrite, digitally
In a kind of Wikipedia of textbooks, Macmillan, one of the five largest publishers of trade books and textbooks, is introducing software called DynamicBooks, which will allow college…
Obama to propose new rules for reading and math standards
In a proposed change to the No Child Left Behind law, the Obama administration would require states to adopt new academic standards to qualify for federal money from…
High schools to offer plan to graduate 2 years early
Dozens of public high schools in eight states will introduce a program next year allowing 10th graders who pass a battery of tests to get a diploma two…
Two Chinese schools said to be tied to online attacks
According to the New York Times, a series of online attacks on Google and dozens of other American corporations have been traced to computers at two educational institutions…
Study finds public discontent with colleges
A new study suggests most Americans believe that colleges today operate like businesses, concerned more with their bottom line than with the educational experience of students, reports the…
An iPad for the preschool set
The Fisher-Price iXL Learning System isn’t even on sale yet, and already it’s being hailed as an iPad for pre-schoolers, reports the New York Times.
Judge: Student suspended for Facebook page can sue
A federal judge has ruled that a South Florida teenager who sued her former principal after she was suspended for creating a Facebook page criticizing a teacher can…
Wi-Fi turns bus ride into a rolling study hall
Last fall, school officials in Vail, Ariz., mounted a mobile internet router to bus No. 92's sheet-metal frame, enabling students to surf the web. The students call it…
Twists multiply in Alabama shooting case
On Friday, this city of rocket scientists and brainy inventors was stunned when a neuroscientist with a Harvard Ph.D. was arrested in the shooting deaths of three of…