5 ways to create a community of learners
Remote learning makes relationship-building more challenging--here are some ideas that can help
Benton: Universal broadband a necessity
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…
Ocean explorer brings undersea science to life
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…
Five ways to attract investors to campus technology
Universities can support costly technology projects by teaming up with venture capitalists seeking sound investments, but higher-education officials should beware the potential for investor money to become bogged…
On Darwin’s 200th, a theory still in controversy
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…
Patent fight shows perils of ‘tech transfer’
The University of Missouri is suing one of its professors in a case that points to the pitfalls of "technology transfer," the growing enterprise in which university labs…
Free lessons offer cyber-bullying prevention
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!…
Controversial student gossip site folds
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…
Med school converts to e-Books
The University of Puerto Rico's medical school class of 2012 will be among the first in the world to receive an entirely digital education through computer-based textbooks, according…
Porn charges for ‘sexting’ stir debate
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.…
Congress postpones digital TV transition
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…
New Google software tracks users’ location
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…
Meet the winners of our 2009 Tech-Savvy Superintendent Awards
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…
Singularity U. wants to harness tech’s power
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…
Free iPhone app expands college radio’s reach
College radio programs could get additional exposure from a new application that allows users from anywhere in the world to find and listen to student-run internet radio stations…
Google Earth allows exploration of oceans
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:…
Hackers’ latest ploy: Spoofing 911 calls
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…
News groups seek webcast in file-sharing case
Fourteen news organizations, including the Associated Press and the New York Times Co., are urging a federal appeals court to allow online streaming of a hearing in a…
Technology empowers differentiated instruction
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…
K-State admits data security lapse
Kansas State University is notifying 45 students who were enrolled in an agricultural economics class in spring 2001 that some of their personal information was inadvertently exposed on…
FETC explores a sea change in education
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…
College web design courses fail with bosses
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…
House OKs record $142 billion for education
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…
Anti-evolution forces gain ground in Texas
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"…
New Smithsonian chief eyes ed tech
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…
Copyright settlement leaves questions
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…
Paperless format helps students and alumni
Ralph C. Richardson's skepticism of educational technology faded--and eventually vanished--with the introduction of electronic tablets that allow more comprehensive note taking and instant student responses during professors' lectures…
Gates Foundation to show excellent teaching
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…
Report: Reinvent schools for digital age
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, according to a…
How to defend your campus IT budget
Campus technology officials have joined the ranks of department heads vying for shrinking funds in a sagging economy, and many IT chiefs say defending their budgets is complicated…
Gates Foundation to give $22M for education
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…
West Point will tell soldiers’ stories on the web
Lt. Col. Paul Owen, West Point Class of '90, came back to the academy to tell his story about Iraq. Sitting before a video camera in his dress…
Colleges convert cooking oil into biodiesel fuel
Forgive the students at Sinclair Community College if they get the munchies when they pass the tractors that cut grass, blow leaves, or sweep snow on campus: Oil…
COPA dies quietly in Supreme Court
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…
Report details upcoming ed-tech trends
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 web…
Texas grapples with evolution in new science standards
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…
Judge delays hearing in file-sharing case
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.…
Crowds flood National Mall to witness history
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…
File-sharing hearing to be shown online
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…
Schools make inauguration a teachable moment
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…
Resource Library:
The Complete Guide to Computer Science Education for Elementary Classrooms
Introducing computer science at the elementary level gives young learners a strong foundation for the future. By learning tech skills early, students are set up for success in school and…
Take measure of your mathematics practices
DNA Mathematics professional development empowers educators to master the mathematics being taught in classrooms. To exemplify the benefits of DNA Mathematics, download our FREE white paper now to learn a…
Enhance PreK-5 STEAM and CS Instruction with playful, screen-free robotics!
Research shows that young students learn STEAM and Computer Science best with hands-on, playful experiences. Meet KIBO, the screen-free robot, where students problem solve, engineer, collaborate, and develop their computational…