Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

5 reasons to not pass on password protection

For many of us, not a day goes by that we aren’t logging into an account for various tasks, entertainment, or work. As such, we’ve all heard stories of failed password protection…the cousin who had their bank account emptied after their account was accessed or the friend who had their data stolen from a company-wide hack. 

Beyond the stories we share, recent statistics tell an even more compelling story in favor of strong passwords. Here’s how: according to recent studies, 81 percent of breaches at companies or organizations leveraged stolen or weak passwords (2020 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report) and one million passwords are stolen every week (2019 Breach Alarm). 

Although no password is uncrackable, increasing the complexity of the password can make the process more difficult and has proven an effective method for dissuading hackers, ultimately keeping your accounts and information protected. Check out these five tips to inform a more secure password strategy:…Read More

A tool in hand is worth… nothing without proper PD

A new ISTE-Verizon program offers schools and districts research-based support and PD for successfully implementing mobile learning

pd-mobileImagine what would happen if hospital leaders announced to surgeons late on a Friday afternoon that when they came to work on Monday they would no longer be doing surgery using the tools they have always used—such as  scalpels, scissors and clamps—and all procedures would be done using new high-tech laser tools, with which they may or may not have familiarity.

How do you think the medical team–the doctors, the nurses and other supporting professionals–would respond? What do you think the patients would say about this abrupt change in standard practice?

Yes, hospital leaders who are mandating this change could argue that technology provides a more accurate way to do surgical procedures, lowering the risk of infection, and potentially decreasing medical expenses. Yet, would this really be the case when the new technologies are being handled by professionals who have not been properly trained in this new way of doing surgery?…Read More

Verizon to acquire Terremark

Verizon Communications said that it was buying Terremark Worldwide, a provider of information technology services, for $1.4 billion, the Associated Press reports. Verizon plans to pay $19 a share for Terremark. That represents a 35 percent premium to Terremark’s closing stock price on Thursday. Terremark provides cloud computing services, which let companies store data and run software on remote servers instead of their own computers. It also provides technology infrastructure services…

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iPad coming to Verizon Wireless and AT&T stores

Apple said Thursday that Verizon Wireless would begin selling the iPad at its stores on Oct. 28, reports the New York Times. The announcement is the latest sign that the relationship between Apple and Verizon is warming up. Verizon is expected to begin selling Apple’s iPhone early next year. Verizon will not be selling 3G versions of the iPad, which work over a cellular data network. Instead it will sell bundles that include the iPad’s Wi-Fi models and its own MiFi mobile hot spot device, which essentially allows users to connect to the Internet in any place that has 3G service. The bundles will cost $630 for a 16-gigabyte model, $730 for a 32-gigabyte model and $830 for 64 gigabytes. Verizon will offer a monthly $20 access plan to iPad customers for up to 1 gigabyte of data. In addition, Verizon will offer all three iPad models on a standalone basis…

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FCC seeks input on rules for online services

The FCC is seeking public input on what rules should apply to wireless internet access.
The FCC is seeking public input on what rules should apply to wireless carriers and specialized internet services.

In the latest twist in the Federal Communications Commission’s pursuit of “net neutrality” rules to prevent broadband providers from discriminating against certain types of traffic flowing over their lines, federal regulators are seeking public input on what rules should apply to wireless internet access and specialized services that aren’t part of the internet but are delivered over wired broadband connections.

The agency’s move comes a few weeks after Google Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. announced a proposal of their own that would allow the FCC to enforce net neutrality rules for wireline broadband traffic would but exempt wireless carriers. The companies’ plan, which was not popular with public interest groups, also would leave room for broadband providers to charge extra to route traffic from so-called “premium services” over dedicated networks that are separate from the public internet.…Read More

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. Public advocacy groups said such back-room dealings were detrimental. The meeting follows the publication of a controversial plan by Google and Verizon that could allow net providers certain types of internet traffic to be given priority over others. Consumer bodies called those proposals an “internet killer.” Last week a crowd of about 100 people marched to Google’s headquarters in California to present boxes that they said contained 300,000 signatures upholding the values of net neutrality, a founding principle of the net that states that all web data is treated equally no matter where it comes from. The Google/Verizon plan suggests loopholes for mobile traffic and for some specialized content…

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Democrats push for FCC power over internet

A group of four Democratic politicians claims that a proposal announced last week by Google and Verizon does not give the federal government enough authority to regulate the internet, CNET reports. The companies’ net-neutrality proposal does not grant the Federal Communications Commission sufficient “oversight authority” and should permit the agency to slap new regulations on wireless services, the politicians said in a letter dated Aug. 16. It was addressed to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, a fellow Democrat, who has been left in an awkward position after a federal appeals court slapped down the agency’s attempt to punish Comcast. The letter, drafted by Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., says the idea of curbing FCC authority over wireless services “could widen the digital divide by establishing a substandard, less open experience for traditionally underserved regions and demographic groups that may more often need to access or choose to access the internet on a mobile device.” It also was signed by Anna Eshoo, whose district includes Palo Alto, Calif., Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania, and Jay Inslee of Washington state…

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Google defends its net-neutrality plan

Despite much opposition, Google is defending its net-neutrality proposal co-authored with broadband and wireless provider Verizon, PC World reports. The search giant on Aug. 12 issued counterarguments on six points (Google calls them myths) that the company believes have been misunderstood about its proposal. Google says the proposed framework defends net neutrality, would protect the current internet we enjoy today, and is definitely not about writing legislation from the boardroom. Google also says its proposal has not sold out the fundamental concept of net neutrality—the idea that an internet provider should not be allowed to restrict web data traffic based on the traffic’s contents. The problem is it’s unclear whether the Google-Verizon plan really would protect users. The proposal leaves wireless networks out of net-neutrality regulation entirely, although Google disputes this notion. The company believes the proposal’s transparency rules that force companies to publicly report wireless traffic-management policies would ensure that providers play fair. The agreement also would create a two-tiered internet with a net-neutral public internet (the World Wide Web we use today) and a private, non-neutral internet for premium services that could be packaged similarly to cable television. Given the financial incentives from wireless and the private internet, it’s unclear whether the public internet would survive under this system…

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Top U.S. carriers plot faster gadgets, services

Reuters reports that the next generation of high-speed internet services, tablets, smartphones, and other mobile gadgets could arrive faster than you would expect. The two biggest U.S. phone companies, AT&T Inc and Verizon Wireless, are stepping up plans to speed up their networks and deliver advanced devices to consumers as early as this holiday season with partners such as Motorola Inc., Samsung Electronics, and LG Electronics. AT&T said it is planning to triple speeds for home internet services, and double speeds on its wireless network, while Verizon Wireless said it will be ready with a slew of high-speed phones earlier than it had previously suggested. “We still have a tremendous amount of opportunity in wireless,” John Stankey, AT&T’s operations chief said, dismissing suggestions from some telecoms analysts that the industry’s exponential growth days were over. “We’re at the front of that 10-year (growth) cycle in the mobile space today,” he said at the Reuters Global Technology Summit in New York on May 14. While wireless carriers have to depend on data services for growth, because most people already have cellphones, Stankey sees opportunities in business applications. As industries add wireless connections to their equipment, such as medical devices and security systems, each business vertical could eventually generate a $1 billion a year in revenue, he said…

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