Free multimedia activities aim to boost middle school literacy
Teachers’ Domain, a library of free digital resources and fee-based professional development courses developed by Boston public television station WGBH, has added a new section called “Inspiring Middle School Literacy: Reading and Writing in Science and History.” These self-paced classroom activities are designed to enhance the literacy skills of struggling readers in grades 5-12. Teachers choose a science or history topic, then have students proceed through reading passages, videos, and interactive activities, using a glossary to build vocabulary and a note-taking area to submit writing assignments.
Some rich districts get richer as aid is rushed to schools
In pouring cash into school districts, Washington is using a tangle of well-worn federal formulas that seem to take little account of who needs the money most, reports the New York Times.
Madison, Ala., schools showcase educational technology
The Madison, Ala., City Schools’ technology programs will be on display for educational leaders from across the country this week as part of a technology site visit by the National School Boards Association, reports the Huntsville Times.
CoSN keeps school leaders ahead of the times
At the Consortium for School Networking’s annual conference, held this year in Austin, Texas, March 10-12, issues such as the prevalence of Web 2.0 tools and the recession had school administrators and chief technology officers acknowledging the changing times–and what they must do not only to keep up, but to help give students the 21st-century education they deserve.
Key words: CoSN, CoSN conference 2009, web 2.0, Don Tapscott, Grown Up Digital, education, technology
MIT makes research available on the web
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) faculty voted unanimously March 18 to make the school’s scholarly research available for free on the internet, joining other noted universities that hope to encourage more scholarship and expand researchers’ audiences. Key words: open access, MIT, Stanford University, Harvard University, campus research
Black studies database offered at low cost
Every member school of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) will receive access to a black studies database either free of charge or at a reduced cost, thanks to a new initiative from information resource company ProQuest. Key words: HBCU, ProQuest, research database
Text-to-speech reversal kindles disappointment
It’s been a tough few weeks for Amazon.com and its Kindle eBook reader: Advocates for students with disabilities already were disappointed with the company’s Feb. 27 decision to give publishers control over whether a text-to-speech feature is enabled on its second-generation Kindle 2 device, saying Amazon missed a golden opportunity to market the device to students who have trouble reading printed texts.
Now, Amazon also finds itself the subject of a lawsuit by Discovery Communications–the parent company of The Discovery Channel and Discovery Education–over an alleged patent violation.
Key words: Amazon Kindle, assistive technologies, text-to-speech, patent dispute
Ambitious school technology plans run up against budget deficits
All 1,000 students at Oak-Land Junior High in Lake Elmo, Minn., have laptop computers supplied by the Stillwater School District that they take to every class and can take home every night. Now, with uncertainty over how the state budget deficit will hit its finances, the district must decide whether to expand the program, curtail it, or continue it largely intact, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Students post schoolyard-brawl videos online
In schoolyards across the country, all it takes to attract a crowd is the call “Fight! Fight! Fight!” But now, students increasingly are showing up with cameras to record the brawls, then posting the footage on the internet–and some of those videos have been viewed more than a million times. Key words: cyber bullying, youtube, Vallejo City Unified School District
Campus IT officials prep for March Madness
As the college basketball tournament known as March Madness begins today, campus IT officials are preparing for what could amount to a huge spike in network traffic. College students watching NCAA Tournament games on CBS’s live online video streaming service have not caused network disruptions in recent years, some campus IT officials told eCampus News–but schools whose basketball squads make it deep into the tournament should be wary of a drastic jump in web traffic on the school’s web site.
Key words: March Madness, Gonzaga University, Marquette University, web traffic, CBS live streaming