Digital Directions in Education Week
IT Infrastructure & Management
Educators Advised to Use Common Sense on Facebook
Officials acknowledge that teachers are held to a higher standard when it comes to using Facebook, but there are no clear policies spelling out what they can and can’t post.
Classroom Technology
Chicago Schools Place Virtual Ed. Initiatives High on Priority List
The Chicago district now offers a battery of online programs, ranging from math and reading enrichment to a virtual charter school with students learning almost entirely from home.
Education Funding
Analysis Notes Virtual Ed. Priorities in RTT Winners
The International Association for K-12 Online Learning outlines the 19 finalists' plans to use online learning to achieve federal Race to the Top goals.
Classroom Technology
Pa. Virtual Schools Struggle to Meet State Standards
Although enrollment has grown at Pennsylvania's 11 virtual academies, they have mostly failed to reach state testing standards.
School & District Management
Oregon Education Board Tackles Virtual Schools
The board takes a small step toward resolving the question: Who decides whether a child can attend an online-only school?
Law & Courts
Wisconsin Grants Privacy to Teacher E-Mails
The state Supreme Court ruling makes Wisconsin the latest state to exempt teachers' private e-mails from public-records laws.
Classroom Technology
E-Education Inc. Seeks the Mainstream
For-profit online course providers are expanding in the K-12 market, but experts urge schools to critically evaluate the benefits the companies tout.
Curriculum
District IT Leaders Examine E-Learning Companies
They say there are benefits and drawbacks to doing business with for-profit online course providers.
Classroom Technology
Districts Equipping School Buses With WiFi
School systems are trying to work through concerns about cost, content, and safety to give students living in rural areas Internet access.
School Climate & Safety
Buses Catch Bad Drivers on Camera
The Fort Madison school district, which already has cameras inside its buses to watch the students, is now putting cameras on the outside to catch drivers who illegally pass in this Iowa community.
College & Workforce Readiness
NCAA Moves to Bench Two Virtual Schools
The National Collegiate Athletic Association has a message for would-be college athletes hoping to use online courses to bolster their high school transcripts: Proceed with caution.
College & Workforce Readiness
Vt. College, K12 Inc. Forge Language-Learning Partnership
Online foreign language courses will be offered to high school students via Middlebury College in Vermont.
School & District Management
Educators Eye Ning Transition to a Pay Model
Although the popular social-networking platform Ning will start charging to maintain sites, certain education networks may remain free.
Teaching
At Universities, Is Better Learning a Click Away?
The use of student-response clickers is growing in college and K-12 classrooms, but some see downsides to the devices.