'Costing Us a Fortune'

Motives of 21st-Century-Skills Group Questioned

Critics charge that the Partnership for 21st Century Skills is a veiled attempt by technology companies to gain more influence over the classroom. (December 4, 2009, Education Week)

Poll Finds Sexting Common Among Young People

More than a quarter of young people have been involved in sexting in some form, despite sometimes grim consequences for those who do it, an Associated Press-MTV poll found.

Gates Foundation Commits $12.9M to College Tech

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation wants to help community colleges use technology to improve and go beyond basic online classes. (December 4, 2009, AP)

Broader Role Outlined for District Ed-Tech Leaders

A revised framework of essential skills for technology officers envisions them exercising a greater degree of academic leadership. (December 1, 2009, Education Week)

Teachers Using Cellphones for Classroom Lessons

A Florida high school is one of a growing number of schools around the country that are abandoning traditional policies of cell phone prohibition and incorporating them into class lessons.

Final Chapter for Texas Textbooks?

With the state moving toward online material, textbooks could be going the way of slide rules and Big Chief tablets in Texas classrooms.

N.C. Gov. Launches Web Site Offering E-Learning Opportunities

A new Web site launched by Gov. Bev Perdue is expected to allow students and life-long learners a place to enhance their educational opportunities. (November 23, 2009, Education Week)

Ga. District Hones Social Media Policy

The Barrow County Schools superintendent put the brakes on a proposed policy that would have limited teacher-student online communications and restricted what teachers can post on social networking sites. (November 19, 2009, Education Week)

Board Considers Texting Ban for School Bus Drivers

School bus drivers in Miami-Dade County might soon be facing a ban on texting while they are behind the wheel. (November 17, 2009, AP)

Half of States Now Offer Online-Learning Programs

A report shows steep growth both in state e-learning initiatives and in the numbers of K-12 students taking advantage of them. (November 16, 2009, Education Week)

Neb. High School Going Digital With Yearbook

Madison High School doesn't have enough money in the budget to produce a yearbook, so students are going to make DVD memory books. (November 16, 2009, AP)

U.S. Solicits Input for New Ed-Tech Plan

Some people in the field are concerned about the lack of recommendations from educators for guiding the plan's development. (November 13, 2009, Education Week)

Tech Tools Check Up on School Visitors

Want to visit your child's teacher or volunteer in a classroom? Then you need to hand over your driver's license for a quick background check in order to obtain a pass complete with photo and date as you enter the halls of this Illinois school. (November 13, 2009, AP)

Policies Target Teacher-Student Cyber Talk

Addressing an issue facing schools nationwide, Louisiana is requiring educators to document certain types of electronic contact with students. (November 2, 2009, Education Week)

Tech Advances Transform Role of School Libraries

As information technology becomes a more integral part of student learning and achievement, the role of school libraries and librarians is changing. (November 9, 2009, AP)

Strife Slows La. Online School Study

A study on how to launch Louisiana's first online charter schools is off to a rocky start amid controversy over the panel doing the review. (November 9, 2009, AP)