eschool news

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 technology to help spur achievement might lead to even further gains.

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. (advertisement)Introducing the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, a new notebook designed just for 1:1 computing programs. It's scaled down in size and weight, but it's huge in features--including one of the biggest keyboards in its class, an 8.9" diagonal screen and wireless capability. Learn more now.

Trying to correct bad information online is like trying to kill a cockroach. No matter what you do, it just won't die.

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.

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 years and made them available to students, providing an invaluable study tool during pressure-packed final exams. So last November, Oral launched Postyourtest.com, starting a free online service that he hoped would democratize the sharing of college exams. And as the site has attracted attention from students nationwide, educators have become wary of the potential for academic dishonesty.

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.

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 enhance communication and maybe even help save lives.

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 for commercial software developers.

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 (FCC) rules that require government licenses for such devices.

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 Congress July 31.

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 the cable giant to change the way it manages its network.

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 to ensure minority and low-income students are receiving a good education, speakers at a recent conference said.

Microsoft's research group has announced a set of free software tools designed to meet the needs of scholars and academics.

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 students.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.