Educational Technology

by Fruzsina Eordogh, Walletpop

The huge push to incorporate technology in the classroom reaches beyond colleges or universities. And while computer labs are everywhere, it’s troubling to see so little use of technology in the classroom when every other person has a smart phone these days. Kids are growing up on technology, so why not teach them with that technology? Unfortunately, incorporating technology comes at an enormous cost. The Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) recently announced that it would provide each incoming freshman an iPad. You may be thinking that is a little excessive, or an expensive marketing tool, and for many other colleges such as Seton Hall University or George Fox University it appears that way. Despite costing the university $250,000, IIT justifies the give-away by pointing to its new mobile application course, and stresses the purchase of the iPad (at $499) will not raise tuition. But if it doesn’t come from a tuition increase, where will the money come from?

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/05/22/classroom-technology-important-but-costly/

by By Dan Berrett, Pocono Record

The words screamed through cyberspace like a shot. “yeah im in your school no body likes you except your fake friends. FATTY ——,” said one message posted on a site that allows visitors to post anonymous comments. Schools face a balancing act on bullying Successful anti-bullying program hasn’t been tried in the Poconos.  The message was addressed to a Stroudsburg Middle School student and witnessed by a virtual audience of her peers. The 12-year-old girl printed the messages and showed them to her mother — which is exactly what school and law enforcement officials counsel. But when it was brought to the school and police, she said she was told that little discipline could be meted out because the hurtful speech occurred off school grounds.

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100523/NEWS/5230342

By Zack Whittaker, ZD Net

Stanford University is making a leap in its future library programme by preparing the launch its own bookless library. Instead of checking out books, monitoring their progress and having to have them back by a certain time and day for another student, pretty much everything of theirs will be going digital. As in this day and age, most articles are available through online library databases and via Google Books and Scholar. Many students including myself are aware of the huge impact that digitised books are having on research and studying.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/igeneration/stanford-unis-bookless-library-progression-or-repression/5065

By Dawn M. Whalen

Imagine – A five-year-old programming a robot to move, turn and play music; A seven-year-old building a simple machine with levers and gears; A ten-year-old using a digital microscope to examine hair and fibers; A middle schooler writing commands so sensors react correctly to power motors, lights, and sounds. Did you imagine boys? NOW imagine these children in pigtails, a dress and a tiara.

http://www.foothillsmediagroup.com/articles/2010/05/20/opinion/doc4bf57383b6662519832831.txt

by DEREK HARPER, Press of Atlantic City

At Mainland Regional High School, learning to program computers can be a game. For the past several years, some of the students in Deborah Klipp’s advanced placement computer science class have relied on their love of video games to learn computer languages and develop problem-solving abilities. A few of Klipp’s students this year deserve extra credit. A game they designed for class won an award recently in a game-design contest held at The College of New Jersey in Ewing, Mercer County.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/communities/northfield_linwood_somers-point/article_fcb0141e-645d-11df-9b7b-001cc4c03286.html

BY CAITLYN KELLEHER, Fitchburg Pride

Nearly 40 area high school students partnered with Westminster-based SimplexGrinnell for this year’s Women in Technology program, which aims to connect students with the working world. The Women in Technology program is a collaborative program that works to develop a seamless connection between business and industry, secondary schools and post-secondary colleges. The seven teams of students presented their final projects to members of the staff of SimplexGrinnell and Tyco Safety Products, parents, teachers and friends on Thursday, May 13, in the auditorium of Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School.

http://www.fitchburgpride.com/news/2010-05-21/Business/Technology_teamwork_and_talent.html

By Melissa Bryant, SKNVibes

PLANS are still on-stream for every secondary school student in St. Kitts-Nevis to receive a free laptop by the commencement of the new school year in September.

Minister of Information Technology Hon. Glenn Phillip told SKNVibes that an implementation committee had been formed to iron out the last few details of the “One-to-One laptop project”, first announced last year by Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas.

http://www.sknvibes.com/News/NewsDetails.cfm/14214

By Jeffrey Burt, eWeek

The One Laptop Per Child project is teaming up with Marvell to create a tablet that officials hope will enable OLPC to bring down the price to less than $100. The XO-3 tablet will be designed for schoolchildren in the United States and elsewhere, and also will be marketed to healthcare facilities.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/OLPC-Marvell-to-Build-XO3-Tablet-311725/?kc=rss