Victims of online bullying may be more likely to be depressed
A study released on Sept. 21 shows that as bullying has moved beyond the schoolyard and on to Facebook pages, online chat groups and cell phone text messages, its victims are feeling more hopeless and depressed, the Washington Post reports. “Traditional bullying is more face-to-face,” said Ronald J. Iannotti, principal investigator for the study, published online in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
Google promises Docs editing for iPad
Google said on Sept. 20 that Apple iPad owners would soon be able to edit Google Docs files on their tablets, according to a report in ComputerWorld. The announcement was made the same day as the company added two-factor authentication to its enterprise-oriented Google Apps suite.
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, reports the New York Times. Ms. Person Burns, 67, a retired health care executive who lives in Jackson, Miss., said she is wary of online shopping: “Instead of going to Amazon, I’m going to the local bookstore.”
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 University Data Center includes about 4,700 square feet of space for computing equipment and one gigbit-per-second and 10 Gbps network connections.
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 could gain improved access to new software, software updates, and web-based resources that support teaching and learning. With VDI, when a division approves software for use, then teachers could gain access to the software overnight.
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 up a hornet’s nest…
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” concept, which seeks to recruit students who perform in the top third of their academic discipline into the teaching profession.
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 guides, with their familiar yellow and black covers, have been in book bags since 1958. What has changed is how many study guides, or cheat sheets, are available online and on mobile phones.
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 learn about Islam, the Dallas Morning News reports. The board will consider a resolution next week that would warn publishers not to push a pro-Islamic, anti-Christian viewpoint in world history textbooks.