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Amazon's Kindle to get audible menus, bigger font

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, December 8

Amazon.com Inc. will add two features to its Kindle eBook reader to make the gadget more accessible to blind and visually impaired students and other users. Key words: Amazon Kindle, assistive technologies, visually imp...

Student ordered to destroy downloaded music files

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, December 8

A graduate student who must pay four record labels a combined $675,000 in damages for downloading and sharing songs online has been ordered to destroy his illegal music files--but a judge declined to force him to stop pr...

Survey suggests campus technology is underused

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, December 8

Fewer than half of college students responding to a national survey said their professors are using instructional technology, and educators worry that the technology gap between faculty and students might hinder campus l...

Ten keys to success with your e-Rate Form 470

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, December 8

Now that the filing window for schools to request 2010 e-Rate discounts on their telecommunications services has opened, here is some timely advice from e-Rate consulting firm Funds For Learning on applying for your shar...

Racist group targets school newspapers

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, December 8

A free music-downloading web site that has placed advertisements with at least two high school newspapers is actually a vehicle for violent hate speech and "white resistance" information. Key words: school newspaper, whi...

$3.5 billion available to help failing schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, December 7

The Obama administration will spend at least $3.5 billion to push local officials around the country to close failing schools and reopen them with new teachers and principals, and applications for the money are now avail...

Pearson pilots computer-based teaching exam

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, December 7

As would-be educators and the schools looking to hire them continue to explore alternative routes to teacher certification, education publishing giant Pearson has announced a new pilot program that intends to provide a c...

Software helps students with autism

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, December 7

Using software that includes both on- and off-computer activities led to significant gains in the communication and social skills of students with autism, a Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) study found. Key wo...

2010 e-Rate filing window opens

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, December 4

The 2010 filing window for the federal e-Rate program opened Dec. 3, and interconnected voice over IP (VoIP) and text messaging used for educational purposes are two services now included in the Federal Communications Co...

Ed-tech grants target remedial college courses

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, December 4

Social networking soon could be used to help form a virtual community of campus educators charged with creating a national certification for teachers of remedial college courses, after the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundati...

FTC: Violent content still marketed to kids

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, December 4

The video game industry is doing a better job at keeping young kids away from violent and other inappropriate content than the music and movie businesses, according to a new report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). ...

Poll finds sexting common among youth

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, December 4

Sexting -- the practice of sharing sexually explicit photos, videos, or chat by cell phone or on the web -- is fairly commonplace among young people, new research suggests, despite sometimes grim consequences for those w...

Cable industry floats broadband plan for students

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, December 3

As the Federal Communications Commission works to complete a national broadband plan by mid-February, the cable industry has proposed an innovative plan of its own to help close the digital divide for low-income students...

Comcast, NBC deal to test net neutrality

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, December 3

Analysts say Comcast Corp. likely will have to accept substantial conditions if the cable TV provider wants to win regulatory approval for control of NBC Universal's broadcast network, cable channels, and movie studios i...

Five key trends in assistive technology

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, December 3

Once considered a highly specialized field, assistive technology (AT) now increasingly can be found in applications and devices sold to the general public, says a new report that highlights several key trends in AT devel...

Free online tools simplify research

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, December 2

Mohan Singh once had the painstaking job of compiling bibliographic information for a college professor, so finding a web-based program that collected and inserted research citations with the click of a mouse was a time-...

New CTO guidelines issued for schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, December 2

School districts have a new resource to help them define effective leadership in education technology: The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) has released an updated version of its "Framework of Essential Skills" fo...

Text-a-Tip programs help promote school safety

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, December 2

After struggling for years with an anti-snitching culture that made witnesses to crimes or potentially dangerous behavior too afraid to come forward, police across the country are getting help from text-a-tip programs th...

Today's lesson: Developing iPhone apps

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, December 2

In what has become a growing trend, a computer science professor at Stetson University in Deland, Fla., recently oversaw the development of an iPhone application created for students, by students. Key words: education te...

ED's new tech chief previews national plan

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, December 2

As America's brand-new director of education technology, career educator Karen Cator underscores the determination of President Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to develop "a transformative agenda" for the ...

Avg. school district IT director makes $87,898

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, November 30

Despite the slumping economy, technology personnel working in public school district central-office positions saw a 2.1-percent increase in average salary over the past year, with district-level technology directors earn...

Students spread the Google gospel

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, November 30

Boise State University senior and self-described Google fanatic Taylor Bell landed his dream job this semester when the internet mega-site hired him as an ambassador, charged with evangelizing Google's array of applicati...

Survey shows untapped potential for campus IT

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, November 30

More than 90 percent of college students use social-networking services such as Facebook and Twitter, but only 28 percent say they have used these tools in a course during the last semester, according to a survey that su...

Competition seeks ways to transform learning

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 25

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced a $2 million open competition for ideas to transform learning using digital media. Key words: MacArthur Foundation, educational technology, school technolog...

More states have education data systems

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 25

According to a new report, every state is on track to have a longitudinal data system that follows the progress of individual students from preschool through college by 2011, thanks in part to funding from the American R...

Obama launches new STEM initiatives

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 25

President Barack Obama on Nov. 23 announced the launch of several nationwide programs to help motivate and inspire students to excel in science and math, including a grassroots effort called "National Lab Day" and a Whit...

Revised Google Book deal disappoints many

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 25

College and university library officials are largely disappointed with Google's decision to exclude non-English books from its digital library in a concession to critics of a proposed legal settlement, saying the move wo...

Students learn dangers of distracted driving

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 25

Amid alarming statistics about the number of teens who text or use cell phones while driving, school districts are starting to play a role in educating their students about the dangers of such behaviors. Key words: texti...

Gates Foundation gives $335M for teacher quality

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, November 20

Three school districts and a coalition of charter schools have agreed to be test kitchens for some radical ideas for improving teacher quality -- from paying new teachers to spend another year practicing before getting t...

School libraries key in teaching information skills

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, November 20

When school media specialists and educators make an effort to become familiar with the social-networking web sites and technologies that today's students use each day, they can forge important learning connections with t...

Finalists chosen in national student video contest

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, November 19

In the second stage of the "I Am What I Learn" video contest from the federal Education Department (ED), 10 student videos have been chosen as national finalists--and ED is asking the public to help it pick the winners. ...

Student lending landscape in flux

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, November 19

College administrators face a student lending landscape in upheaval at a time when students are borrowing more money than ever to pay for college. Key words: college software, student lending, direct student loans, direc...

CoSN seeks more ICT lessons from abroad

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 18

As part of the organization's latest effort to learn from colleagues abroad, a delegation of U.S. education technology leaders from the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) visited Scotland and the Netherlands last we...

Online college admissions services growing

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 18

With an average of one counselor for every 500 public high school students in the U.S., college applicants are often left without professional guidance--and so internet-based companies offering admissions advice are hopi...

Stakeholders advise on national ed-tech plan

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, November 17

Train every pre-service teacher to teach online in teacher-education programs at colleges and universities; invest in the development of open courseware with federal and state funding; encourage the use of technology to ...

USA Today tests online edition at colleges

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, November 17

Penn State, Indiana, and Missouri universities are the first schools to participate in a USA Today initiative meant to test how students respond to electronic versions of printed newspapers. Key words: electronic newspap...

$5 billion 'Race to the Top' begins

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, November 16

The Obama administration on Nov. 12 is opening its competition for states to receive $5 billion in 'Race to the Top' education funding, but states have been jockeying for the new stimulus money even before the contest be...

'Credit by exam' expands student options

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, November 16

Excelsior College, a New York-based online institution, and educational content and assessment company Pearson launched a program this week aimed at increasing the number of students who have access to this more affordab...

Cloud computing envelops EDUCAUSE talk

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, November 16

The 2009 EDUCAUSE higher-education technology conference in Denver Nov. 3-6 saw campus IT administrators present ways to preserve technology budgets during an economic downturn that has devastated many institutions' oper...

Google rewrites landmark book-search deal

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, November 16

Internet search leader Google Inc. will ease its control over millions of copyright-protected books earmarked for its digital library if a court approves a revised lawsuit settlement that addresses objections of antitrus...

How to fix the STEM education 'crisis'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, November 16

According to experts ranging from White House advisors to leading education organizations, the state of math and science instruction in the United States is in crisis--and only a major overhaul of the U.S. education syst...

HP-3Com deal marks a shot at Cisco

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, November 16

Hewlett-Packard Co.'s $2.7 billion takeover of 3Com Corp. is a shot at networking leader Cisco Systems Inc., analysts say--and a sign of how old relationships are being frayed by a flurry of maneuvers by technology heavy...

NSBA's T+L 2009 explores school innovation

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, November 16

"Innovation" was the watchword at the National School Boards Association's 2009 Technology + Learning (T+L) conference last month in Denver. Keynote speaker Frans Johansson, author of The Medici Effect, kicked off the an...

States boost access to online education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, November 16

A new survey intended to evaluate online-learning policies and practices from coast to coast reveals significant growth in state and district support for this instructional model at the K-12 level. At least 25 states now...

Ed-tech showcase inspires lawmakers

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 11

U.S. senators, students, and education-technology experts gathered on Capitol Hill last week for an event that highlighted the benefits of technology in K-12 and higher education. From robots to earthquake shake tables, ...

FCC proposes web-safety education rules

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 11

Schools and libraries receiving federal e-Rate funding would have to submit proof that they have implemented internet safety education programs along with their e-Rate applications, according to a new Notice of Proposed ...

FCC solicits e-Rate comments

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 11

As part of its efforts to develop a National Broadband Plan, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking comments about how the e-Rate program can be improved to meet the broadband needs of schools and librari...

More stimulus money coming -- with strings attached

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 11

The Obama administration is ready to hand out more stimulus dollars for schools, but this time, strings are attached. Key words: obama administration, state funding, stimulus funds, school reform, education technology <...

New 21st-century skills guide available

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 11

In yet another step toward helping schools and their students achieve 21st-century success, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) has released a new guide intended to help schools and districts evaluate the integ...

PC trends in education: Thin is in

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 11

Personal computers are changing in ways that go beyond even the more recent innovations, such as the launch of Windows 7: Several of today's laptops are missing a familiar component, computers can be controlled in variou...

Protecting kids or free speech: Where to draw the line?

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 11

Controlling what children see on TV, online, and in other electronic media requires a delicate balancing act between the First Amendment rights of content providers and the desire to protect kids from inappropriate mater...

Site simplifies text for students with disabilities

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 11

A new national online database is making it easier and quicker for college students with print-related disabilities, including blindness or dyslexia, to obtain the alternative textbooks they need for their academic cours...

States lag on school innovation

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 11

To reform the American education system, states and districts need more flexibility, better accountability, more capacity, and a stronger reform environment, according to a report card released by a coalition of concerne...

Schools protest Kindle's setup for the blind

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 11

Amazon's Kindle electronic book reader can read books aloud, but if you're blind it can be difficult to turn that function on without help. Now, two universities say they will avoid the device until Amazon changes the se...

Study: 2 in 5 teachers 'disheartened' with profession

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, November 2

Recognizing the importance of teacher quality in transforming underperforming schools, Education Secretary Arne Duncan has made retaining and rewarding effective teachers a cornerstone of his school reform agenda. But a ...

Teens sue district in suggestive pix flap

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, November 2

Two sophomore girls have sued their school district after they were punished for posting sexually suggestive photos on MySpace during their summer vacation. Key words: internet safety, online safety, MySpace safety, MyS...

Budget woes continue to plague education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, October 30

The federal stimulus package might have saved thousands of teaching jobs, but many thousands more remain in jeopardy -- as well as virtual-school programs, higher-education funding, and other school initiatives -- as a r...

Colleges axing student eMail accounts

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, October 30

Some campuses are doing away with school-issued eMail addresses as students increasingly enter college with a personal eMail account, according to a nationwide survey by education-technology group EDUCAUSE. The survey al...

Court: Public-records law covers 'metadata'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, October 30

Hidden data embedded in electronic public records must be disclosed under Arizona's public-records law, the state Supreme Court ruled Oct. 29 in a case that could have implications for public schools and colleges across ...

Nanotechnology program targets schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, October 30

The nanotechnology industry will employ an estimated 2 million people worldwide by 2015, and with President Obama calling on colleges to ready students for the field, an Illinois-based company has introduced a program de...

Parents: Focus more on 21st-century skills

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, October 30

Although parents, K-12 students, and educators agree that using technology is essential to learning and student success, parents are largely dissatisfied with the technology skills their children are learning in schools,...

Report: Top students spurning STEM fields

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, October 28

For years, educators have heard dire warnings about a supposed decline in the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates from U.S. colleges and universities, and the effect this could ha...

SETDA names new executive director

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, October 28

On Nov. 16, the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) will have a new leader: Long-time ed-tech industry executive Douglas Levin will take the reins from current SETDA Executive Director Mary Ann Wol...

Bill Gates helps shape education policy

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, October 27

Not content with shaping education directly through schools, the biggest player in the school-reform movement has an eye on moving education policy. Key words: Bill Gates, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, educational ...

Clean Tech: Schools bet on the next big thing

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, October 27

A new concept is gaining traction in the business world. It's called "clean tech"--alternative energy, more efficient power distribution, and new ways to store electricity, all with a reduced environmental impact. Now, s...

How to be a leader with assistive technology

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, October 27

Finding the right assistive technology (AT) to help students with special needs can be a daunting task -- but two leading AT trainers say the simplest tools often are best. Key words: assistive technology, education tech...

Duncan calls for overhaul of education schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, October 26

The Obama administration is calling for an overhaul of college programs that prepare new teachers, saying they are cash cows that do a mediocre job of preparing teachers for the classroom. Among the changes proposed by E...

FCC moves closer to net neutrality

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, October 26

University IT officials concerned that corporate control of the internet would mean that only major schools could afford premium web access lauded the Federal Communication Commission's step Oct. 22 toward barring broadb...

Students starting to flock to Twitter

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, October 26

New research suggests that more young adults and teens -- normally at the cutting edge of technology, but initially slow to adopt Twitter -- are finally coming around to the micro-blogging service, using it for school, w...

Online courses often pricier for students

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, October 26

Fees imposed on college students who take online classes can be more than $1,300 at some schools, according to a new survey claiming that internet-based education is often more costly for students than attending classes ...

Schools give Windows 7 favorable reviews

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, October 22

With Microsoft's Windows 7 launching Oct. 22, two school leaders who have tested the new operating system say it improves on many of the features that were problematic with Vista, while outperforming XP many times over. ...

Schools make their case for broadband grants

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, October 22

Colleges and universities have applied for tens of millions of dollars in federal stimulus grants designed to expand broadband internet access, arguing that university IT infrastructure makes campuses worthy recipients. ...

Free digital resource centers coming soon

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, October 21

An effort is under way in several states to create digital teaching resource centers that are aligned with state education standards and connected with student data systems, so teachers can find free, high-quality educat...

iTunes U evolving into teacher resource

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, October 21

iTunes University's role in higher education has changed from a platform for lecture videos to a source for homework, quiz, and lesson ideas for professors in search of new ways to teach old subjects. Key words: iTunes U...

Students, schools turn to virtual college fairs

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, October 21

As college fair season kicks into high gear, a growing number of students, parents, and colleges will be turning to virtual college fairs as a way to save money and increase exposure. Key words: CollegeWeekLive, virtual ...

The rise of the globally connected student

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, October 21

Today's students are the first globally connected citizens, able use their computers and cell phones to connect to all regions of the Earth and contribute to a global discussion through Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and un...

8-state cyber consortium gets $2.7 million grant

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, October 19

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $2.7 million grant to an eight-state consortium of technology centers and community colleges that is working to block cyber attacks and stop the loss of high-tech jobs in the...

Cisco positioned for bigger education role

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, October 19

Cisco's purchase of leading videoconferencing company Tandberg could be a boon for K-12 and higher-education officials willing to pay for a high-quality online meeting space, but technology experts expect free videoconfe...

Disparate state rules plague online education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, October 19

A patchwork of state rules for accrediting colleges and universities -- some more lax than others -- remain a roadblock for a national standard that online school officials have lobbied for since the early 1980s. Keyword...

Education advocates push for net neutrality

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, October 19

Republican opposition is mounting as federal regulators prepare to vote this month on so-called "network neutrality" rules, which would prohibit broadband providers from favoring or discriminating against certain types o...

Google to launch site for selling books online

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, October 19

Google Inc. is launching a new online service that will let readers buy electronic versions of books and read them on such gadgets as cell phones, laptops, and possibly e-book devices. Key words: electronic book, educati...

Kindle lightens textbook load, but flaws remain

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, October 19

It's an experiment that has made back-to-school a little easier on the back: Amazon.com gave more than 200 college students its Kindle e-reading device this fall, loaded with digital versions of their textbooks. But some...

Latest NAEP math scores show mixed results

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, October 19

After two decades of slow and steady progress in math, U.S. fourth-graders made no improvement over 2007, according to nationwide test scores released Oct. 14. Eighth-graders made headway, posting gains for yet another y...

Plan calls for action on 21st-century skills

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, October 19

More than 200 schools, districts, universities, state education departments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations have expressed support for a "National Action Agenda" from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21...

Schools step up web-safety instruction

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, October 19

As part of a new federal mandate that requires schools to teach internet safety to obtain e-Rate funding, schools are reaching out to internet safety awareness groups to establish programs that will educate both teachers...

State targets student-teacher communication

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, October 19

Beginning next month, Louisiana public schools will be required to document all electronic communication that occurs between teachers and students. The new law will even require tracking exchanges initiated by students t...

Comcast, Discovery team up to extend learning

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, September 29

In a move that could help extend students' learning after school hours, the state of Indiana, Comcast Corp., and Discovery Education have teamed up to provide students with free on-demand digital resources that are align...

Florida college students get free online books

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, September 29

The board that oversees Florida's state universities has launched a program that will offer free online textbooks to students; the program makes printed books available as well, for about half the price that students n...

Free web filtering catching on in schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, September 29

As schools struggle with shrinking budgets and try to work around technology funding cuts, many are turning to OpenDNS, a free network security service that provides content filtering, anti-phishing security, and domain ...

Hearing for Google books deal postponed

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, September 29

A federal judge noted the many objections to a $125 million deal giving Google Inc. digital rights to millions of out-of-print books as he agreed Sept. 24 to postpone a fairness hearing so the agreement can be rewritten ...

How tech drives success in Title I schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, September 29

A new report examines how districts can make the most of education technology funds, and an accompanying guide identifies effective school technology tools. Together, these resources are intended to help school leaders p...

Yale researchers examine online accreditation

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, September 29

Yale Law School researchers will team up with a tuition-free online university to study how online higher education is perceived worldwide and document what it takes for internet-based institutions to achieve accreditati...

e-Rate wants to be user friendly

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, September 24

When the filing window opens later this fall, applicants will find no major changes to next year's e-Rate, the $2.25 billion-a-year federal program that provides discounts on telecommunications services to eligible schoo...

Training is key to schools' digital media use

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, September 24

Educators need to embrace Web 2.0 technologies in schools, but they should be given adequate professional development to ensure they learn the proper ways to engage their students through digital media, said experts at a...

Web calendar boosts student communication

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, September 24

A group of 43 Clemson University freshmen are using a new web-based calendar program this fall that integrates with students' mobile devices and sends alerts when campus events change time or venue. Key words: Bay State ...

Grant to spur supercomputing network

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, September 23

More than 1,000 sophisticated computer processing units soon will be connected at five U.S. locations, including Indiana University, creating a supercomputing network that will aid research requiring enormous data proces...

ED announces student video contest

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, September 23

To get students invested in their education, President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have announced a new video contest, asking students to "inspire" them with their stories. Advocates for educational ...

Another step forward for common standards

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, September 22

In a move that could help states procure part of the $4.3 billion Race to the Top Fund, the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) on Sept. 21 released the first offic...

FCC chairman: 'Open internet' rules are vital

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, September 22

Wireless carriers shouldn't be allowed to block certain types of internet traffic flowing over their networks, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said Sept. 21 in a speech that predictably got a cool r...

Feds want Google to rewrite book deal

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, September 21

The U.S. Justice Department advised a federal judge on Sept. 18 that a proposed legal settlement giving Google Inc. the digital rights to millions of out-of-print books threatens to thwart competition and drive up prices...

Study: 600K campus records hacked this year

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, September 21

Computer hackers have stolen identifying information and credit card numbers from more than half a million college students, faculty, and alumni this year -- prompting some campus IT officials to call for a "total overha...

Will Wikipedia's new rules garner more trust?

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, September 21

Mikhail Lyubansky dreads seeing a research paper full of Wikipedia citations, but the clinical psychologist and lecturer at the University of Illinois nevertheless encourages students to use the web site's entries as a s...

Film holds Ariz. school as model for reform

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, September 21

Leaders in education gathered Sept. 17 to discuss the future of American education and screen a documentary highlighting an exemplary charter school in Arizona, which filmmaker Bob Compton said holds the solution to the ...

Commentary: Hope and experience

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, September 18

Commentary: Sometime this week (before the end of the day, if you can), I urge you to read a watershed report from the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF). It’s titled “Learning Teams: Crea...

Experts: Prepare now for autism's rising flood

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, September 18

As the number of school-age children diagnosed with autism continues to rise at an alarming rate, parents and special-education teachers are trying desperately to make school leaders aware of the often-overlooked educati...

Digital book search isn't limited to Google

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, September 17

Though Google Book Search has the largest collection of digitally scanned books of its kind, and the initiative has captured a great deal of attention, researchers should keep in mind there are other book-search sites th...

Technology powers global student summit

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, September 17

Energy. The environment. Global recession. Hundreds of students from around the world will work together this week to try to tackle the very same problems that the Group of 20 summit leaders will discuss when they arrive...

'Schools of Distinction' honored by Intel

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, September 17

In the spirit of innovation, education stakeholders gathered Sept. 15 in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the six schools that were named Intel's Schools of Distinction for 2009. Located in such diverse areas of the countr...

Program goes beyond open course model

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, September 16

A web-based learning program developed by Carnegie Mellon University that tracks student progress and provides virtual tutors for students is being expanded to 40 community colleges in an effort to raise course completio...

Companies help schools survive swine flu

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, September 16

Answering a call from federal officials, Microsoft Corp. and other education technology providers are making resources available to help keep instruction going should swine flu force schools to cancel their face-to-face ...

Experts debate relevance of 'social search'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, September 15

Researchers attending a conference on internet searching were divided on the use of social networking for serious research, with some saying traditional search engines are the more practical choice. Others, however, said...

3-D video coming to education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, September 15

Imagine you're back in school, and you're learning about the human body. You open your book and see the flat image of a skeleton on your page. You imagine what it must really look like and try to study as best you can. N...

College students vulnerable to web addiction

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, September 14

The proliferation of online social networks and video games has led to the rise of what many psychologists are calling a very real phenomenon: internet addiction. And college students, researchers say, are particularly v...

Is personal eMail subject to open-records law?

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, September 14

A case that will be argued before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in November could set a precedent that affects the way educators and other public employees use their eMail. Key words: personal email, public school teachers...

Cell-phone college classes face hurdles

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, September 11

In what is becoming a growing trend, campus technology officials expect most college course material soon will be accessible on mobile devices -- but IT departments first must make all course web sites readable on the iP...

New program teaches students about 9/11

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, September 11

Schools in seven states will be trying a new curriculum this week that uses online videos and interactive lessons to teach middle and high school students about the 2001 terrorist attacks. Key words: Sept. 11, education ...

Newest Apple iPod records video, too

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, September 11

Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs returned to the showman role that has helped define his company leadership, taking the stage on Sept. 9 for the first time since his medical leave to announce new products. And while a long-rumo...

Obama cautions kids on what they put online

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, September 11

In a pep talk that kept clear of politics, President Barack Obama on Sept. 8 challenged the nation's students to take pride in their education -- and stick with it even if they don't like every class or must overcome tou...

Software lets marketers eavesdrop on kids

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, September 11

Parents who install a leading brand of software to monitor their kids' online activities might be unwittingly allowing the company to read their children's chat messages -- and sell the marketing data thus gathered, repo...

Study: Green IT policies sink on priority list

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, September 11

American data centers doubled their energy usage from 2000 to 2006, and with consumption expected to double again by 2011, some colleges are seeking ways to cut their energy costs. Yet a new survey suggests that "green I...

Twitter unused by most faculty, study says

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, September 11

Three in ten college faculty surveyed earlier this summer said they use the micro-blogging site Twitter as an educational tool, but many educators remain skeptical of the social network and believe the site contributes t...

Gmail outage won't dissuade colleges

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, September 8

Colleges and universities that have outsourced eMail services to Google said the 100-minute Gmail outage on Sept. 1 proved inconvenient for students and professors, but many IT officials maintain Google's service is supe...

Google addresses book-search privacy fears

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, September 8

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin has extended the deadline until 10 a.m. EDT on Sept. 8 for protesting or supporting the landmark deal that would let Google Inc. scan millions of copyrighted books so they can be read on co...

Obama's speech to students sparks controversy

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, September 8

A plan by President Barack Obama to address students nationwide via the internet Sept. 8 has energized opposition, with some districts refusing to allow students to view the speech. Others, however, say they welcome the ...

Sample free classroom-management software

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, September 3

In what could be the first steps in a movement sure to please educators and IT administrators alike, two makers of classroom-management software programs are offering "light," or scaled-down, versions of their most popul...

ACLU sues over cell-phone search

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, September 2

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit on behalf of a middle-school boy who was expelled from school after what the group calls an illegal search and seizure of his cell phone....

Schools get help in using Web 2.0 tools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, September 2

Web 2.0 tools hold great promise for education, but they also pose a number of challenges for educators. To help teachers and administrators navigate these challenges, while also becoming "disruptive leaders" in their sc...

Tech helps students adopt good study habits

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, September 2

Purdue University is using educational technology--and online "signals"--to warn some students that their grades are dropping, offer study-habit suggestions, and provide positive reinforcement to students who are acing q...

Phones, PCs put eBooks within easy reach

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, September 1

Thanks largely to Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle, eBook sales are finally zooming after more than a decade in the doldrums--and students at five campuses this fall will pilot Amazon's textbook-friendly Kindle DX to read electr...

1-to-1 computing in the spotlight

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, September 1

South Dakota, Maine, and Wyoming top the list of states with the highest percentage of schools that have ubiquitous (one-to-one) computing programs for their students--while California ranks last in this category, accord...

At Singularity U, tech is seen as savior

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, August 31

Chatter about ensuing plans permeates any graduation, though it's not common for the talk to surround which class projects will receive venture capital funding. Key words: singularity university, Ray Kurzweil, education...

Digital pens: Mightier than MSWord?

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, August 31

A significant key to students' academic success is their ability to take complete and accurate notes during class--and recent developments in digital-pen technology might help students do just that. Key words: digital pe...

SchoolMAX cited in back-to-school nightmare

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, August 31

It's every district's nightmare: thousands of students arrive on the first day of school with no schedule and nowhere to go and parents, teachers, and the media are shouting questions, demanding to know who's to blame. ...

Judge: District's visitor ID system is OK

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, August 28

A federal judge ruled Aug. 18 that a computerized background-check system made by Raptor Technologies does not violate the constitutional rights of parents and other school visitors who undergo the checks. Key words: Rap...

Poll: Americans favor Obama's school reforms

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, August 28

Most Americans want to change No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and they favor several education reforms backed by the Obama administration, such as charter schools and teacher merit pay, a new survey finds. Key words: gallop...

SAT scores dip for high school class of 2009

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, August 28

Average scores on the SAT college entrance exam dipped slightly for the high school class of 2009, while gender, race, and income gaps widened, according to figures released Aug. 25 by the College Board. Key words: colle...

TPACK explores effective ed-tech integration

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, August 28

As technology becomes an increasingly important tool for teaching and learning, a relatively new concept--focusing on how educators can effectively and effortlessly tailor technology to their instructional practices--is ...

Duncan floats school turnaround plan

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, August 28

Education Secretary Arne Duncan has proposed new rules for distributing $3.5 billion in Title I School Improvement Grants to turn around the nation's lowest performing schools. The plan includes flexibility for districts...

FCC probes iPhone-Google app dispute

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, August 28

A federal probe of practices in the wireless industry could have significant implications for school leaders and others who use smart phones and other wireless devices to communicate. Key words: wireless devices, Federal...

Huge demand far exceeds broadband grants

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, August 28

"Cash for Clunkers" isn't the only economic stimulus program to attract a lot of takers: The federal government on Aug. 27 said it has received requests for nearly $28 billion from groups that want to expand high-speed i...

Microsoft motivates innovative teachers

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, August 28

A tic-tac-toe game based on the Industrial Revolution that uses the principles of universal design to give students multiple ways of learning will be the U.S. representative in a worldwide competition that showcases effe...

$650M in new grants target innovation

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, August 25

U.S. schools will have a chance this fall to compete for part of $650 million in new "innovation" funds that are intended to reward districts that have designed and tested effective, scalable systems for boosting student...

Google rivals to fight book-scanning settlement

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, August 25

The fight against a legal settlement that would give Google Inc. the digital rights to millions of copyrighted books is starting to resemble a heavyweight brawl in the library. Key words: google book, digital rights, goo...

O'Connor touts civics lessons via online games

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, August 25

A free computer game for teenagers created with the help of former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has made its online debut. Key words: Sandra Day O'Connor, Supreme Decision, civics education <#a href="http...

Panelists to FCC: Raise e-Rate funding cap

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, August 25

The e-Rate can play a significant role in the national broadband plan being developed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), panelists said during an Aug. 20 hearing--but for this to happen, commissioners must r...

Virtual 3-D lab aims to stimulate learning

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, August 25

Students at a Baltimore County high school this fall will explore the area surrounding Mount St. Helens in a vehicle that can morph from an aircraft to a car to a boat to learn about how the environment has changed since...

Feds issue more guidance on swine flu

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, August 25

Schools and colleges should be ready with hard-copy packets and online lessons to keep learning going even if swine flu sickens large numbers of students this year, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said Aug. 24. K...

Gates Foundation seeks keys to effective teaching

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, August 20

Ever since Americans sent their children to one-room schoolhouses, parents have known what makes a good school: inspiring, organized, and creative teachers. But researchers haven't been able to quantify what, exactly, ma...

Teacher quality under the microscope

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, August 20

It's no secret that one of the keys to creating better schools is to raise the quality of teaching in the nation's classrooms. But how to identify, and encourage, high-quality teaching is proving to be a challenge. Key w...

Stimulus could spur more virtual charter schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, August 19

As states compete for more than $4 billion in federal "Race to the Top" stimulus grants, Education Secretary Arne Duncan has made it clear that states willing to embrace charter schools and other favored innovations will...

Technology helps bring rare books back to print

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, August 19

Dozens of university libraries have made vast book collections available online, and University of Michigan library officials have begun selling hard copies of out-of-print books they have digitized in recent years--char...

Film series profiles visionaries in 21st-century education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, August 18

The nonprofit Pearson Foundation hopes to start conversations and get people thinking about educational innovation with a new film series that profiles remarkable people and their accomplishments in school reform. Key wo...

College textbook rentals gaining traction

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, August 17

A University of Mississippi student is renting a chemistry textbook for $9.99 this fall rather than buying the book for $157.95. Another student from the University of South Alabama saved $172 by renting a business law b...

Focus on school data bolsters case for SIF

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, August 17

As little as a few years ago, the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF)--a solution that allows school software applications from various vendors to share information seamlessly--was making slow headway in the nation'...

Momentum building on STEM education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, August 17

As part of the Obama administration's emphasis on bringing education into the 21st century, it comes as no surprise that policy makers have trained their focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) educati...

Funding advice for online learning

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, August 17

As online learning continues to gain momentum across the country, education experts are warning that policies surrounding this popular learning option are shaky at best. A new report by the International Association for ...

California lists state-approved digital textbooks

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, August 12

Following up on their plan to encourage the use of free, open digital textbooks among the state's schools, California education leaders on Aug. 11 released a list of resources they have determined meet state-approved sta...

Technology can reduce summer 'melt'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, August 12

Faculty and staff at Muskegon Community College in Michigan used to avoid George Maniates, knowing the campus official would ask them to call students as tuition deadlines approached. Now, a new automated phone program l...

School IT chiefs mull Windows 7

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, August 11

Software giant Microsoft Corp. is hoping to erase the bad memories of its last major upgrade to the Windows operating system, Vista, with its release of Windows 7 this fall. The program has drawn several favorable initia...

Contest lets students try to 'change the world'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, August 10

A handheld medical diagnostic laboratory created by two Stanford University graduate students took home the top prize in the first annual Presidents' "Change the World" Competition from the Institute of Electrical and El...

Feds revise swine flu guidance

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, August 10

In a departure from previous guidance on the issue, the U.S. government on Aug. 7 said schools should close this fall only if large numbers of students have swine flu, and schools could allow their sick students to retur...

Budget cuts devastate California higher ed

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, August 7

When California college students return to campus this fall, they'll find crowded classrooms, less access to faculty and counselors, fewer technology-related perks and other campus services, and more difficulty getting c...

NECC 2009: Video highlights

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, August 7

The rise in mobile technologies, how to lobby Congress successfully for more ed-tech support, and how Baby Boomers can help meet the need for 21st-century teachers: These were some of the topics illuminated by leaders in...

CMU software streamlines 3D programming

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, August 6

Carnegie Mellon University is getting set to release an updated version of its popular animation-based software program "Alice," developed by the late "last lecture" professor Randy Pausch to teach computer programming. ...

Students help program science computer game

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, August 6

Middle and high school students spent a little more than four weeks this summer at McKinley Technical High School in Washington, D.C., developing the programming and modeling for a prototype of an educational computer ga...

Digital library saves vital web documents

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, August 5

Web pages have an average lifespan of 77 days, meaning documentation of historical events can vanish with a single click. Critically important documents are moving exclusively to the internet, and the California Digital ...

ED accelerates $11.37 billion stimulus schedule

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, August 5

The second round of stimulus funding for Title I, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program, totaling $11.37 billion in all, will be made available to states b...

Program opens high-tech world to deaf students

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, August 4

An innovative summer academy at the University of Washington--thought to be the only one of its kind in the United States--introduces deaf and hard-of-hearing students to careers in computer sciences. Key words: Universi...

Coach sued for requesting Facebook logins

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, August 3

In a case that could set a precedent for whether school officials can legally peek into students' private social-networking accounts without justifiable cause, a high school cheerleader is suing her school and former coa...

Court rules against Blackboard in patent fight

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, August 3

A federal appeals court ruling this week voided part of a Blackboard Inc. patent that competitor Desire2Learn was accused of violating, and technology experts say the end of the protracted legal battle could introduce an...

Field sees first draft of common standards

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, August 3

As the idea of common educational standards gains traction across the United States, the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) has released the first draft of its proposed national reading and math standards. Ke...

Funding tops campus IT concerns

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, August 3

Slashed campus budgets and dwindling endowments have spurred university IT officials toward cost-saving technologies, and a new survey shows that saving IT dollars has vaulted to the No. 1 priority of campus technology d...

Jury awards $675K in music downloading case

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, August 3

A federal jury on July 31 ordered a Boston University graduate student who admitted illegally downloading and sharing music online to pay $675,000 to four record labels. Key words: RIIA, recording industry, illegal down...

Librarians: Bing has to find niche

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, August 3

School and campus librarians say Google likely will remain the preferred option for student and faculty research even after the much-ballyhooed deal between Microsoft and Yahoo, but they say Microsoft's Bing search engin...

Tests reveal dangers of texting while driving

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, August 3

Two recent studies highlight the dangers of texting while driving in no uncertain terms, and they could influence how school-based driver's education programs approach the topic. Key words: texting and driving, danger, d...

$5 billion carrot for schools overhaul

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 29

Dangling the promise of $5 billion in grants, President Barack Obama on July 24 pressured states to embrace his ideas for overhauling the nation's schools -- ideas that include performance pay for teachers and more chart...

BU student's song-swapping trial begins

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 29

A Boston University graduate student was "a kid who did what kids do" when he swapped songs through file-sharing networks like Kazaa, his lawyer said July 28 as his copyright-infringement trial began. Key words: copyrigh...

Ten tips for boosting eCommunication

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 29

Award-winning eSchool News columnist Nora Carr offers 10 tips for boosting your eCQ (eCommunications Quotient) during the new school year. Key words: ecommunication, ecommunications quotient, tips, education, technology ...

ED issues rules on ed-tech stimulus funds

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 29

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has issued new guidance to help states and school systems use ed-tech stimulus funding to drive lasting education reforms and improve student achievement. Key words: ARRA, EETT, ed t...

Experts split on 'Kindle in Every Backpack'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, July 27

Education experts are split after a recent proposal published by some influential members of the Democratic Party suggested the government provide electronic reading devices to every student in the United States. Key wor...

The rise of digital textbooks

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, July 27

As schools shift to 21st century learning in a time of budget crunches, digital textbooks in classrooms are on the rise. To help educators and administrators efficiently implement digital texts, two diverse districts sha...

Gates: U.S. ed has no choice but to improve

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 23

The U.S. must improve its educational standing in the world by rewarding effective teaching and by developing better, universal measures of performance for students and teachers, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said on J...

American education reform: Stranded on islands of excellence

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 22

(Editor's note: What follows is the edited text of a speech given at an Arizona charter schools event on May 17 by Craig Barrett, who retired as chairman of Intel Corp. three days later.) Key words: U.S. education reform...

Editorial: Different animals

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 22

In the July issue of eSchool News, we published the text of the final speech given by Craig Barrett as chairman of Intel Corp. In his speech, Barrett--who retired as Intel's chairman in May--offered five suggestions for ...

Layoffs prompt teachers to move online

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 22

In what could be a result of widespread teacher layoffs, some virtual schools and online learning providers are reporting huge increases in teaching applications for the coming school year. Key words: online learning, vi...

November: Drastically change ed-tech role

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 22

Author and longtime education technology advocate Alan November told educators and IT administrators last month that schools and colleges should reassess how they fund their ed-tech initiatives. Asking what teachers and ...

What educators can learn from brain research

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 22

As technology advances, new discoveries based on brain mapping are helping researchers understand how students learn. And those discoveries, in turn, are enriching and informing classroom practices in a growing number of...

Let retiring 'Boomers' transform schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 22

An innovative and potentially ground-breaking approach to 21st century education is placing baby boomer retirees from STEM fields into "learning teams" with educators in an attempt to give students knowledge from real-li...

Hard times push Catholic schools toward crisis

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 16

In a trend that has been intensified by growing economic worries, declining enrollment in Catholic schools across the nation is forcing many of those schools to close. Key words: Catholic school enrollment, Catholic high...

ISTE urges tech training for future teachers

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 16

Educational technology advocates are hoping that Congress amends the fiscal 2010 budget to include funding for a grant program that focuses on improving new teachers' abilities to use technology in the classroom. Key wor...

Software rivalry gives schools more choices

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 16

Two recent announcements have ratcheted up the rivalry between Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc.--and both could have significant implications for schools. Key words: Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft education, Google Chro...

ED: Blended learning helps boost achievement

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, July 14

A new analysis of existing online-learning research by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) reveals that students who took all or part of their class on line performed better, on average, than those taking the same cour...

NECC 2009 looks to education's future

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, July 14

The economic recession doesn't seem to have dampened enthusiasm for the 2009 National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in Washington, D.C.: At a time when tight school budgets have left little room for travel expe...

Web site recreates Apollo 11 mission in real time

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, July 14

Families crowded around black-and-white television sets in 1969 to watch Neil Armstrong take man's first steps on the moon. Now, they'll be able to watch the Apollo 11 mission recreated in real time on the web, follow Tw...

ED OKs proctors, secure logins for online tests

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, July 10

Web-based college programs won't have to buy pricey monitoring gadgets like cameras and fingerprint or eye scanners to satisfy the requirements of a section in the recently reauthorized Higher Education Act, federal offi...

Free online course helps students plan careers

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, July 10

A free online learning program from Microsoft is helping middle and high school students think about careers they might like to pursue and the skills necessary to attain those careers. Key words: 21st century skills, U.S...

Open-source tool to boost STEM graduates

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 9

State education officials have a new tool to help them predict which investments will pay dividends as they try to boost the number of college graduates who major in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STE...

Task force tells how to keep kids safe online

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 9

Members of an internet safety task force on July 8 suggested several ways to improve cyber safety for children, focusing on three key areas in particular: education before a child gets on the internet, control while the ...

High-tech cheating? Students see it differently

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 8

A recent report commissioned by Common Sense Media about the use of cell phones and the internet for cheating is representative of how students and adults can look at the same behavior or activity and have very different...

NCTI funds research on assistive technologies

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, July 7

A handful of research projects now under way will gauge the effectiveness of new learning and assistive technologies for students with disabilities, such as a non-visual web browser and spell-check programs designed for ...

Editorial: Philadelphia story

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, July 6

Transparency is a popular word these days. It's on the tongue of every oleaginous politician and beleaguered corporate chieftain. But as for actual instances of transparency--in business, government, the news media--well...

Cell phones used to deliver course content

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, July 6

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan says schools and colleges should deliver course content to the cell phones that students use to talk and text every day. Some campus officials are listening, and classes via web-enabl...

Cyber-bullying conviction could be tossed

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, July 6

A federal judge on July 2 tentatively threw out the convictions of a Missouri mother for her role in a MySpace hoax directed at a 13-year-old neighbor girl who ended up committing suicide. The case had raised national aw...

ED to fund unified student data systems

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, July 6

Backed by a strong and unprecedented federal investment in education, the Obama administration has identified multiple objectives intended to help revamp the nation's education system--and a persistent use of student dat...

Feds announce guidelines for rural broadband funding

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 2

Vice President Joe Biden on July 1 outlined a $4.7 billion loan and grant program to develop the infrastructure needed to deliver broadband, or high-speed, internet access to areas that are underserved or without access....

Pa., Maine faced with ed-tech budget woes

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 2

Two states are taking very different approaches when it comes to managing spending cuts and sustaining education technology budgets. In Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell has proposed cutting his signature Classroo...

7 million YouTube hits make kids' choir famous

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 1

A New York fifth-grade chorus has become a world-famous cyber phenomenon touted by top media outlets, celebrities, and politicians, thanks to the online video-sharing web site YouTube. Key words: YouTube, blogging, scho...

Audits frustrate e-Rate applicants

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 1

Opinions about the management of the federal e-Rate program have improved over the last year, a new survey suggests. But applicants continue to be frustrated by audits, and they'd like to see more transparency in the pro...

Microsoft tests free security software

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 1

In a move that could help keep higher-education campus networks safe, Microsoft Corp. released a beta test of a free computer security program on June 23 and is on track to launch a finished product in the fall. Key word...

Study: Students want more online learning

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 1

Despite a growing interest in online learning among students, the availability of online classes in K-12 schools and districts hasn't kept pace with the demand, according to a new report from Project Tomorrow and Blackbo...

InfoComm 2009: Acoustics and Audio

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, June 29

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LEDs light up InfoComm 2009

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, June 29

School administrators, teachers, and professors were among thousands at the InfoComm audio-video conference in Orlando June 15-19, where technology vendors unveiled the latest in digital signage hardware and software and...

Project seeks to measure ed tech's value

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, June 29

An ambitious new research project aims to revolutionize education by showing that well-implemented technology initiatives can save states money after an initial investment. Key words: school technology implementation, sc...

Cheaper eBook reader challenges Kindle

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, June 26

With the popularity of electronic reading devices on the rise, and a handful of colleges set to pilot Amazon.com's Kindle DX this fall, a new eBook reading device from New York-based Interead, called the COOL-ER, offers ...

Digital games: Playing for learning and health

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, June 26

Video game researchers gathered June 23 to discuss ways gaming can help address the gaps in U.S. students' educational performance, while also helping to improve their health. Key words: educational gaming, educational t...

Former college QB battles video game maker

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 24

A former college quarterback is suing video game company EA Sports and the NCAA for using his image in a popular video game without his consent in a case that legal experts say could affect the long-brewing argument over...

Carnegie Corporation: 'Do school differently'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 24

Urging the nation to "do school differently," a new report recommends a set of concrete actions for federal, state, and local education leaders to take to transform math and science instruction and bring the United State...

21st-century skills movement grows

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, June 23

Illinois, Louisiana, and Nevada have become the latest states to join the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), a national effort to integrate 21st-century skills into teaching and learning to prepare students for a...

Campus payroll project sees delays, more costs

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, June 23

A second attempt by the University of Wisconsin System to install a new computer payroll program is millions of dollars over budget and a year behind schedule. Moreover, a company fired over subpar work in creating Wisco...

Dueling curricula put copyright ed in spotlight

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, June 23

A clash over education materials from two copyright awareness organizations has thrust copyright education in the national spotlight, while giving educators and students some new resources for understanding how copyright...

Duncan to states: Don't slash school funding

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, June 23

The Obama administration on June 18 warned states that it might withhold millions of dollars in federal stimulus funding if they use the money to plug budget holes instead of boosting aid for schools. Key words: Arne Dun...

Google Maps snaps views from college campuses

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, June 23

A pedicab-like vehicle mounted with an 8-foot-high camera has been rolling around the pedestrian walkways of the University of Pennsylvania to collect panoramic images of the campus for Google Maps' Street View feature, ...

House panel explores ed tech's value

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, June 23

A panel of educational technology experts spoke before the members of the House Education and Labor Committee June 16, stressing the importance that technology plays in the classroom as well as the need for continued pro...

Minn. woman loses music-sharing retrial

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, June 23

In what should serve as another stark warning to students about the repercussions of illegally sharing music online, a replay of the nation's first file-sharing case to go to trial has ended with the same result, finding...

Student sued for offering copyrighted text

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, June 23

A Mission College student is one of eight people facing accusations they illegally posted the newest handbook from the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons for downloading online through the popular document-s...

Students say using tech to cheat isn't cheating

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, June 23

A new poll conducted by the nonprofit organization Common Sense Media suggests that students are using cell phones and the internet to cheat on school exams. What's surprising, however, is not just the alarming number of...

Firm offers video college tours

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 17

To narrow down her choice of colleges, high school senior Augusta Jahrsdoerfer did what students have done for generations: take tours of the schools she was interested in. But rather than travel to universities across t...

Project makes digital video more accessible

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 17

A new partnership will expand the availability of closed captioning (CC) and audio description (AD) in multimedia educational content--giving students who are hearing or visually impaired, are English language learners, ...

Stimulus funds to advance national standards

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 17

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is offering federal cash incentives to achieve one of his top priorities: developing national standards for reading and math to replace a current hodgepodge of benchmarks in the state...

Schools suffer despite stimulus funding

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 17

The nearly $100 billion for education in the federal stimulus package is helping school districts staunch the bleeding as the recession gashes their operating budgets. But though state and school district leaders from co...

Campus IT officials feel safer, but fear botnets

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, June 15

Campus computer networks are better protected than they were five years ago, college and university IT administrators said in a newly released survey, but they warned that the viruses student computers can bring to a net...

Increasing class time fraught with controversy

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, June 15

In the months since Education Secretary Arne Duncan was confirmed by the Senate he has said repeatedly he believes American schoolchildren need to be in class longer if they are to compete with students abroad--an idea t...

Duncan: Use tech to leverage change

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, June 15

To avoid being caught short when stimulus money runs out, school officials should use the short-term federal funding to upgrade technology and improve the tracking of student data, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to...

Schwarzenegger: Printed texts are old school

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, June 15

In the state that gave the world Facebook, Google, and the iPod, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says forcing California's students to rely on printed textbooks is so yesterday. Key words: online learning, eBooks, eTextbooks,...

Ed-tech leaders brace for smaller budgets

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 10

The majority of ed-tech leaders said they expect their school technology budgets for the 2009-10 school year to decrease at least somewhat, if not substantially, despite available funding from the American Recovery and R...

Educators mull Apple's latest announcements

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 10

During Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Calif., earlier this week, Apple announced price reductions and new versions of its iPhone smart phone and MacBook Pro laptops, as well as an updated versi...

Japan tests cell phones to stop pandemics

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 10

An experiment in using technology to help stop the spread of pandemics is about to begin in Japan, and its results could have implications for U.S. schools as well. Key words: Japanese schools, virus outbreak, swine flu,...

Syracuse, IBM collaborate on green data center

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 10

Syracuse University and IBM Corp. are building a new self-powered, energy-efficient computer data center that officials hope will become a model of green technology and help American schools and businesses save billions ...

Google Wave has great potential for education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, June 8

Google Inc. later this year will unveil Google Wave, a new species of eMail and instant messaging that lets people communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, and videos--and it could have broad imp...

Schools in two states unblock LGBT sites

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, June 8

Dozens of Tennessee schools have restored students' access to online information about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues, just a few weeks after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit ag...

ASU journalism school simplifies technology

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, June 5

Arizona State University journalism students once jumped from workstation to workstation, reporting on PCs and editing on Macs, which delayed production in a fast-paced newsroom until college IT officials at the school i...

Editorial: Wags and Dogs

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, June 5

Programs such as EETT, eRate, and BTOP amount to several billions of dollars that could become available for ed-tech projects. That's not enough to bring state-of-the-art technology to bear on all the myriad challenges f...

Lawsuits test free speech in internet era

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, June 5

A federal appeals court in Philadelphia must decide whether a Pennsylvania middle school can suspend a student who, at home on her own time, created a lewd MySpace page aimed at her principal. Key words: MySpace, free-sp...

Lenovo to research tech's effect on learning

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, June 5

A new research initiative called the Global Education Research program will analyze and measure the impact of technology on students' educational experiences in various areas, ranging from first grade through higher educ...

Communication is even more important during tough times

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 3

Times are tough. More students are homeless and hungry. More school employees are getting laid off. People who normally don't worry much about their personal finances are worried now. With anxiety and stress rampant, sch...

Online school implements game-based course

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 3

Florida Virtual School (FLVS) is set to pilot what it describes as the first complete online game-based course for high school students. School officials and the game's creators hope the course will help engage students ...

School security breaches on the rise

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 3

Increases in physical and network security breaches among K-12 school districts are hampering schools' efforts to improve their overall security, according to the third annual School Safety Index, a survey of more than 4...

WebNotes allows users to annotate web pages

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 3

To help students with online research, Boston-based company WebNotes created a web-based highlighting and "sticky note" tool that allows users to compile information from multiple web pages to organize and share their fi...

Microsoft takes on Google in web search

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, June 1

Aiming to make a dent in Google's search engine dominance, Microsoft Corp. is rolling out a redesigned search site in the coming days that could give students and educators a new option and different tools for internet r...

Robots used to study evolution

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, June 1

Microprocessors are now tinier and more sophisticated. Building materials are more pliable. The same technology driving the use of electronic prosthetic limbs and vacuuming robots also is giving scientists a sophisticate...

School of the Future: Lessons in failure

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, June 1

When it opened its doors in 2006, Philadelphia's School of the Future (SOF) was touted as a high school that would revolutionize education: It would teach at-risk students critical 21st-century skills needed for college ...

Gates Foundation: Teachers trump class size

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, May 29

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation spent billions of dollars exploring the idea that smaller high schools might result in higher graduation rates and better test scores. Instead, it found the key to better education is ...

Senate bill supports 21st-century skills

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, May 29

States offering students curriculum options that integrate key 21st-century skills would receive matching federal funds through an incentive bill introduced in the U.S. Senate May 13 by West Virginia Democrat John D. Roc...

Apple goes green, launches free recycling

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, May 28

K-12 schools and higher-education institutions can recycle their used computers and peripherals from any manufacturer free of charge, under a new limited-time offer from Apple Inc. Key words: Apple, Apple recycling, scho...

Obama names first Hispanic to High Court

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, May 27

President Barack Obama on May 26 named federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor as his choice to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter--making her the first Hispanic in history picked to wear the robes of a Hi...

Study: Virtual schools can help cut costs

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, May 27

New research suggests that more K-12 public school students will take classes online and will have longer school days in the next decade--and academic improvement and cost savings are two big benefits. Key words: virtua...

ACLU sues over blocked web sites

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 26

The American Civil Liberties Union and its Tennessee branch sued two Tennessee school districts in federal court May 19, claiming that the districts are unconstitutionally blocking students from accessing online informat...

Bill would fund internet safety education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 26

A New Jersey lawmaker has introduced internet safety legislation that, if passed, would authorize roughly $175 million--$35 million a year for five years--for internet safety education and training to help make children,...

California considers open digital textbooks

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 26

In what could be a first-of-its-kind statewide initiative, California education leaders are working together to compile a list of free, open digital textbooks that meet state-approved standards and will be available to h...

Duncan outlines school reform agenda

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 26

Rewarding effective teaching, expanding the learning time, collecting meaningful data, and transforming underperforming high schools are the four key areas the U.S. Department of Education (ED) plans to target in the nex...

Higher-ed IT costs continue to rise

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 26

Technology spending among colleges and universities has swelled in recent years, but experts project only minimal increases from 2009-13, according to a report documenting a wide range of trends in higher education. Key ...

New device saves money on color printing

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 26

A new Xerox Corp. printer that uses solid-ink technology and a sliding price scale might be good news for schools and colleges that are trying to cut costs without taking away from administrative or classroom functions. ...

New iPod rules touch off heated debate

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 26

A new policy by the University of Missouri School of Journalism requiring incoming students to have an iPhone, iPod Touch, or similar device has touched off a heated debate about the limits and possibilities of technolog...

Report: U.S. students lagging in biosciences

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 26

Middle and high school students across the country are generally falling behind in life sciences, and the nation is at risk of producing a dearth of qualified workers for the fast-growing bioscience industry, according t...

House approves $6.4B for green schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 19

The U.S. House of Representatives on May 14 passed a multiyear school construction bill with the ambitious goals of producing hundreds of thousands of jobs, reducing energy consumption, and creating healthier, cleaner en...

New search tool gives pause to some

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 19

A new search tool that is set to launch formally May 18 allows users to input queries and receive answers to fact-based questions. If it works as advertised, the web site, called WolframAlpha, could be another useful too...

Scribd opens new market for online texts

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 19

Hoping to do for the written word what iTunes did for music, the online document-sharing service Scribd is opening an internet store that will offer new sales opportunities for publishers and authors -- including teacher...

Dell aims new netbook at younger students

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 19

Dell Inc., already the largest seller of PCs to schools worldwide, is trying to extend its lead with its first low-cost "netbook" designed for young students at a time when schools, businesses, and general consumers are ...

iSchools lift hopes in NYC

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, May 15

A series of theme-based high schools are springing up across New York City, based on a model that has been open for only a year but already is drawing rave reviews. Called the iSchool, this model school blends innovative...

Jury out on Facebook's impact on grades

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, May 15

Two contradictory studies about Facebook usage and grade-point average have higher education officials questioning if the social networking giant has any impact on students' classroom performance. Key words: Facebook, so...

Bill would legalize online gambling

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, May 14

A bill that would overturn the federal ban on internet gambling has some educators wondering how minors, including students using school computers, would be prevented from logging onto the betting sites from home and dur...

Brothers take top spot in programming contest

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, May 14

Every child around the world should be entitled to a primary education, but many are not receiving a full or even a partial primary education, say the creators of MultiPoint Web. They should know; they're students themse...

Student blogs can win cash for college

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, May 14

Karissa Snow won $5,000 in scholarship money just by blogging and winning her peers' approval. She's among 40,000 students vying for tuition cash every week on CollegeNET, a web site that lets current and prospective col...

Unused eRate funding totals billions

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, May 14

About $5 billion of the estimated $19.5 billion in eRate funds committed to schools and libraries from 1998 to 2006 were never used, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Key word...

Colleges scan Facebook during admissions

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 12

Students, be careful what you post about yourself online: That's the key lesson taken from a recent survey suggesting that many college admissions officers are looking at students' online profiles before they make their ...

Google's book scanning faces scrutiny

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 12

A proposed settlement among Google Inc., the Authors Guild, and the Association of American Publishers over Google's extensive book-scanning project faces growing scrutiny--and new fears that the deal could give Google t...

Amazon cloud offer appeals to colleges

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, May 11

David J. Malan's Harvard University computer science students completed projects last fall that would have proved difficult -- if not impossible -- without cloud computing. Malan secured a grant from Amazon Web Services ...

Blackboard-Angel deal gives pause to some

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, May 11

Learning managment system giant Blackboard Inc.'s May 6 announcement that it would acquire up-and-coming competitor Angel Learning for $95 million has some educators concerned about Blackboard's continued growth--and the...

Obama proposes $1.3B increase in ed funding

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, May 11

Federal funding for the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program would drop from $270 million to $100 million, a 63 percent cut, under President Obama's proposed $3.4 trillion budget for fiscal year 2010. Ke...

iPods help ESL students achieve success

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, May 11

As school leaders ponder the implications of new technologies for their classrooms, one dedicated New Jersey educator has turned theory into practice, using the iPod to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) students. ...

New Kindle is textbook friendly

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, May 7

Amazon Inc.'s Kindle DX electronic reading device will be piloted on five U.S. campuses this fall, when students will substitute their textbooks for the Kindle’s new, larger screen that will allow users to highlight, t...

Obama tax plan a double-edged sword

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, May 7

New corporate tax regulations proposed by President Obama could redirect more federal income tax money to education--and especially to programs such as Title I. Nonetheless, the president's proposal generally is unpopula...

Stimulus aims to help close digital divide

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, May 6

With more than $7 billion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act set aside for increasing broadband access in the United States, the stimulus presents a huge opportunity for schools and communities to help close t...

White House seeks input on education law

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, May 6

Education Secretary Arne Duncan is a man on a mission: to hear what teachers, students, parents, and school leaders in at least 15 states think about No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the controversial education law champione...

Support grows for common standards

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 5

It's been a long-held tradition in American public education that decisions about standards and curriculum are best left to state and local school systems, not the federal government. But that soon could change, amid mou...

Tech keeps learning alive, despite closings

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 5

Though schools in a handful of states have closed temporarily to curtail the spread of swine flu, that hasn't interrupted the learning process for many students--thanks to technologies such as video conferencing, classro...

University teaches the keys to 'viral video'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 5

In a course that many believe to be the first of its kind, Northwestern University film students last winter learned the keys to creating online videos with the potential to draw mass audiences in a phenomenon known as "...

Souter retirement sets off speculation

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, May 4

In a May 1 letter to President Obama, U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter said he would be retiring from the nation's high court in June. Souter's announcement has set off a flurry of speculation about a successor, a...

Campus network used in spamming scheme

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, May 4

Two Missouri brothers were indicted by a federal grand jury April 23 on charges of illegally harvesting student eMail addresses from more than 2,000 campuses using a program that falsified eMail header information and av...

Iconic texts still missing from e-libraries

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, May 1

A growing number of schools are embracing books in electronic format, but many classic titles that have become staples of the English curriculum still aren't available as eBooks. Key words: ebook library, english curricu...

More books coming to students with disabilities

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, April 30

Students with disabilities often wait weeks or months for their textbooks to be specially formatted, but now a new higher-education partnership could make these books more widely available to students by scanning books a...

Obama warns of more school closings

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, April 29

As worries of a possible pandemic intensified April 29 amid reports of the first death in the United States from swine flu, President Obama said school leaders should consider closing their schools temporarily if they th...

DVD copying software on trial

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, April 29

A federal trial now under way could decide whether educators, students, and other consumers will have legal access to technology that allows them to make backup copies of their DVDs on a computer hard drive. Key words: D...

Reading, math scores show mixed results

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, April 29

United States students are improving in reading across the board and in math at the lower age levels, with low-achieving students making the biggest gains. But high school math scores have remained flat since the 1970s--...

B-&-W printing goes green with soy toner

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 28

Every time computer users print out pages on a laser printer, they are using toner made from petroleum-based products. Now, there's a greener choice that shows promise: a toner product derived from soybean oil. Key words...

Low-cost presentations powered by the cloud

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 28

College professors and students now can give presentations using the power of cloud computing, while possibly saving thousands of dollars compared to other online presentation services. Key words: Slidelive, online prese...

School wants to halt athletes' dumb web posts

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 28

After getting in trouble for breaking the NCAA's rules about recruiting phone calls, the University of Oklahoma is trying to make sure more problems aren't lurking on the internet. Key words: University of Oklahoma, soci...

Swine flu fears close schools in three states

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 28

Esti Lamonaca's illness started with a high fever, a cough, and achy bones, just a couple of days after she returned from a spring break trip on the beach in Cancun with friends. By the weekend, her voice was hoarse and ...

Va. tests video games as teaching tool

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 28

Virginia reportedly has become the first state to implement a pilot program using Tabula Digita's DimensionM video games to help boost student test scores in mathematics and motivate students to learn. Key words: Dimens...

Ed-tech guru shares his expertise

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 24

Ray Schroeder was blogging before it was cool. And as one of the top technology officials at the University of Illinois at Springfield, Schroeder hasn't slowed down, writing more than 25,000 entries on 49 blogs since 200...

K-12 kids become practicing AMSTI scientists

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 24

Since 2002, the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) has worked to improve math and science teaching throughout the state, most recently by piloting the new SPARK Science Learning System. Key words:AM...

Schools explore campus tours 2.0

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 24

Visiting American University's lecture halls, dorm rooms, and sports facilities with a few mouse clicks swayed David Shapiro to enroll at the Washington, D.C., campus. Colleges and universities are turning to the interac...

Wanted: Computer hackers ... for hire

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 24

Tech-savvy students, take heed: Computer hackers are wanted by federal authorities, but not for prosecution. Instead, the government is looking to hire so-called "white hat" hackers to secure the nation's networks. Key w...

Rare and ancient written works go online

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, April 22

National libraries and the U.N. education agency put some of humanity's earliest written works online Tuesday, from ancient Chinese oracle bones to the first European map of the New World. Key words: United Nations, anci...

Study: Ed tech leads to significant gains

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, April 22

Integrating Promethean's ActivClassroom--a suite of educational technologies that includes an interactive whiteboard, teaching software, and student response systems--into instruction can raise student achievement by an ...

Oracle to buy Sun for $7.4 billion

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 21

Information technology company Oracle Corp. announced April 20 it is buying Sun Microsystems Inc. in a cash deal the company valued at $7.4 billion, after IBM abandoned its bid to buy the networking equipment maker. Key ...

Student film documents Holocaust memories

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 21

The Holocaust. Even now, the images make you want to turn away: the emaciated bodies in the concentration camps; the black-and-white footage of a frothing Adolph Hitler; a frail grandfather with his distant stare, recall...

ACLU to schools: Stop blocking gay sites

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, April 20

The American Civil Liberties Union has asked public school officials in Tennessee to stop blocking students' access to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender web sites on school computers -- or face a possible lawsuit. ...

Schools turn to hosted eMail to save money

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, April 20

Converting to Google or Microsoft eMail systems is saving some colleges and universities upwards of half a million dollars annually, and the move has satisfied some students and faculty members who have clamored for an e...

Columbine's lessons still sharp, a decade later

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, April 20

A decade after two students opened fire at Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colo., killing 13 and injuring dozens more before turning the guns on themselves, the lessons in crisis communications and management ...

Fox at the henhouse

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 17

Default Lines for eSchool News, print edition, May 1, 2009 -- A carnivorous creature has been seen skulking about the internet henhouse, and frankly, it's making certain chickens just a wee bit nervous. Truth be told, th...

Colleges step up training for 'green collar' jobs

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 17

As the economy sheds jobs, community colleges across the country are reporting a surge of unemployed workers enrolling in courses that offer training for "green-collar" jobs. Key words: green technologies, green collar j...

Intranet web hosting now e-Rate eligible

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 17

In an important change that comes two months after schools already applied for FY2009 e-Rate discounts, intranet web hosting has been classified as e-Rate eligible beginning with the FY2009 program year. Key words: e-Ra...

Music hearing can't be streamed online

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 17

Oral arguments in a music downloading lawsuit filed by the recording industry against a Boston University student can't be streamed online, a federal appeals court ruled April 16. Key words: recording industry, Boston Un...

Online video is changing college recruiting

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 17

The easy availability of digital video clips through video-sharing web sites such as YouTube and others is changing the nature of recruiting for college athletics, something that has both positive and negative aspects. ...

Schools train rescuers and help vets, virtually

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 17

Jack Smith can put mine rescuers in the midst of an underground emergency with lives at stake, all in the calmness of a university research lab. Smith, a quantum chemist and a contractor for Marshall University in West V...

States consider new 'sexting' laws

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 17

Parents, school districts, and law-enforcement officials have been grappling with what to do with teenagers who take sexually explicit photos of themselves with their cell phone cameras and send them to friends. Now, a h...

Survey shows barriers to Web 2.0 in schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 17

Teachers and students are largely driving the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies in schools, but human and technological barriers are holding back the use of these as learning tools in many classrooms, according to a new s...

Facebook muddies college recruiting rules

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 14

Students and other fans of college sports have to be careful about the company they keep on Facebook and other social-networking web sites, or they might get themselves -- and the program they support -- in trouble. Key ...

O'Connor touts civics lessons via online games

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, April 13

Former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor didn't get a computer until she was in her 40s, and she doesn't have a Facebook or Twitter account. But using technology, she said on April 7, is the way to teach students...

Report profiles states' ed-tech successes

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, April 13

From using mobile video conferencing equipment to connect geographically isolated students to world-class educational resources, to leveraging the internet to aid in project-based learning, examples of technology's power...

Schools eye stim funds for energy efficiency

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, April 13

The $787 billion economic stimulus package contains billions of dollars to help make school buildings more energy efficient--upgrades that could save individual schools thousands of dollars in operating expenses. Key wor...

Schools look to save money with IT reuse

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, April 13

Schools and universities are increasingly recycling and reusing computers, servers, and other IT equipment to offset rising technology costs as the faltering economy forces officials to slash budgets. Key words: IT reuse...

Site gives students free science articles

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, April 13

Free scholarly material is becoming more available on the internet, and a new web site offers hundreds of free, peer-reviewed articles to college students, including those with non-scientific academic focuses. Key words:...

Unified communications benefit campuses

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, April 13

A growing number of college and university IT departments are combining their disparate telecommunications systems in an effort to simplify campus communications. These efforts also have the potential to save schools tho...

Why open-source library software is a trend

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, April 13

At a time when the nation's economic future seems shaky, many school and public libraries are moving to open-source library management systems, which tend to be cheaper, more flexible, and fulfill the same mission a libr...

Conficker worm hits University of Utah computers

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, April 13

University of Utah officials say a computer virus has infected more than 700 campus computers, including those at the school's three hospitals. Key words: Conficker, University of Utah, computer virus <#a href="http://w...

Portable unit makes video conferencing easy

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, April 13

As schools and colleges try to trim budgets and save money, many are re-examining their personnel meeting practices in an effort to cut travel costs--and a new low-cost, portable video conferencing unit might help. Key ...

ALA: Spend stimulus funds on school libraries

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 7

As school leaders prepare to spend billions of dollars in federal stimulus money, the American Library Association (ALA) is lobbying to have some of those dollars used to keep school libraries up to date during hard econ...

Online-learning grant program eliminated

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 7

Higher-education officials will have to seek new avenues for funding and seed money for online programs after the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announced this week that its online-education grant program will end this year....

Update: IBM reportedly halts Sun deal

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 7

IBM Corp. on April 5 reportedly walked away from a multibillion-dollar buyout bid that analysts said could have created a combined enterprise to give Microsoft a run for its money--and some educators predicted could resu...

Blackboard launches IM service

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 3

Leading educational technology vendor Blackboard Inc. unveiled its first integrated instant-messaging service April 2 for students and professors who rely on class web portals for lectures, assignments, exams, and grades...

Feds strive to spur student lending

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 3

Encouraging more people to earn a college degree is a key part of the Obama administration's economic recovery plan--and the federal government is taking a two-pronged approach to shoring up student lending to ensure tha...

Student fitness bill raises questions

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 3

Legislation pending in Congress, called the "Fitness Integrated with Teaching Kids Act" (FIT Kids Act), would update current physical fitness standards in K-12 schools and hold educators accountable for a portion of thei...

Review seeks clarity in projector debate

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, April 2

In the sharply competitive digital projector market, educators often must feel like they're caught in the middle of a tug-of-war between manufacturers of Digital Light Processing (DLP) and Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) de...

Schools to begin receiving stimulus money

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, April 2

The Obama administration has released $44 billion to states in the first round of school dollars from the economic stimulus package, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said. Key words: Obama, economic stimulus, education, t...

EPA to test air around schools in 22 states

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, April 1

The Environmental Protection Agency will soon be adding a different kind of equipment to dozens of school yards around the country--air pollution monitors. Key words: school air safety, school environmental safety, schoo...

Study questions plagiarism-detection software

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, April 1

Computer programs designed to root out possible instances of plagiarism often flag common phrases and could deter students from using valuable sources in papers and essays, according to research conducted by two Texas Te...

Study: Internet safer for kids than many think

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, April 1

More people have been arrested in recent years for sexually soliciting youths online, but the sharp increase comes from better enforcement, and the internet remains a relatively safe social environment, researchers said ...

Evolution theory takes a round in Texas

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 31

Texas will no longer require educators to teach weaknesses of all scientific theories, including those of evolution. The requirements were approved March 27 by the State Board of Education in a 13-2 vote, adopting new st...

Federal judge blocks charges in 'sexting' case

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 31

A federal judge on March 30 temporarily blocked a prosecutor from filing child pornography charges against three northeastern Pennsylvania teenagers who appeared in racy photos that turned up on classmates' cell phones. ...

Giant internet worm set to attack Apr. 1

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 31

The fast-moving Conficker computer worm, a scourge of the internet that has infected at least 3 million PCs, is set to spring to life in a new way on April Fools' Day, security experts say. Key words: Conficker computer ...

New standards to facilitate eLearning

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 31

A consortium of educators and technology executives has developed a common set of standards that will allow any kind of digital learning content--such as an electronic text, an online exam, or even a social-networking ap...

Google to students: Flip bits, not burgers

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, March 27

Google Inc. is accepting applications for its "Summer of Code 2009" program, which offers stipends to student software developers to write code for various open-source software projects during their summer breaks. Key wo...

Microsoft offers free tools for high schoolers

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, March 27

High school students are now able to access and download professional Microsoft Corp. software such as Visual Studio and XNA Game Studio for free, a service that has been offered to higher-education students for the past...

What do students want from their schools?

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, March 26

Looking for ideas on how to spend federal stimulus dollars to enhance educational technology? Project Tomorrow has a suggestion: Listen to what students say they'd like to see in their schools. Key words: Speak Up surve...

Six technologies soon to affect education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, March 26

Collaborative environments, cloud computing, and "smart" objects are among the technologies that a group of experts believes will have a profound impact on K-12 education within the next five years or sooner. Key words: ...

ED: Prepare for 'new era' in science teaching

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 24

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said he wants to launch a "new era" of science education in the United States--one that encourages students to ask tough, challenging questions and brings more specially trained science an...

GOP governors spurn stimulus funds

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 24

A growing chorus of Republican governors say they will not accept a portion of the federal stimulus funding their states are eligible to receive, putting schools in the middle of a heated political squabble that is sure ...

MIT makes research available on the web

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, March 23

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 scho...

CoSN keeps school leaders ahead of the times

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, March 23

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 o...

Campus IT officials prep for March Madness

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, March 20

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...

Career changers help fill teaching shortages

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, March 20

Thanks partly to the poor economy, and also to the rise in programs that encourage the transition, a growing number of people are leaving their chosen professions to become teachers. And that could be good news for schoo...

Students post schoolyard-brawl videos online

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, March 20

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 inter...

Text-to-speech reversal kindles disappointment

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, March 20

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 tex...

Expert: Internet-mapping bill won't deter attacks

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 17

A California lawmaker's proposal to require internet mapping services to blur detailed images of schools, colleges, hospitals, and other potential terrorist targets has generated a great deal of attention -- much of it c...

Report: Online learning a 'lifeline' in rural areas

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 17

Online learning offers a lifeline--especially for rural schools, according to a recent study that also predicts "blended learning" could be the way most students learn in the future. Key words: The Sloane Consortium, onl...

Stolen-data trove offers insights on botnets

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 17

Massive "botnet" networks -- armies of infected computers formed by spreading a computer virus that orders compromised machines to phone home for further instructions, such as sending out spam or relaying passwords -- ar...

Forum calls for better data use in education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, March 16

Speakers at a forum about the use of longitudinal data in education stressed the importance of comprehensive data systems that follow students throughout their educational careers--from kindergarten to college--while als...

Maine to expand its school laptop program

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, March 16

Despite the economic turmoil, Maine is expanding its program to provide laptop computers to students. Maine started its first-in-the-nation program by distributing more than 30,000 computers to each seventh- and eighth-g...

New campus safety issue: Cell phone stalking

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, March 16

The college student had endured months of online and cell-phone harassment from her ex-boyfriend. She ignored the barrage of eMails, changed her phone number, and dismantled online profiles to cut him off. Key words: sta...

New fed funding for ed tech nears $1 billion

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, March 16

New federal funding for education technology approaches $1 billion. The federal Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program will receive nearly $270 million for fiscal year 2009, thanks to the $410 billion omni...

Teens honored for their science prowess

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, March 16

The Washington, D.C.-based Society for Science and the Public honored the 2009 winners of the Intel Science Talent Search on March 10, recognizing 40 high school seniors for their original research projects--all of which...

Schools should see stimulus funds next month

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, March 11

School districts should begin receiving billions of dollars in stimulus funding within a few weeks, and administrators are advised to "spend carefully" and keep detailed records of their expenditures, the American Associ...

Obama backs merit pay, early childhood ed

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 10

With an emphasis on 21st-century education, President Obama on March 10 called for better early childhood education programs, tougher teacher standards, and increased pay for outstanding educators and desperately-needed ...

Lawsuit tackles school sports webcasts

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 10

The association that oversees high school sports in Wisconsin is suing the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and one of its papers, the Post-Crescent of Appleton, Wis., in a dispute about who has the right to broadcast hig...

Teachers pair up for March 11 space shot

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 10

Two science teachers who have spent the past five years under NASA's tutelage are about to graduate with high-flying honors. Key words: science teachers, NASA, space shuttle <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top...

How to get the most out of alert systems

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, March 9

Schools and colleges that invest thousands of dollars in emergency-alert systems also need to promote awareness of and participation in these systems for them to be effective, experts say. That's one piece of advice cont...

AASA chief on ED's outreach to supes

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, March 6

During the American Association of School Administrators' (AASA) annual conference held in San Francisco, Daniel A. Domenech, executive director of AASA, sat down with eSchool News' publisher, Gregg Downey, to discuss AA...

Podcast trumps lecture in one college study

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, March 6

The ability to pause and rewind podcast lectures gave the upper hand to college students in a recent study that compared the performance of students who attended a lecture in person and those who viewed it from iTunes Un...

Students school lawmakers on tech's value

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, March 5

Students from four Georgia school districts were on Capitol Hill March 4 showing federal lawmakers how technology is being used to enhance teaching and learning in their classrooms--and why federal funding for school tec...

NCTE defines writing for the 21st century

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, March 4

The prevalence of blogs, wikis, and social-networking web sites has changed the way students learn to write, according to the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)--and schools must adapt in turn by developing n...

Web site turns school ties into job opportunities

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, March 4

In a job market contracting every month, professional connections can be the difference between landing an interview or continuing an arduous job search. That's why the co-founders of MyWorkster created a professional ne...

Fed FY2010 budget outline emphasizes ed

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 3

Education--and especially higher education for all students--is a critical area of focus in President Obama's proposed budget for next year, which he outlined for Congress in a 146-page plan on Feb. 26. Key words: educat...

Student puts IT expertise to work for schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 3

A process that once took hours now takes minutes for a few dozen schools, thanks to the computer talents of Utah State University junior Joseph Irvine. Key words: utah state university, lottery, computer code, c++ <#a h...

TCEA 2009 aims to accelerate change

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 3

At the Texas Computer Education Association's 29th annual conference earlier this month, educators heard an impassioned plea to open their students' eyes to the world around them--and were urged to change their approach ...

AASA: Educate the 'total child'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 3

Three days after his confirmation as U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan reportedly called Dan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, to arrange a conference call with 15 ...

School IT support: Overworked...and understaffed

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 3

New research suggests overworked and understaffed school IT departments are spending too much time reacting to technology problems--and not enough time on training and integration. Key words: SchoolDude, school IT staff,...

Sidekick phones top a dubious category: theft

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 3

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 academy <#a href="http://www.esc...

Educators wary in wake of Nortel bankruptcy

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, February 25

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 closely as Toronto-based telecommunications f...

Obama to Congress: Education is key

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, February 25

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 prosperity for the United States. Key words: congressional a...

What's next for digital music on campus?

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, February 25

Higher-education officials are pondering what the future holds for digital music on college campuses after the demise of yet another legal music downloading service aimed at college students. Key words: digital music, ru...

Report urges U.S. to look abroad for ed lessons

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, February 25

A recent report urging action items to ensure that American students are globally competitive is bringing renewed focus to "international benchmarking," or the idea of looking toward other countries for help in drafting ...

Electronic tutor helps accounting students

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, February 23

Accounting students now have access to the same kind of artificial intelligence-based tutoring software that math and chemistry students have had for years--and science teachers-in-training soon could benefit from the te...

AASA hears what's about to disrupt schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, February 23

If Harvard Business School's Clayton Christensen is right, half of all instruction will take place online within the next 10 years--and schools had better get into the online-learning market or risk losing their students...

Crisis survival tops agenda at AASA meeting

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, February 20

The tanking economy and its devastating effect on education budgets, as well as the freshly signed economic stimulus package that promises billions of dollars in new money for cash-strapped schools, dominated the convers...

Saving school budgets in a recession

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, February 20

Buying from large group contracts, aligning budgets with school improvement plans, starting an educational foundation, and mastering the art of passing school bond issues were among the strategies for surviving the curre...

Conference explores benefits of mobile learning

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 19

Using smart phones and other mobile devices for learning isn't just a trend, but rather a sustainable approach to educational technology that can adapt to future assessments and help raise student test scores significant...

Duncan wants stimulus to transform schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 19

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 to reinvent education for the 21st centu...

Editorial: Morning in America

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 19

Default Lines for eSchool News, print edition, March 1, 2009--After a years-long slumber, it's time to stretch, yawn, and notice a new day dawning all around us. In the dim morning light, it appears we've been transporte...

Education snags $105.9B in stimulus package

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 19

The final $787 billion stimulus bill that President Obama is expected to sign today contains $105.9 billion for education, including $650 million for the federal Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program. Ke...

Students' exercise helps power university

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 19

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 energy the machines can generate and converting ...

Internships help prepare future online teachers

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, February 16

As virtual schooling continues to surge in popularity, there is a growing need for new K-12 teachers who understand how to teach in an online environment successfully. To help meet this need, the Florida Virtual School (...

Big district dumps grade levels -- for starters

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, February 13

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 50, student performance, gaming and education, k-12...

New 'sensory tech' could help teach piano

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, February 13

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 glove that vibrates to cue a budding musician which...

New site aims to market free online lectures

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, February 13

A for-profit web site bases its business model on mining the internet for and then posting publicly available lectures from prestigious universities--and officials from at least one campus are reviewing the arrangement a...

Benton: Universal broadband a necessity

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 12

As Congress debates an economic stimulus package that includes funding to boost the number of people in the United States with broadband internet access, at least one organization says access alone isn't enough--and it's...

Schools lose in Senate stimulus 'compromise'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 12

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 for school modernization from its version of the economi...

Stimulus deal addresses school modernization

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 12

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 and House Democrats. Exactly how m...

Congress postpones digital TV transition

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, February 9

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 television, digital analog, ...

New Google software tracks users' location

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, February 9

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 campus, to tracking young students' ...

Singularity U. wants to harness tech's power

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, February 9

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 host its first class of 30 graduate s...

Controversial student gossip site folds

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, February 9

The college gossip web site JuicyCampus shut down Feb. 4 because the site's funding ran dry, about 18 months after riling college students and campus officials who supported banning the site because of its salacious and ...

Free lessons offer cyber-bullying prevention

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, February 9

As cyber bullying becomes more prevalent among students, educators are looking for help in teaching their students about appropriate online behavior. To meet this need, New Jersey-based CyberSmart! Education has released...

Ocean explorer brings undersea science to life

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, February 9

Famed ocean explorer Robert Ballard says he's just a few months from the culmination of a 28-year dream--and he'll be taking students along with him virtually as he achieves it. Key concepts: Robert Ballard, Internet2, T...

On Darwin's 200th, a theory still in controversy

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, February 9

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 it also created problems for Darwin at ho...

Porn charges for 'sexting' stir debate

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, February 9

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. Some ...

Anti-evolution forces gain ground in Texas

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 5

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" of ideas about natural selection and the commo...

College web design courses fail with bosses

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 5

Web site development experts said in a recent survey that colleges and universities lag behind in using the latest in web design technology and ignore foundational lessons that would produce college graduates ready for t...

Copyright settlement leaves questions

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 5

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 newsletters ende...

FETC explores a sea change in education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 5

At a conference where participants discussed the sea change occurring in today's schools and explored ways of using technology to meet the needs of a new generation of learners, perhaps it was only fitting that the openi...

Google Earth allows exploration of oceans

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 5

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: Google Earth, satellite imagery, California Academy of Sciences. <...

Hackers' latest ploy: Spoofing 911 calls

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 5

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 SWAT teams usually respond--are...

House OKs record $142 billion for education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 5

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 administration's plan to revive a badly ailing econo...

Meet 10 of the nation's tech-savviest supes

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 5

In our ninth annual Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards, sponsored by Promethean, the Pearson Foundation, and K12 Inc., eSchool News recognizes 10 of the nation's top K-12 executives for their outstanding ed-tech leadership...

New Smithsonian chief eyes ed tech

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 5

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 use social-networking tools to reach...

Technology empowers differentiated instruction

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, February 5

Although many educators realize technology's enormous potential to help them differentiate their instruction so that all students can learn, regardless of students' needs, abilities, or learning styles, it might be hard ...

Gates Foundation to give $22M for education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, January 27

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 more than $22 million in new grants to support the...

Gates Foundation to show excellent teaching

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, January 27

Billionaire philanthropist and former Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates says his foundation hopes to post online videos of exemplary teachers plying their craft as a way to inspire other educators and help students lea...

Report: Reinvent schools for digital age

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, January 27

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, accord...

COPA dies quietly in Supreme Court

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, January 23

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 it. Key concept: COPA, internet safet...

Judge delays hearing in file-sharing case

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, January 23

A federal judge has postponed a hearing in a high-profile music file-sharing case that would have been the first in federal court in Massachusetts to be streamed online. Judge Nancy Gertner postponed oral arguments set f...

Report details upcoming ed-tech trends

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, January 23

A higher-education study released this week highlighted six technologies that soon could change college campuses--including mobile devices with abundant applications, cloud computing that bolsters data accessibility, and...

Texas grapples with evolution in new science standards

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, January 23

The latest chapter in a long-running debate over how evolution should be taught in public schools opened Jan. 21 as the Texas State Board of Education ramped up its review of the state's science standards. Experts say th...

Crowds flood National Mall to witness history

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, January 22

As more than a million people flooded the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20 to watch Barack Obama become the first black president of the United States, many had high hopes for what he can do for education wh...

File-sharing hearing to be shown online

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, January 22

With oral arguments set to begin this week in a copyright-infringement lawsuit that pits a Boston University graduate student against the music recording industry, the federal judge overseeing the case has authorized the...

Schools make inauguration a teachable moment

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, January 22

Schools across the country used the inauguration of President Barack Obama as a teaching opportunity, broadcasting the historic event live in their classrooms and using web sites and other technologies to help provide hi...

HP grants aim to redesign college engineering

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, January 21

Aiming to reinvent undergraduate computer science and engineering programs through the use of technology, Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) is accepting proposals from colleges and universities for a new grant program called "HP ...

Tech giants vow to change global assessments

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, January 21

Microsoft, Intel, and Cisco--three technology giants that last year vowed to increase their efforts aimed at global education reform--have banded together to develop the next generation of assessments: tests that measure...

Google makes famous artwork more accessible

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, January 20

In a move that will benefit students, art historians, and casual viewers alike, Spain's Prado Museum has teamed up with Google Earth for a project that allows people to view the gallery's main works of art from their com...

Stimulus bill includes $142B for education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, January 20

Some $20 billion for school modernization and $1 billion for educational technology are among nearly $150 billion in funding targeted toward education in the House version of the new economic stimulus package, which lawm...

Jobs' hiatus doesn't ruffle educators

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, January 20

The news that Apple Inc. co-founder and chief executive Steve Jobs is taking a health hiatus until the end of June sent the company's shares tumbling 4 percent last week, reportedly wiping out some $10 billion in shareho...

Apple's Steve Jobs announces health hiatus

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, January 16

Apple Inc. co-founder and chief executive Steve Jobs said Jan. 14 he is taking a health hiatus until the end of June -- just a week after the cancer survivor tried to assure investors and employees that his recent weight...

Duncan impresses during Senate hearing

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, January 16

At his Senate confirmation hearing Jan. 13, Education Secretary-designate Arne Duncan said he hopes to be able to continue the "Obama effect" with children by improving access to early childhood programs, raising standar...

Internet sales-tax debate heats up

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, January 16

An increasingly thorny debate being waged among state legislatures and internet-based retailers could have huge implications for schools, as the sinking economy threatens to undermine education programs. Key concepts: in...

Obama eyes tech-savvy insider for FCC chief

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, January 16

President-elect Barack Obama plans to nominate Julius Genachowski, one of his key technology advisors, to be the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), according to a Democratic official. Key conce...

Panel: Technology alone can't protect kids online

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, January 16

A task force charged with assessing technologies for protecting children from unwanted contact online has concluded that no single approach is foolproof and that parent and teacher oversight is vital. Key concepts: inte...

Post video to eSN.TV--earn national recognition

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, January 16

Thanks to our Student Video Network (SVN) initiative at eSN.TV (www.eSchoolNews.TV), your students can earn valuable video-production experience--and a shot at national recognition for their efforts. Key Concepts: studen...

Netbooks' popularity set to rise in 2009

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, January 14

Last year, so-called "netbooks"--smaller, cheaper versions of laptop computers--made their way into the hands of countless students and educators. Now, concerns about the economy are driving a further increase in the num...

Phony Facebook pages teach students a lesson

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, January 14

After a college resource company created a legion of phony Class of 2013 Facebook groups--a scheme that could have harvested personal information from thousands of students--some higher-education officials say it might b...

Obama urges action on stimulus plan

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, January 13

President-elect Barack Obama shed more light on his economic recovery plan in a Jan. 8 speech at Virginia's George Mason University--and for education, the news is encouraging. Key concepts: Obama and education, George M...

Updated privacy law addresses student safety

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, January 13

New student-privacy rules that take effect this month address two burgeoning challenges in higher education: shielding students from computer-related identity theft and keeping them safe from peers who might have emotion...

MPC's collapse leaves schools in the lurch

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, January 13

Computer supplier MPC Corp., which acquired Gateway's education business in 2007, is going out of business--leaving countless schools and students with machines in need of repair and/or thousands of dollars in lost warra...

Educators to Obama: Focus on 21C skills

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, January 9

As President-elect Barack Obama prepares to take office, his education reform plan has the potential to modernize library technologies, make school buildings more energy-efficient, and invest in science, technology, engi...

Simulations help faculty ID at-risk students

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, January 9

Some students are cranky and irritable. Others are nervous and uneasy. College classrooms can include a variety of behaviors, and judging whether these behaviors could indicate something more troubling beneath the surfac...

eMail intervention teaches internet safety

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, January 8

More than half of U.S. teenagers in a recent study mentioned risky behaviors such as sex and drug use on their MySpace pages, according to researchers. But the study also suggests that simply reaching out to teens via eM...

FCC chief drops filters to save free broadband

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, January 8

Before he steps down as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Kevin Martin still hopes to win approval for his plan to auction off a slice of the airwaves for a free, nationwide wireless broadband network. T...

Denver superintendent goes to Washington

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, January 7

School leaders soon could have another ally in Congress: Michael Bennet, superintendent of the Denver Public Schools, was named Jan. 3 by Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter as his choice to fill the remaining two years of the Sen...

How to create a successful virtual campus

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, January 7

Higher-education leaders are learning that starting a virtual program is a wholly different venture than opening a traditional campus, and the recipe for success requires a different approach. Among the chief mistakes ma...

RIAA drops effort to sue song swappers

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, January 6

Marking a shift in its efforts to clamp down on illegal file sharing, the group representing the U.S. music industry says it will only bring lawsuits against college students who are the most egregious violators of music...

Five ed-tech stories to watch for 2009

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, January 6

Recently, we posted a look back at the 10 most significant educational technology stories of 2008. Now, here's a look ahead at five stories that could have a huge impact on educational technology in the new year. (You ca...

No shoes? No problem for this college interview

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, January 6

For her college interview, Avery Cullinan put on her best outfit but didn't bother with shoes. She sat in her living room, smiled into her computer's webcam, and told an admissions officer more than 800 miles away that W...

The top 10 ed-tech stories of 2008

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, January 6

A new web site peddles campus gossip, raising the ire of college administrators A groundbreaking cyber-bullying trial ends with a mixed verdict ... U.S. students benefit from a program designed to bring low-cost laptops...

Missouri begins prosecuting under cyber bullying law

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, December 23

A 21-year-old woman accused of sending a vulgar text message to a 17-year-old girl is one of the first cases brought under a new Missouri state law against cyber bullying that was prompted by the suicide of a teenage gir...

Technology key to award-winning district's excellence

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, December 23

A North Carolina school system has won a prestigious national award for excellence, and its superintendent credits the district's use of technology for such initiatives as distance education, teacher professional develop...

Music 'tax' proposed as file-sharing solution

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, December 20

The music industry is floating the idea of a compulsory royalty fee for U.S. college students that would allow for file sharing on campus computer networks without the threat of a legal backlash. Key concepts: Recording...

Sending racy photos is common among teens

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, December 20

Sending or posting nude or semi-nude cell phone pictures starts at a young age and becomes even more frequent as teens become young adults, according to a new survey that suggests the problem might be bigger than many ad...

Editorial: Dollars and change

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, December 19

According to legend, President John F. Kennedy sometimes would tell visitors to the Oval Office, "I certainly agree. Now, let's see if the government agrees." It was the 35th president's way of alluding to the shadow tha...

Free broadband plan raises critics' ire

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, December 19

A controversial plan that could hasten the availability of broadband internet access for all Americans faces yet another setback, as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) once again has taken a vote on the plan off...

Need help with class? YouTube videos await

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, December 19

When University of Central Florida junior Nicole Nissim got stumped in trigonometry, she checked out what was showing on YouTube. Nissim typically scours the video-sharing Web site for clips of bands and comedy skits. Bu...

Obama taps Arne Duncan for secretary of ED

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, December 19

Education Secretary-designate Arne Duncan has focused on boosting classroom technology and presided over the launch of a high school that replaces textbooks with web-based course curriculum during his seven years as Chic...

Schools can scan more criminal records online

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, December 19

Want to know whether the job applicant in front of you has a criminal past? Finding out can often be just a mouse click away, thanks to a growing crop of searchable--and controversial--online databases run directly by st...

State school chiefs seek Obama's ear

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, December 19

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released a list of recommendations Dec. 15 it says President-elect Barack Obama should focus on during his first 100 days in office--including the promotion of state inn...

Tech trends every school leader should know

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, December 19

A new generation of students with vastly different learning needs is redefining expectations for classroom instruction, and a growing emphasis on school accountability is changing the role of the school district IT leade...

Ed tech central to Obama's recovery plan

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, December 13

To boost the sinking economy, government needs to invest in modernizing and upgrading school buildings, expanding broadband internet access, making public buildings more energy efficient, and launching a public works pro...

Microsoft unveils career resource for students

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, December 13

To help middle- and high-school students learn about the 21st-century jobs awaiting them and take charge of their own education, Microsoft's U.S. Partners in Learning program has unveiled a free online course called Care...

U.S. students gain in math, stay flat in science

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, December 13

American kids are doing better than people think in math and science, a new international study has found. But some Asian countries have an edge in math that just keeps growing. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news...

Students use iPods for med school study

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, December 13

Ohio State University's medical school has joined the ranks of colleges replacing cumbersome textbooks with the handheld Apple iPod touch this fall. Ohio State med school officials said the iPod lets students study high-...

Matrix helps students weigh internet research

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, December 9

For anyone doing research online, the abundance of information available can be overwhelming--and so can the task of sifting out unreliable information. Now, a pair of researchers hopes to give students a method for asse...

This fair-use guide offers copyright shelter

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, December 9

Hoping to clear up the confusion over the "fair use" of digital materials in teaching and learning, a panel of university professors has developed a "Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education." <#a...

Purdue students rate their professors online

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, December 5

Purdue University professors soon will get faster feedback from students, thanks to a new online evaluation system. Currently, students rate their professors through written evaluations, which are then typed out so an in...

Scientists: Is technology rewiring our brains?

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, December 5

What does a teenage brain on Google look like? Do all those hours spent online rewire the circuitry? Could these kids even relate better to emoticons than to real people? These sound like concerns from worried parents. B...

Gossip-site ban raises free-speech issues

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, December 4

Legal experts say the recent banning of a popular gossip web site at a public university could violate students' First Amendment rights and meet stiff challenges in court, but campus officials stand by their decision. ...

P21 offers free guidance for English teachers

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, December 4

English teachers now have a new free resource to help them infuse so-called 21st-century skills into their curriculum, thanks to a collaboration between the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) and the National Coun...

Suburban Ohio school district wants a bailout, too

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, December 4

A financially ailing Ohio school district has joined the ranks of banks and automakers clamoring for a portion of the $700 billion economic bailout package. Olmsted Falls Superintendent Todd Hoadley said Tuesday that if ...

Cyber bullying case nets mixed verdict

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, December 3

A Missouri mother on trial in a landmark cyber bullying case was convicted Nov. 26 of three minor offenses instead of the main conspiracy charge in a cruel internet hoax that allegedly drove a 13-year-old girl to suicide...

e-Rate filing window opens Dec. 2

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, December 3

Schools and libraries can begin applying for 2009-10 e-Rate discounts on Tuesday, Dec. 2, and they'll have until 11:59 EST on Thursday, Feb. 12, to submit all necessary Form 471 application materials, says the Schools an...

Experts: Alternative search tools can help students

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, December 3

Higher education is discovering that Google isn't the only game in town. The search-engine giant, along with competitor Yahoo, has long been the most-used search site, but other search tools have surfaced in recent years...

Why some students prefer virtual schooling

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, December 3

What motivates a growing number of virtual-school students to forgo the traditional school structure and take their classes entirely online? At the Virtual School Symposium hosted by the North American Council for Online...

Jr. colleges outpace 4-year schools in tech use

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, December 3

Most community colleges cannot match the budgets and endowments that are typical of four-year colleges and universities. But that doesn't mean they are lagging in terms of educational technology: In a recent survey on te...

Four trends that could change everything

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 26

Several trends, already firmly established, now seem poised to exert a significant impact on international relations and human interaction. As a result, educators might do well to take heed of four of the more ubiquitous...

Technology helps shatter limits of disability

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 26

A web site with information on learning disabilities, a national research center for studying advanced technologies, and a web site for those who are dealing with traumatic brain injuries: These were some of the new init...

Cost savings, solutions mark EDUCAUSE show

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, November 25

The 2008 EDUCAUSE conference in Orlando was dominated by vendors pitching new ways to cut costs on college campuses and technology officials discussing solutions to ongoing problems such as illegal file sharing and layin...

Editorial: Curing Unemployment

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, November 25

Unemployment, as of this writing, had reached a 14-year high. That's just one more thing to worry about in an economy bristling with troublesome trends. But now, it appears a clutch of ever-resourceful entrepreneurs has ...

Gates Foundation targets college graduation

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, November 25

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced a new initiative to double the number of college graduates who come from low-income families, citing education as the only reliable path out of poverty. <#a href="http...

Analysis: Yahoo's fate riding on new CEO

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, November 22

Analysts say the fate of struggling internet company Yahoo Inc. likely rests on its choice of a new chief executive to replace co-founder Jerry Yang, who announced Nov. 17 that he would step down as CEO when a successor ...

What superintendents need from their CTOs

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, November 22

Communication and trust are critical in the relationship between a school district's chief technology officer (CTO) and superintendent, said panelists at a Nov. 19 webinar that focused on what superintendents need from t...

Questions abound as emergency alert flops

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, November 20

The failure of Virginia Tech's text-messaging alert system has raised questions about the effectiveness of such systems to warn faculty and students of an emergency -- an important consideration as schools nationwide con...

Seven skills students desperately need

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, November 20

Teaching to the test is a mistake, Harvard's Tony Wagner reminded the audience of his Nov. 18 keynote address to the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), because it interferes with transmitting the...

Harvard law professor fires back at RIAA

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, November 20

A Harvard Law School professor has launched a constitutional assault against a federal copyright law at the heart of the music industry's aggressive anti-piracy campaign, which has wrung payments from thousands of online...

Report challenges online-learning assumptions

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, November 20

Some critics of distance learning say face-to-face classes give students a better learning environment, but a recent Indiana University study found that online learners reported deeper approaches to learning than classro...

States make progress on data systems

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, November 20

States are making progress in building longitudinal data systems to track students' academic growth over time, and now they must use the information available to them through these systems to raise student achievement, a...

Ten ways to boost learning with technology

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, November 20

Urging policy makers and school leaders "to take bold steps to improve education for America's 21st-century leaders," the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) has issued new guidance for reforming ...

Schools caught in internet safety dilemma

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, November 18

In the constant struggle to keep kids safer online, a new solution is emerging that enlists the help of schools in age-verification techniques to ensure that online predators are kept off child-friendly web sites. But so...

Study: Online enrollment jumps 13 percent

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, November 18

Enrollment in online college courses in the United States outpaced overall growth in higher education last year, and officials predict a sustained increase in online enrollment as the economy slumps and good jobs become ...

Obama's high-tech win holds lessons for ed

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, November 15

As educators continue to reflect on President-elect Barack Obama's historic victory in the Nov. 4 election, many are looking at the Obama campaign's unprecedented use of technology to mobilize support and wondering what ...

Survey reveals economy's impact on schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, November 15

School districts in every region of the country are feeling the effects of the economic downturn, with many having already delayed technology purchases, cut non-essential travel, and increased class sizes, among other me...

Virtual office hours get students, profs together

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, November 15

The era of brief, face-to-face meetings between college students and their professors is coming to an end, higher-education officials say. Instead, colleges and universities are embracing a new forum for student-teacher ...

Stem-cell laws affect campus research

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, November 13

Higher-education officials nationwide are anticipating a gradual thaw of President Bush's stem-cell policies aimed at restricting unfettered research, a week after Michigan voters approved a ballot measure that will loos...

U.S. schools burned by market crisis

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, November 13

Some Wisconsin school districts are reeling after a risky financial investment produced disastrous consequences--including severe injury to school operating budgets and teacher retirement funds. <#a href="http://www.esc...

Google's growth worries privacy advocates

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 12

Perhaps the biggest threat to Google Inc.'s increasing dominance of internet search and advertising is the rising fear, justified or not, that Google's broadening reach is giving it unchecked power—especially when it c...

T+L to educators: Embrace change

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 12

Technology is a disruptive force that brings many challenges to teaching and learning--but that doesn't mean educators should fear its use in schools, said speakers at the National School Boards Association's Technology ...

State law threatens gender-equity programs

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, November 11

The Nov. 4 decision by Nebraska voters to ban affirmative action could derail programs designed to increase the participation of women in technology related courses at colleges and universities in the state, Nebraska edu...

These traits make online teachers successful

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, November 8

What are the qualities that help instructors succeed when teaching online? That was the focus of a lively discussion at the 14th annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning Nov. 6. <#a href="http://www.es...

Higher-ed balloting brings funds and changes

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, November 7

Most attention was fixed on the presidential and congressional elections on Nov. 4, but issues closer to home also figured large in Tuesday's voting. Fifteen higher education ballot measures were at stake, as the Democra...

Most ed leaders bullish on Obama's win

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, November 7

For educators and millions of other Americans, Barack Obama's election as 44th president of the United States indicates that the nation is ready for change--in economic policy, in health care, and especially in education...

Feds OK broadband over TV white spaces

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, November 6

In a move that could advance the spread of broadband internet service nationwide, the Federal Communications Commission voted Nov. 4 to open up unused, unlicensed portions of the television airwaves known as "white space...

Obama makes history; what's next?

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, November 6

With the whole world watching, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama made history Nov. 4 by becoming the first African-American elected as president of the United States. Now, as he prepares to take office Jan. 20 amid a host of st...

Community College has big-time ed-tech

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 5

Richard F. Andersen doesn't believe technology-laden campuses should be exclusive to the bigwigs of higher education. For expansive universities with nine-digit budgets, lectures via webcast, state-of-the-art simulators,...

School leaders: Focus on new-age skills

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, November 5

Finding ways to assess 21st-century learning skills should be at the forefront of the educational technology agenda for the next president and Congress, according to a new survey from the National School Boards Associati...

Making a greener campus

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, November 4

College technology officials say environmentally friendly policies can save IT departments millions as campuses across the United States adjust to tighter operating budgets. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/to...

Officials huddle on use of athletes' images

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, November 4

Should video-game makers and organizers of fantasy sports leagues be allowed to profit from the use or likeness of college athletes? And if so, should the athletes themselves stand to benefit? <#a href="http://www.escho...

Blackboard, Iowa State work on Moodle integration

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, October 31

Blackboard Inc. has partnered with Iowa State University to develop software that will allow colleges and universities to connect their Blackboard Learning Environment with the open-source Moodle course management system...

CoSN offers green-computing, disaster help

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, October 31

At the National School Boards Association's Technology + Learning (T+L) Conference in Seattle, the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) launched new initiatives aimed at helping school technology leaders manage two im...

Google settles book-scanning lawsuit

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, October 31

Internet search giant Google Inc., the Authors Guild, and the Association of American Publishers have settled a class-action lawsuit over Google's ambitious book-scanning project in a deal that represents a huge win for ...

Report assesses K-12 online learning

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, October 31

While online learning is growing rapidly, its continued growth will require specific policy and funding changes that focus on increasing educational choices and opportunities while ensuring high quality and improved stud...

Tech officials grapple with campus file sharing

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, October 31

Almost a decade after illegal file sharing first took hold on college campuses, technology departments are being flooded with subpoenas aimed at students who continue to break federal laws, and it's giving officials head...

Technology key for Broad Prize winner

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, October 31

The annual Broad Prize for Urban Education--the largest education prize in the United States, which honors the nation's most improved urban school district--has been awarded to Texas' Brownsville Independent School Distr...

University, IBM join in cloud-computing project

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, October 31

IBM and North Carolina State University have teamed up to bring "cloud computing" to every student in the state--giving them free access to centralized computing power, data storage, sophisticated software, and other edu...

New low-cost college option emerges

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, October 28

Burck Smith wanted to give college students a way to earn course credits and kick-start their higher-education careers while slashing first-year college costs by more than half. Smith, CEO of StraighterLine, introduced t...

Shooting at Ark. university kills 2, wounds 1

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, October 28

The University of Central Arkansas (UCA) remained locked down and classes were cancelled Oct. 27 after two students were killed and a third person was wounded in a campus shooting. (advertisement)Introducing the HP 2...

Schools mull digital TV's implications

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, October 25

U.S. schools have less than four months to prepare for the switch from analog to digital TV broadcasting. But there is still a great deal of confusion about what, exactly, this switch will entail--and whether schools and...

Study looks at cost to police campus networks

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, October 25

Some colleges and universities might have to spend up to half a million dollars to comply with new federal rules aimed at controlling illegal peer-to-peer file sharing on campuses, according to a study by the Campus Comp...

Survey: College students struggling for loans

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, October 25

The credit crunch has officially arrived on campus: In a new survey, private colleges report their students are finding it significantly harder to secure the private loans they need to pay tuition bills. Furthermore, nea...

Tech helps teach about the 2008 election

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, October 25

Thanks to the creativity of some ed-tech vendors, the development of Web 2.0 technologies, and the dedication of educators from coast to coast, students are experiencing the 2008 presidential election as never before, us...

Too much screen time hurts grades, study says

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, October 25

Spending hours in front of the TV or computer and staying up late have never been among educators' test-preparation tips, and a study released this month shows why. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i...

Program helps impart 21st century proficiency

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, October 23

Many educators agree that teaching 21st-century skills is critical for students' success in today's global, information-based economy, but not every educator knows how to integrate these skills successfully into the curr...

UIUC's tech chief explains her school's success

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, October 23

Technology and student support are cornerstones of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), so when the school was named America's "top wired college" earlier this year, Chief Information Officer Sally Jack...

'Digital Disconnect' divides kids, educators

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, October 22

Students and educators disagree on whether their schools are preparing graduates adequately for the jobs of the 21st century, a speaker at an Oct. 15 webcast said. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=5...

Feeling financial squeeze, VCs curtail investments

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, October 22

In what could be the start of a long, dry spell for entrepreneurs on college campuses and elsewhere across the country, venture capitalists are gradually closing their financial spigots as it becomes increasingly difficu...

National Wi-Fi plan moves one step closer

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, October 22

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officials said the agency's plans to provide free national broadband internet access will not cause significant interference with phone companies' networks, but at least one wirele...

Students wow lawmakers with video savvy

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, October 22

After spending many days and countless exhausting hours producing videos worthy of national exposure, the winners of eSchool News' Empowered Education Awards--a national student video contest sponsored by the Pearson Fou...

Technology key to analyzing assessment data

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, October 22

Through the careful application of technology in classroom assessments, schools and teachers can improve instruction for students, and states can develop comprehensive longitudinal data systems to better analyze student ...

Study: Bandwidth jumps on college campuses

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, October 17

Bandwidth and internet connection speeds on most U.S. college campuses increased significantly from 2006 to 2007, but the largest universities still have huge advantages in accessing high-performance networks, according ...

Rethinking research in the Google era

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, October 16

As the internet replaces library databases as students' primary research option, a new discussion is emerging in academic circles: Is the vast amount of information at students' fingertips changing the way they gather an...

Student lending faces a crisis

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, October 15

As the financial world waits for frozen credit markets to thaw, higher-education officials say college students will face unprecedented scrutiny from private lenders as the United States reels from its sharp economic dow...

Schools soon required to teach web safety

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, October 14

Schools receiving e-Rate discounts on their telecommunications services and internet access soon will have to educate their students about online safety, sexual predators, and cyber bullying, thanks to federal legislatio...

How to survive another e-Rate season

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, October 11

If you're applying for the 2009 e-Rate, the $2.25 billion-a-year federal program that provides discounts on telecommunications services to eligible schools and libraries, you won't find many new additions to this year's ...

Schools grapple with teachers' Facebook use

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, October 11

As social networking web sites such as Facebook and MySpace become increasingly popular channels for student communication, schools are struggling to define the rules for whether, and how, it's appropriate for teachers t...

The e-Rate audit: What it takes to be prepared

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, October 11

e-Rate audits are increasingly becoming a fact of life for e-Rate applicants. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been allowed to spend more and more money to examine applicants to ensure they are compliant w...

MS, universities team up on gaming research

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, October 9

Microsoft's research arm is leading a new effort to study the use of computer games as tools to help middle-school students learn science and math. (advertisement)Introducing the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, a new notebook ...

Educators give publishers their wish lists

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, October 9

To engage today's students and get them to learn, information must be more than just words on a page, educators told publishers at a recent forum: Instead, students need relevant and interactive material, as well as reso...

Celebrities and kids join to set reading record

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, October 8

Reading to her daughter has become a staple of Sheri Johnson's pre-bedtime regimen. Johnson and her 8-year-old daughter, Maya, joined more than 400 elementary school students at Washington Nationals Park Oct. 2 for the t...

Editorial: Wake-Up Call

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, October 8

Sometimes I think my mother should have named me JohnnyJohnny One Note. Reason: Every time I turn around I see more evidence of our general inability as a nation to make a genuine commitment to education--and to vital e...

On the way: Nation's first tech-literacy exam

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, October 8

For the first time ever, technological literacy will become part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation's Report Card, the test's governing board has announced. (advertis...

Wall Street crisis hits higher education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, October 7

Schools and colleges across the nation are scrambling to develop new plans to pay their bills after an investment fund that serves about 1,000 colleges and private schools last week partially froze withdrawals amid the c...

U.K. classrooms test 'smart desks'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, October 4

Classroom desks soon could serve as interactive computer screens sensitive to the touch of several students simultaneously, if a pilot project in Britain's classrooms is an indication of things to come. <#a href="http:/...

Bill would boost public TV's learning power

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, October 2

Schools across the United States soon could have online access to a vast amount of educational content from public television archives to help raise student achievement, if a new bill called the Ready to Compete Act (H.R...

Buried in eMail? Try these six tips to dig out

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, October 2

"You've got mail!" Remember when that alert sounded thrilling? Today, not so much. As scores of electronic messages pour into school eMail in-boxes and spill onto cell phones and handheld devices, the flood often leaves ...

Hopes for virtual campus collide with reality

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, October 2

An $8.9 million online campus launched by the University of Illinois nine months ago has had disappointing enrollment and fewer course offerings than expected--serving as a warning to college administrators that starting...

Mobile classroom project poised to expand

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, October 2

Organizers want to expand a pilot program in a rural Arkansas school district that equipped students with laptop computers or video iPods so they could study science and math while riding to and from school on the bus. ...

Students profit from diligent note-taking

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, October 2

Good grades aren't the only benefits college students can reap for faithful note taking. They can get a paycheck, too - thanks to a new web venture that has raised concerns among some professors. <#a href="http://www.es...

Experts call for broadband transparency

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, October 2

Mapping the areas where Americans have access to various broadband internet services and making this information publicly available are key steps in closing the digital divide, said attendees of a Sept. 26 broadband poli...

CEOs: Time to address 'education gap'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, September 26

The next president of the United States should be very concerned about the country's ability to attract and retain science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workers if the U.S. is to remain a leader in a g...

Tech giants invest in global ed reform

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, September 25

Looking to produce their next generation of employees (and customers), technology giants such as Cisco Systems, Intel, and Microsoft are setting their sights beyond just the United States and are investing heavily in glo...

Digital debate: Prepare kids for exams or life?

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, September 24

An Australian educator's decision to let students use cell phones and the internet during exams has prompted a global dialog about the nature of 21st-century assessment--and whether the definition of cheating should be c...

Colleges spend billions to prep freshmen

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, September 23

It's a tough lesson for millions of students just now arriving on campus: even if you have a high school diploma, you may not be ready for college. In fact, a new study calculates, one-third of American college students ...

Free online math program could boost learning

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, September 23

College officials nationwide are concerned about the number of recent high school graduates in need of remedial math courses, and some schools have turned to free online programs that could preserve shrinking operating b...

New national research center to bolster ed tech

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, September 20

Educational technology advocates are hoping a new national ed-tech research center will spur the development and use of technology to improve instruction. (advertisement)Introducing the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, a new no...

Technology makes art education a bigger draw

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, September 20

In art, as in life at large, technology has changed everything -- or, more precisely, almost everything. In art classes at schools and universities today, new and emerging software is rendering art appreciation and even ...

District's gun policy triggers debate

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, September 19

The decision by a rural, one-school Texas district to allow teachers to carry concealed handguns has reopened a heated debate about the appropriateness of guns on school campuses--and it has some school safety experts sc...

Will 'wisdom of crowds' reform patent process?

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, September 19

Some of the biggest players in the technology industry complain that the U.S. patent system is broken, putting too many patents of dubious merit in the hands of people who can use them to drag companies to court. And tha...

Survey: Nearly every kid a video gamer

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, September 18

A new national survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project illustrates just how ingrained video games have become in youth culture--a phenomenon with important implications for 21st-century learning. (advert...

Obama calls for ed-tech investment

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, September 18

Business leaders are intensifying their call for schools to retool their curriculum. A new report makes a strong economic case for why students must learn key 21st-century skills. And Democratic presidential candidate Ba...

New law aims to validate online learning

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, September 17

The higher-education law signed by President Bush last month demands that colleges authenticate test takers in online courses through the use of sophisticated identification technology or with exam proctors. While some h...

Public libraries struggle with internet demands

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, September 17

New studies by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Public Library Association (PLA) find that America's public libraries are serving more people online, including students. But as more patrons demand access to...

School libraries try to do more with less

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, September 17

This fall, school libraries across the country will be working to implement new standards for learning in the 21st century--but many will be doing so with fewer resources at their disposal. <#a href="http://www.eschool...

eSN poll: Leadership trumps experience

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, September 13

Educational technology stakeholders favor Barack Obama over John McCain in the 2008 presidential race, 58 percent to 37 percent, according to an informal eSchool News survey. Though unscientific, our poll suggests a grea...

Intel salutes six 'Schools of Distinction'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, September 12

As winners of this year's Schools of Distinction Awards, the six schools chosen by Intel Corp. for their exemplary math and science instruction have one characteristic in common: They all integrate real-world experiences...

Test-prep services turn to video games

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, September 12

With SAT scores at their lowest levels in years, two of the country's largest test-prep course providers are pairing with video game companies for the first time, to give students another way to practice for these oft-dr...

Congress set to weigh in on key tech issues

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, September 11

Technology and telecommunications issues will be on Capitol Hill's radar in the months ahead as lawmakers attempt to influence regulators at the Federal Communications Commission and frame the debate for next year's Cong...

Federal law could spur campus alert systems

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, September 11

U.S. colleges need to work quickly to upgrade their policies on emergency notification, response, and evacuation. The efforts are driven at least in part by the federal College Opportunity and Affordability Act, which wa...

Online textbooks: Hope or hype?

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, September 11

Online textbooks have been touted in recent months as a way to bring relief to college students beleaguered by soaring textbook prices. Now, a study from the Student Public Interest Research Groups raises questions about...

Report: Retool instruction, or U.S. will fail

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, September 11

Creating a 21st-century education system that prepares students, workers, and citizens to triumph in the global skills race is the central economic competitiveness issue currently facing the United States, according to a...

Magazine unveils list of 'top wired colleges'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, September 6

PC Magazine, in consultation with the Princeton Review, has published a list of what it calls "America’s top wired colleges," and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign tops the list. (advertisement)Introd...

Student videographers prove ed tech works

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, September 6

The results are in for eSchool News' Empowered Education Awards (EEA)--and three teams of talented students and their teachers are preparing for a trip to remember. With personal tours, catered cuisine, and the chance to...

FCC seeks comments on e-Rate eligibility

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, September 5

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking public comment on a number of proposed changes to the list of eligible services for the e-Rate, the $2.25 billion-a-year program that provides discounts on telecommu...

Virtual environment boosts reading skills

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, September 5

For the past year and a half, students at Broad Creek Middle School in Newport, N.C., have used virtual reality technology to enhance their reading skills across the board--and the evidence suggests these efforts are pay...

Colleges push back against RIAA's methods

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, September 3

Administrators and IT chiefs at public universities nationwide say the recording industry's search for students accused of online piracy is cutting into their faculty's work day. In recent months, some universities have ...

Comcast sets monthly internet usage cap

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, September 3

The decision by Comcast--the nation's second largest broadband-service provider (after AT&T)--to set an official limit on the amount of data that residential subscribers can download and upload each month could affect st...

Dems touch on education, global competitiveness

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, September 3

Boosting education and ensuring America's success in the 21st-century economy were key themes espoused during day two of the Democratic National Convention in Denver Aug. 26. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/to...

Poll: Two-thirds of colleges are going 'green'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, September 3

Two-thirds of American colleges and universities have gone or are going "green" by taking energy-saving and environmentally conscious steps, according to a recent survey. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-ne...

SAT stays at lowest levels in nearly a decade

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, September 3

For a second straight year, SAT scores for the most recent high school graduating class remained at their lowest levels in nearly a decade--a trend some attribute to a record number of students now taking the exam. <#a ...

Intel chair calls for ed reform, STEM innovation

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, August 27

At the annual Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco, hundreds witnessed the birth of a new generation of technologies and saw inspiring presentations. But what seemed to resonate most with the educators on hand wa...

Apple sued over claims of poor iPhone service

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, August 26

As complaints about the new Apple iPhone 3G mount, an Alabama woman is suing Apple for what she describes as inconsistent service and false advertising. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=55012" targ...

McCain, Obama put out tech agendas

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, August 26

The two major U.S. presidential contenders agree on much when it comes to technology, but they differ diametrically on "net neutrality." eSchool News in recent months has kept you up-to-date on where the Republican and D...

College presidents seek debate on drinking age

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, August 23

College presidents from about 100 of the nation's best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth, and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, saying current laws actu...

Intel unveils third-generation Classmate PC

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, August 23

Intel Corp. has unveiled the third generation of its low-cost laptop for students, which branches out from the standard clamshell design with a tablet-style option and includes a touch screen. <#a href="http://www.escho...

ED funding helps students learn key languages

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, August 22

The first-graders in Grace Yuan's class in Fairfax County, Va., are playing "Jeopardy," eagerly responding to clues about animals and their habitats, diet, and movements. Nothing special for a group of 7-year-olds, you s...

'MindLadder' suggests the future of assessment

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, August 21

Recent advances in technology and nearly two decades of research into how students learn have come together in a series of programs that could represent the future of assessment. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/new...

Low-cost laptop experiment under way

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, August 21

Ask Amicah Bitten about her home life, and what she likes to do outside of school, and the 9-year-old is cagey, doling out only small details: she reads the J.C. Penney catalog, she likes to swim sometimes, and she knows...

Researchers mull gaming's impact on learning

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, August 21

Researchers gathering in Boston for the American Psychological Association's annual convention highlighted a series of studies Aug. 17 suggesting that video games can be powerful learning tools--from increasing the probl...

Student data exposed on test-prep site

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, August 21

Test scores, birth dates, and other personal information for more than 100,000 students were published accidentally on The Princeton Review's web site this summer, according to the New York Times. (advertisement)Int...

Technology key to New Orleans school revival

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, August 16

New Orleans schools chief Paul Vallas recently passed his first major test when fourth and eighth graders in the city's public schools posted significantly higher scores on the state exam--and his plans for using technol...

Four-day week on the rise in education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, August 15

School districts and universities are taking cues from the business world and instituting four-day weeks, a trend that some say could become the norm as gas prices and energy costs continue to rise. <#a href="http://ww...

Spurious story spurs anti-immigration rants

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, August 14

Trying to correct bad information online is like trying to kill a cockroach. No matter what you do, it just won't die. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=54843" target="_blank">Read more<#/a> This ar...

Postyourtest.com raises ethical concerns

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, August 13

As a student at St. Louis University, Demir Oral met students acing exams partly because they had access to a bank of previous tests from the same professor. Fraternities and sororities had compiled exams from prior year...

Parallel computing poised to go mainstream

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, August 13

A computing strategy well known among geeks and gurus is about to burst into mainstream consumer electronics, as teams of researchers work to improve speed and efficiency with what is known as parallel computing. <#a hr...

NSTA offers on-demand training for teachers

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, August 9

With access to an affordable, on-demand online learning center, science teachers now can take control of their professional development and boost their knowledge of various science topics. <#a href="http://www.eschoolne...

Electronic displays a sign of the times

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, August 8

Billboards are getting a makeover, and not just at the mall or your local bank: On university campuses from coast to coast, administrators are realizing there's more to digital signage than just a pretty picture--it can ...

Filing amplifies concerns over wireless mics

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, August 7

In a complaint filed in mid-July, consumer groups are accusing users of wireless microphones--including educators and others speaking in large lecture halls--of unwittingly violating Federal Communications Commission (FC...

Free laptop-tracking software now available

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, August 7

Two Ph.D. students and their professors have developed an open-source system for tracking the location of a lost or stolen laptop that does not rely on a proprietary, central tracking service--providing some competition ...

Congress: Schools must clamp down on file sharing

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, August 5

Colleges and universities soon will be required to take measures to combat illegal file sharing on campus and ensure that students enrolled in online classes are the ones taking their tests, according to a bill passed by...

FCC: Comcast violated 'net neutrality' principles

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, August 2

In a victory for advocates of "net neutrality," a divided Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has ruled that Comcast Corp. violated federal policy when it blocked internet traffic for some subscribers and has ordered...

Microsoft releases new tools for academics

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, August 2

Microsoft's research group has announced a set of free software tools designed to meet the needs of scholars and academics. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=54764" target="_blank">Read more<#/a> Th...

Panel seeks level field for disadvantaged kids

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, August 2

Raising expectations, recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers, encouraging the most talented teachers to work in the neediest schools, and focusing on early childhood education are all ways that educators can work...

Portuguese kids to get 500,000 Classmate PCs

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, August 2

Intel Corp.'s low-cost laptop initiative is set to get a boost from Portugal's government, which is pledging to buy 500,000 computers based on the chipmaker's Classmate PC design for that nation's elementary school stude...

Project to rebuild web gets $12M, bandwidth

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, August 2

A massive project to redesign and rebuild the internet from scratch is inching along with $12 million in new government funding and donations of network capacity by two major research organizations. <#a href="http://www...

RezEd is educators' real ticket to virtual worlds

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, August 2

For those educators and tech-savvy explorers ready to take on the growing frontier of virtual worlds, a new hub -- RezED -- now exists to make the journey to alternative realities a little easier. <#a href="http://www.e...

Schools prepare for switch to digital TV

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 30

As consumers and cable companies prepare for the Feb. 17, 2009, switch from analog to digital television broadcasting, some educators are wondering how their schools' televisions will be affected. <#a href="http://www.e...

Copyright fight looms over college textbooks

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, July 29

The high cost of college textbooks has spawned a new battleground in the fight to keep students from downloading copyright-protected materials over the internet: textbook file sharing. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.c...

Court upholds teacher's firing in porn flap

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, July 29

In a case closely watched by public employee unions, a Wisconsin appeals court has upheld the firing of a teacher who briefly looked at pornography on his school computer outside of school hours. (advertisement)Intro...

Google unveils online reference tool

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, July 29

For better or worse, Wikipedia--the online reference site that lets anyone add to its ever-growing body of knowledge--has changed the nature of internet research. Now Google is taking the wraps off a free internet encycl...

High-res display magnifies campus research

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, July 29

University of California, San Diego researchers now have an up-close view of their work, aided by nearly 290 million pixels, after the school built what's reportedly the highest-resolution screen in the world. <#a href...

Study: Girls are just as good as boys in math

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, July 29

Contrary to long-held stereotypes that still permeate all levels of education, girls are proving that they are just as capable as boys when it comes to math. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=54685" ...

Warning raises new fears of cell-phone risks

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, July 29

A warning from the head of a prominent cancer research institute has rekindled fears about the possible health risks associated with extensive cell-phone use, especially among children--and it comes as a growing number o...

Educators struggle with AUP enforcement

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 24

School districts create acceptable-use policies (AUPs) to define what is--and is not--acceptable behavior when using their computer resources. But at a time when computers and internet access are seen as increasingly imp...

First 'hybrid' courses; now, a 'hybrid' school

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 24

"Hybrid" courses, which offer a blend of online and face-to-face instruction, have become increasingly popular in schools and colleges nationwide. Now, a new high school in Hawaii has taken the same concept and applied i...

New iPhone apps aim to enhance education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 24

Flash-card programs, eBook reading software, and science and math simulations are among more than a dozen educational software programs developed for Apple's iPhone that appear in the new App Store, which debuted July 11...

Texas district debuts special propane buses

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 24

A San Antonio-area school district has debuted new classic-yellow school buses that reportedly are the first in the nation manufactured to run on propane. District officials say the new buses are expected to cut fuel cos...

Patent fight a boon to open LMS software

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, July 22

As learning management system (LMS) provider Blackboard Inc. continues its protracted legal battle with rival Desire2Learn, educators say the ongoing dispute over patent infringement could make the growing list of open-s...

McCain, Obama float education plans

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, July 19

Presumptive presidential nominees Barack Obama (D) and John McCain (R) have released more details about their education platforms in recent days, with both candidates making technology a focal point of their plans. <#a...

New resource helps teach 21st-century skills

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, July 19

Social studies teachers now have a new resource to help them integrate 21st-century skills into their lessons: a free online document that maps various social studies projects, tasks, and outcomes to corresponding skills...

Report: U.S. behind in doubling science grads

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, July 19

A high-profile push by business groups to double the number of U.S. bachelor's degrees awarded in the United States in science, math, and engineering by 2015 is falling way behind target, a new report says. (advertis...

NECC highlights tech's 'transformative' power

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 17

Transformation and collaboration were the central ideas of the 2008 National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in San Antonio, which kicked off June 29 with a call to fundamentally change education and continued wi...

Editorial: Looking backward

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 16

Time was--in the musty era before even the commercial internet was generally available--an upstart America Online would charge you depending on how much time you spent crawling the internet (surfing came later). Ah, memo...

Gas prices fuel rise in virtual field trips

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 16

As schools grapple with budget cuts and rising fuel costs, many districts are finding it necessary to reduce or eliminate field trips, leaving students and teachers with a surprisingly attractive option--virtual field tr...

Getting a grasp on student hackers

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, July 16

School IT administrators know that some students will do anything to breach network security systems designed to block inappropriate web sites and keep students on task. When a group of school district IT chiefs met rece...

Emerging tech makes learning more accessible

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Sunday, July 13

A free, open-source online screen-reading program that gives visually impaired students the ability to surf the web from any internet-connected device, and a system that enables students with severe physical handicaps to...

FCC chief says Comcast violated internet rules

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Sunday, July 13

The head of the Federal Communications Commission said July 10 he will recommend that the nation's largest cable company be punished for violating agency principles that guarantee customers open access to the internet. ...

Mini laptops a hit with schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, July 11

The nearly 10,000 HP mini-laptops headed for the Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) in California this fall confirm the trend: K-12 schools are eager to put technology into the hands of every student, and a growing nu...

Edison points at Philly in school-rape lawsuit

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 10

A company paid to run more than 30 Philadelphia public schools argued in court last week that it is not responsible for enforcing safety measures, prompting national education experts to question the validity of public-p...

Schools lagging in use of digital assessments

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 10

Schools and colleges have made great progress in using technology to support their enterprise-level programs and in providing new learning tools to students, but according to a new survey from the Software and Informatio...

Educators wrestle with digital-equity challenges

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, July 8

Despite gains in the number of households that are online and the number of computing devices in the hands of students, making sure all learners have equitable access to technology resources continues to be a challenge i...

Study: Many dial-up users don't want broadband

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, July 8

A new study suggests that attitude, rather than availability, might be the key reason more Americans don't have high-speed internet access. (advertisement)Introducing the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, a new notebook designe...

Police aim to fight crime w/txt msgs

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, July 4

Police in the 1970s urged citizens to "drop a dime" in a pay phone to report crimes anonymously. Now, in an increasing number of cities, cyber-savvy youths and other tipsters are being invited to use their thumbs--to ide...

Test maker seeks online cheaters

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, July 4

Prospective and current graduate business students who used a web site to cheat on entrance examinations over the last five years could have their scores thrown out. (advertisement)Introducing the HP 2133 Mini-Note P...

CoSN: It's time to archive your eMail

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 3

Urging schools to make eMail archiving a "critical part" of their record-keeping activities, a leading educational technology advocacy group has come out with a new resource to help school leaders understand and comply w...

Free K-12 content available through iTunes U

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 3

A new section on Apple's iTunes U contains a wealth of free online content for K-12 educators. (advertisement)Introducing the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, a new notebook designed just for 1:1 computing programs. It's scal...

ISTE unveils new tech standards for teachers

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 3

Schools looking for a framework to help guide their teachers' use of technology in the classroom have a new resource at their disposal: The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has issued new technolo...

States to design own plans for fixing schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, July 3

Formative assessment throughout the school year and better training for school leaders are among the plans for turning around sub-par schools that six states will try under a pilot program this year. <#a href="http://ww...

Ruling favors schools in web-use case

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, July 1

The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that a South Carolina school district did not discriminate against a local activist when it refused to publish links to school voucher information on its web site....

Vendors target education with new AV products

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, July 1

Technology for delivering audio, video, and other school presentations must be affordable and simple to use if it is to transform teaching and learning: That was one of the predominant themes at this year's InfoComm conf...

Nintendo DS teaches English to Japanese kids

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, June 28

The Nintendo DS isn't just fun and games anymore for English-language students at Tokyo's Joshi Gakuen all-girls junior high school. The portable video game console is now being used as a key teaching tool, breaking with...

Study: Parents clueless about kids' internet use

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, June 28

A recent survey by internet security firm Symantec Corp. suggests that many parents are unaware of their children's internet activity and typically underestimate how often their kids encounter online threats. <#a href="...

Software to students: 'I feel your pain'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, June 27

Student comprehension is tough to judge for teachers at the helm of a packed classroom, so researchers at the University of Massachusetts are developing a program that can gauge whether students are bored, frustrated, or...

SETDA urges schools to boost bandwidth

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, June 26

Despite significant gains in high-speed connectivity among schools in the last decade, most schools' broadband access is still not sufficient to accommodate current and future technology needs, according to a report rele...

Fewer students seek tech-related degrees

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 25

Continuing a recent trend that has many business leaders worried, the Computing Research Association's annual survey of universities with Ph.D.-granting programs found a 20-percent drop this year in students completing b...

Cable industry honors visionary educators

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, June 24

Creating a parent-school web site that can be accessed through computer kiosks in local grocery markets, developing historical virtual field trips, and redefining what it means to be media literate in today's world: Thes...

Schools try to reach students via podcast

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, June 24

Students at a rural New Mexico school made a unique pledge last winter: Right hands raised, they promised to take care of their Zunes. (advertisement)Introducing the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, a new notebook designed just...

Lance Armstrong debuts new wellness site

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, June 21

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and his foundation have launched a new web site, Livestrong.com, that contains health tips, physical fitness advice, and cancer prevention information. As educators look f...

Text-message ruling could affect school policies

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, June 21

Employers must have either a warrant or the employee's permission to see text or eMail messages that aren't stored by the employer or by someone the employer pays for storage, a U.S. appeals court has ruled. Hailed by di...

Ed-tech groups give candidates a wake-up call

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, June 20

As the 2008 presidential race heats up, school stakeholders are anxious to hear the candidates' views on public education. For major education and ed-tech advocacy groups, the topic is about more than just a political ag...

Study: New SAT is not much better

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, June 20

The writing section added to the SAT has done very little to improve the exam's overall ability to predict how students will do in college, according to research released June 17 by the test's owner. (advertisement)I...

Free online tool targets 'military brats'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, June 19

A new web site will allow children from military families to compare states' academic standards and take a free online test to identify the gaps in their understanding as they move to a new state with different testing a...

As Bill Gates departs, educators mull his legacy

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 18

As Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates prepares to leave the company he has been associated with for the last three decades, school leaders are reflecting on the enormous impact he has had on both education and tec...

Botnets: Beware the 'army of darkness'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, June 17

Cyber criminals are looking for holes in your school systems' networks so they can seize control of computers to launch attacks anonymously, experts say--distributing spam, viruses, or "Trojan Horse" assaults while often...

Student videos demonstrate ed-tech's value

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, June 17

For the educators and ed-tech advocates who work tirelessly to ensure their students have access to a 21st-century education, here's the good news. We have yet more tangible proof that education technology is helping kid...

RIAA steps up anti-piracy efforts

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, June 13

The battle between colleges and the music industry over illegal file sharing by students is heating up yet again: Not content to lobby Congress for federal rules discouraging such activity, the Recording Industry Associa...

Feds try to revive 10-year-old web porn law

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, June 12

Government lawyers tried on June 10 to revive a 1998 law designed to keep online pornography from children, amid questions that it is significantly outdated and blocks too much legal speech while having no effect on cont...

Teachers: Give us better tech training, support

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, June 12

After more than decade of investment in school technology, educators say they still don't feel adequately prepared to integrate instructional software into their classrooms and aren't getting the technical support they n...

Technology brings 'new P.E.' to schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 11

Physical education teachers are trading in their traditional equipment for heart-rate monitors and video games that encourage running, jumping, and stretching. Taken together, these two trends are transforming P.E. class...

McCain, Obama reps discuss education

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, June 10

Education advisors for presumptive presidential nominees John McCain (R) and Barack Obama (D) outlined the candidates' stances on key issues June 6, with both emphasizing a larger role for technology in schools. <#a hr...

House approves funding for 'green' schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, June 9

The U.S. House of Representatives on June 4 committed more than $20 billion over the next five years to help states build and renovate schools to make them more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. <#a href="...

New twist to student loans: Peer-to-peer lending

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, June 9

A new trend in the student loan business is capitalizing on the online social-networking phenomenon to connect students with those willing to lend them money for college. (advertisement)Introducing the HP 2133 Mini-Note...

Teens are sending nude photos via cell phone

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Monday, June 9

When school officials in Santa Fe, Texas, confiscated dozens of student cell phones last month as they searched for nude photos of two junior high school girls that were forwarded to numerous students, the incident spark...

Animal-rights groups push for virtual dissection

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, June 6

Animal-rights organizations are using software donations and other outreach efforts to spur interest in the use of "virtual dissection" tools among schools--adding a new chapter in the debate over whether these tools off...

Free web browser meant for autistic children

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, June 6

A Las Vegas software developer has created a free web browser designed specifically for use by autistic children. (advertisement)Introducing the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, a new notebook designed just for 1:1 computing progr...

Va. schools prep for web-safety mandate

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, June 5

As Virginia's schools prepare to incorporate internet safety lessons across all grade levels this fall to satisfy a landmark 2006 state law, educators are looking to schools that piloted web-safety curricula this past sc...

Fuel prices force schools to get creative

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, June 4

With fuel prices soaring to record-breaking numbers, school districts across the nation have been forced to rethink standard practices and cut corners just to keep their budgets afloat. From virtualizing field trips to s...

Cyber bullying: From victim to crusader

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, June 3

When Tina Meier's 13-year-old daughter, Megan, committed suicide after being bullied on the internet, her grief was so encompassing she felt at times she couldn't breathe. But in recent months, the Missouri woman has foc...

eSN Special Report: Rating the E-rate

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, June 3

With so much money at stake, and a byzantine application process, the E-rate is the source of nightmares for many participants. Yet, despite the program's complexity, three out of four applicants say the E-rate is meetin...

FCC mulls free high-speed internet plan

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, June 3

Students and educators are among those who stand to benefit greatly from a national high-speed wireless plan now under consideration by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). (advertisement)Introducing the HP 2133 ...

School leaders get advice on 'green' computing

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, May 31

With energy costs soaring to record levels, taking steps to reduce energy consumption isn't just good for the environment--it's also essential for the fiscal health of schools. At a recent webinar on "green" computing, p...

YouTube lawsuit tests copyright law

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, May 31

Educators are closely watching a $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit challenging YouTube's ability to keep copyrighted material off its popular video-sharing web site--a lawsuit that could have important implicatio...

Security, ERP are top campus IT challenges

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, May 30

Security, administrative or enterprise resource planning (ERP) information systems, and funding are the three most critical information technology (IT) challenges in higher education for the sixth year in a row, accordin...

Summit showcases ed-tech 'up-and-comers'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, May 30

A free web site that uses song lyrics to motivate students to read and write, a platform for learning English that adapts to each user, and a "touch interface" for launching digital materials from printed textbooks were ...

Microsoft to nix book-scanning operations

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, May 29

Educators and librarians are wondering what the impact will be of Microsoft's disclosure that it is abandoning its effort to scan the contents of libraries and make these items searchable online. The move might be a sign...

Federal lawmaker targets cyber bullying

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, May 28

Prompted by outrage over a Missouri teen's suicide after an internet hoax, United States Rep. Kenny Hulshof on May 22 introduced a bill that would impose federal criminal penalties for cyber bullying. <#a href="http://w...

Internet2 expands schools' possibilities

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, May 28

Thanks to a partnership with nearby research universities, students at Georgia's Barrow County Schools have used a high-definition video link to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta to control cameras and view images of sea l...

Microsoft pledge could cut tech costs for schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, May 24

Conversion to open software programs for creating spreadsheets, documents, and other standard office files could become more commonplace in school districts, if a May 22 pledge by software giant Microsoft Corp. comes to ...

Schools' cyber security needs improvement

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, May 24

School districts are improving their physical security, but they might be neglecting the security of their computer infrastructure, if the results of an annual survey are any indication. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnew...

High court upholds part of anti-child porn law

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, May 23

The United States Supreme Court on May 19 upheld criminal penalties for promoting child pornography, brushing aside concerns that the law could apply to mainstream movies that depict adolescent sex, computer simulations ...

Laptop-for-kids project to resume donations

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, May 23

If you missed the opportunity to buy a low-cost mobile computer from the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative late last year, you'll have another chance: OLPC plans to resume its Give One, Get One program, in which peo...

Municipal broadband projects under attack

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, May 23

In an effort to expand access to high-speed internet service for residents in their communities, many municipalities are building their own broadband networks. But they face growing opposition from the telephone and cabl...

Scientists release educational computer game

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, May 23

Aiming to make learning science fun and engaging for students, the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) has introduced a free educational computer game called "Immune Attack." <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/ne...

Domenech plans to revitalize AASA

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, May 21

Inclusion, advocacy, and increased relevance reportedly are high on the agenda of Daniel A. Domenech, the former superintendent of Virginia's Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), who takes over as executive director of ...

Low-cost XO laptop now runs Windows

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, May 21

The One Laptop Per Child initiative is about to find out whether Microsoft Corp., a rival that the nonprofit group once derided, is the solution to its problems in spreading inexpensive portable computers to school child...

Study probes RFID use in schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, May 21

Computer-science researchers at the University of Washington (UW) are tracking students and faculty in an experiment they hope will show the benefits and drawbacks of using radio frequency identification (RFID) technolog...

Index reveals what kids are searching for online

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, May 17

What are students searching the web for most frequently while at school? Turns out, it's math games, animals, and historic figures and events, according to an unscientific index of the 15 most popular in-school search te...

Researchers identify key ed-tech trends

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, May 17

Widespread adoption of one-to-one computing programs and the growing use of online assessments are among the key ed-tech trends occurring in schools across the country, according to the 2008 America's Digital Schools rep...

Woman indicted in MySpace suicide case

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, May 17

In a case that sends a strong message about the possible consequences of cyber bullying, a federal grand jury on May 15 indicted a Missouri woman for her alleged role in perpetrating a hoax through the online social netw...

One in four data breaches involves schools

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, May 15

Cyber criminals are becoming bolder and more sophisticated in their operations, federal computer security experts say. And that's bad news for schools, because educational institutions reportedly account for approximatel...

Students demo uses for Google cell-phone OS

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, May 14

What do you want your cell phone to be able to do? Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Hal Abelson put that question to about 20 computer-science students this semester when he gave them one assignment:...

Facebook, states set online safeguards

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 13

Facebook, the world's second-largest social-networking web site, will add more than 40 new safeguards to protect students and other users from sexual predators and cyber bullies, attorneys general from several states sai...

Parents have mixed views of kids' digital media use

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 13

American parents agreed by a wide margin that digital media skills are important to kids' success in the 21st century, but they also expressed skepticism about whether digital media could contribute to the development of...

Schools will have until 2009 to buy Windows XP

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 13

Microsoft will stop offering Windows XP in retail stores June 30, but at least two major computer manufacturers say school districts, colleges, and universities will be able to buy machines with the older operating syste...

Online insight: Challenges beat cheerleading

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, May 9

Simply providing online discussion forums is not enough to keep students engaged in virtual courses, according to educators who are well-versed in online instruction: For real learning to occur in an online setting, virt...

Latest Wi-Fi standard on the march

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, May 8

Colleges and universities nationwide are launching the newest generation of Wi-Fi networks even before a final version of the standard has been ratified--a move technology experts say could allow schools to do away with ...

Wanted: More Hispanics in STEM fields

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, May 8

In what is becoming a national trend, leading businesses and education groups are launching new initiatives aimed at increasing the number of minorities--and Hispanics in particular--in science, technology, engineering, ...

Summit: Save STEM or watch America fail

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 6

Two years after a report called "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" warned that the United States is falling behind in math and science education, endangering America's competitiveness in the global economy, education lea...

University nixes web access during class

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, May 6

The University of Chicago Law School has banned internet access during class time, although laptops still will be permitted for note taking. The move comes as educators at schools and universities nationwide have struggl...

Blogging helps encourage teen writing

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, May 3

For most media outlets that reported on an important new survey measuring the impact of technology on teens' writing skills, the big news from the survey was that emoticons and text-messaging abbreviations are creeping i...

Lawsuit challenges school system's web use

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, May 3

A South Carolina man is suing his local school system for refusing to post links to pro-voucher internet sites in a case that raises questions about what school districts can promote or exclude from their web sites. <#a...

New discovery could lead to better memory

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, May 3

A new discovery by researchers at Hewlett-Packard Co. has important implications for educators, students, and others who regularly use computers and electronic devices with memory chips. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews...

Report: Give schools $20 billion upgrade

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, May 3

Education needs $20 billion for infrastructure, according to a report released April 29. To narrow the digital divide, funding for up-to-date video and voice technology in schools should be a focus of federal and state d...

Study: Creativity is important but neglected

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Saturday, May 3

Educators and employers agree that creativity is increasingly important in U.S. workplaces, according to a recent report. Yet, the report suggests a disconnect exists between what survey respondents say they believe and ...

Social-networking apps can pose security risks

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, April 30

Using those cool little applications designed to enhance social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook can make personal information as public as posting it on a billboard.Trouble is, most students (and educators) ne...

Baker team grabs top computer-security prize

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 29

A team of students from Baker College (Mich.) won first place in the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC), a cyber defense competition that lets teams of full-time college students apply their IT knowled...

ED wants uniform dropout, graduation rates

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 29

The Bush administration sought on April 22 to bolster its signature education law, proposing new rules designed to address the nation's dropout problem and ensure educators pay close attention to the achievement of minor...

Movie: Science 'expels' Intelligent Design

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 29

In Missouri, where the battle for control of the science curriculum has been raging, public officials have been afforded a special screening of a documentary-style film advocating on behalf of intelligent design, the ter...

Gaming helps students hone 21st-century skills

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, April 24

Online gaming can help students develop many of the skills they'll be required to use upon leaving school, such as critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity, agreed educators who spoke during an April 16 webinar...

Tech encourages students' social skills

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, April 24

Well-integrated technology opens social networks for students and allows children to develop key social skills, according to two recent studies conducted by researchers at the University at Buffalo, State University of N...

AT&T launches $100M effort to stem dropouts

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 22

AT&T unveiled a $100 million initiative April 17 designed to curb the country's high school dropout rate, which has reached critical levels in recent years, according to education experts. <#a href="http://www.eschooln...

eSN Exclusive: E-rate contract draws fire

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 22

A five-year, $28 million contract awarded to Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) to manage the information systems used to administer the federal E-rate has some E-rate service providers crying foul. Because ...

FCC wrangles over 'net neutrality' issue

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 22

A divided Federal Communications Commission on April 17 grappled further with the thorny issue of how to relieve increasing online congestion, disagreeing sharply over whether government regulations are needed. <#a href...

Judge: Turnitin.com doesn't violate copyright laws

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 22

A federal district court judge threw out a lawsuit against the online plagiarism detection service Turnitin.com last month, ruling the web site--which stores student papers in its database and compares them with new subm...

A year after tragedy, colleges are more vigilant

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, April 17

The rampage carried out one year ago today by a deranged Virginia Tech student who slipped through the mental health system has changed how American colleges reach out to troubled students. <#a href="http://www.eschooln...

Judge says Marshall must ID students in downloading case

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, April 17

In the latest case pitting a university against the music industry in its fight against online music piracy, a federal judge says Marshall University must identify seven students who the music industry claims have illega...

South Dakota governor seeks funding for school laptops

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, April 17

South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds on April 14 said he continues to look for another source of money to support a program that helps South Dakota school districts provide laptop computers for high school students. <#a href...

Technology helps boost students' writing skills

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, April 16

Students' writing skills were in the spotlight in early April, as a new report suggested that an increasing number of U.S. students understand the basics of writing. And one of several possible reasons for this trend cou...

Patent office deals a blow to Blackboard

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 15

In yet another twist to the often arcane but potentially far-reaching patent dispute between eLearning systems providers Blackboard Inc. and Desire2Learn Inc. (D2L), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in late M...

Panelists: Online learning can help minority students

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 11

As online learning becomes more of a strategic resource for K-12 and higher-education institutions to supplement traditional courses, education leaders are starting to discuss how online learning can help support minorit...

Students want more use of gaming technology

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 11

Educators are largely missing out on what could be a huge opportunity to capitalize on their students' appetite for electronic games and simulations to teach them about core curriculum topics, results from a new national...

Videotaped beating sparks national outrage

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 11

The videotaped beating of a 16-year-old Florida girl by other teens whose intent was to post video of the attack on YouTube and MySpace has sparked national outrage and has prompted calls for these sites to better police...

HP unveils small laptops for students

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, April 9

One more of the world's largest technology companies is about to enter the growing market for pint-sized computers targeted mainly for pint-sized customers. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=53439" t...

Report details common internet scams

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, April 9

A new government report released April 3 paints a detailed picture of the landscape for online scams and could serve as a useful tool for students' internet safety education. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/to...

Birmingham approves low-cost laptop project

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 8

In what will be the first large-scale educational deployment of low-cost laptops from the nonprofit One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative in the United States, the Birmingham, Ala., Board of Education has voted to accep...

Free text reader to help print-disabled students

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 8

Students with print or reading disabilities will have a new resource to help them access thousands of books, magazines, and other texts electronically: Bookshare, a nonprofit online community, and Don Johnston Incorporat...

Schools mull needs of adult distance learners

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 8

Many ed-tech advocates have voiced support for distance learning as a way for K-12 students to take courses not offered at their regular schools or enroll in courses for college credit. But another group of learners--adu...

'Hybrid' courses show promise

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 4

"Hybrid courses," or courses that deliver part of their instruction in a traditional lecture manner and part in an online environment, are becoming increasingly popular among schools and colleges. Proponents of the conce...

Feds take on dropout crisis

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 4

The Bush administration on April 1 announced that it will require states and school systems to report high school graduation rates in a uniform way, instead of using a variety of methods that critics say are often based ...

Intel unveils new Classmate PCs

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, April 4

Intel Corp. on April 2 unveiled new features for its line of low-cost laptops for schools, adding bigger screens and more data storage capacity as the chip maker ratchets up its rivalry with the One Laptop Per Child (OLP...

Ten Who've Made a Difference

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, April 2

In honor of our 10th anniversary, eSchool News has put together a list of 10 people who have had a profound impact on educational technology in the last decade. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=5334...

Cell phones test schools' outreach efforts

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, April 1

A seismic shift in mobile phone use calls for new communication strategies, award-winning eSN columnist Nora Carr argues. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=53335" target="_blank">Read more<#/a> This...

Adobe launches free web version of Photoshop

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, March 28

Adobe Systems, the maker of the popular photo-editing software Photoshop, on March 27 launched a basic version of the program available free of charge online. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=53307"...

Comcast to stop hampering file sharing

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, March 28

Comcast Corp., an internet service provider under investigation for hampering online file-sharing by its subscribers, on March 27 announced an about-face in its stance and said it will treat all types of internet traffic...

CoSN strives to empower superintendents

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, March 28

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) is launching a new leadership initiative aimed at giving superintendents the tools and resources they need to understand the transformative role of educational technology, as w...

Analysis: How multimedia can improve learning

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, March 27

An analysis of existing research supports a notion that already has begun to transform instruction in schools from coast to coast: that multimodal learning--using many modes and strategies that cater to individual learne...

CoSN conference offers blueprint for ed tech

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, March 27

"The greatest challenge we face with ed tech and with evolving education is human," said Keith Krueger, chief executive officer of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), at the group's 13th annual K-12 School Netwo...

Hope inspires educators at ASCD conference

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, March 27

In the spirit of New Orleans, a high school band, complete with tubas and clarinets, welcomed clapping attendees to the opening keynote session of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development's (ASCD's) ann...

Schools respond to iPhone's popularity

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, March 27

Responding to the iPhone's popularity among students, many universities are rolling out initiatives that aim to take advantage of its potential as a converged, mobile learning device. <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.co...

Suit could force disclosure of RIAA's methods

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, March 27

An Oregon woman is suing the music industry trade association in a case that could force the group to reveal how it targets people in its efforts to curb illegal downloading and sharing of music online. That knowledge co...

College gossip site subpoenaed

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, March 20

JuicyCampus, a web site that publishes anonymous, often malicious gossip about college students, has come under fire from student groups at several colleges and universities who say it is ruining reputations. Now, state ...

New research to focus on parallel computing

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, March 20

Microsoft and Intel have announced a new research initiative aimed at accelerating developments in a trend known as "parallel computing." <#a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=53118" target="_blank">Read...

Verizon addresses peer-to-peer challenge

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Thursday, March 20

Peer-to-peer file sharing has been as unpopular with internet service providers as it has been popular with users. Many ISPs have banned, blocked, or slowed peer-to-peer traffic in their efforts to keep the flood of musi...

High-end monitors go missing from ASCD exhibits

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 18

Four exhibitors got a shock during the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development conference in New Orleans, March 15-17, when they realized at least six large HD monitors were missing. Given the type and vol...

Low-cost handheld targets elementary students

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Tuesday, March 18

Elementary schools in at least seven cities are piloting an innovative handheld computer that costs only $50 and can be used to help teach reading and math. The nonprofit organization that developed the device, Chicago-b...

Math panel: Streamline curriculum, focus on fractions

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, March 14

Schools could improve students' sluggish math scores by hammering home the basics, such as addition and multiplication, and then increasing the focus on fractions and geometry, the National Mathematics Advisory Panel rec...

Software industry unveils its 'Vision for K-20'

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Friday, March 14

In an effort to enrich learning and strengthen American students' ability to compete in an increasingly global society, the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) today launched a bold new education initiat...

Science education in the spotlight

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, March 12

As schools prepare for the debut this fall of science testing under No Child Left Behind, educators and science advocates are calling for renewed awareness of what many say is a national crisis in science education. <#a...

Testing rules prompt new science products

Posted by Sylvia Hayes on Wednesday, March 12

New testing requirements that will take effect this fall under the federal No Child Left Behind Act are forcing schools to ramp up their science instruction, and curriculum companies are responding in turn with solutions...

States struggle with assessing tech literacy