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 skills such as communicating, working with others, and establishing civic responsibility, according to a new national poll from Common Sense Media and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center.

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 system until January 2009, as Windows Vista--released last year--remains unpopular with many consumers.

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 said May 8.

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, virtual-school educators must establish clear rubrics and enforce rules for participation.

The Hewlett-Packard Company, the personal computer and printer maker, said Tuesday that it would acquire the Electronic Data Systems Corporation, the operator of corporate computer systems, for $13.9 billion, reports The New York Times.

A group of Internet safety experts plans to announce next month a new start-up aimed at helping social networks provide safer Web 2.0 environments for kids and adults, reports CNET News.

Galactic destinations can now be toured and explored at the controls of a computer mouse, with the constellations, stars and space dust displayed in vivid detail and animated imagery across the screen, reports The New York Times.

Instead of juvenile detention, 15-year-old freshman Jaime Pacheco of East Dallas was chosen by a judge to be enrolled in a pilot program in which chronically truant students are monitored electronically, the New York Times reports.

Anonymous pranksters who made a fake Facebook profile for a high school dean and used it to send out messages might soon be exposed, thanks to a court order issued late last week, Ars Technica reports.