Report: States Collect Information on Students but Don't Use It Enough

"States have made steady advances in building data systems that can track the progress of individual students from preschool through college and into the work force. But most states are not yet using that information to guide policies on improving education, according to a report on a national survey released on Friday."

When Phones Are Just Too Smart

"Despite the availability of over 140,000 apps on iTunes, researchers have found that the average iPhone or iPod Touch owner uses only 5 to 10 regularly."

Study: Online Education Continues Its Meteoric Growth

"Online college education is expanding—rapidly. More than 4.6 million college students were taking at least one online course at the start of the 2008-2009 school year. That's more than 1 in 4 college students, and it's a 17 percent increase from 2007."

Study: Cell Phone Bans Don't Reduce Accidents

"A new study suggests laws banning the use of hand-held devices while driving have not reduced the rate of accidents in three states and the District of Columbia."

U.S. Considers 'Internet Access for All'

"Next month, the United States will introduce a national program aimed at giving every American access to a fast Internet connection, raising the standard from a dial-up connection to broadband. Unlike other nations, however, the U.S. will stop short of declaring broadband access a basic human right."

Researchers Develop a More Accurate Spam Filter

"California researchers have developed a system they believe could stop the most common kind of spam from reaching people's in boxes."

The Cost of Data Breaches Is Rising, Study Finds

"A new report this week found that the average cost of a data breach at U.S. institutions last year was the highest it has been since the study began, five years ago."

comScore Reports Global Search Market Growth of 46 Percent in 2009

"comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a study on growth in the global search market in 2009. The study revealed that the U.S. remains the largest search market worldwide, while Google Sites retains a commanding position in the global search market."

Apple announces ‘iPad’ touchscreen tablet

"The iPad weighs about 1.5 pounds, is 0.5 inch thin, has a 9.7-inch display and should have a battery life of 10 hours, Jobs said. It uses what he called Apple's own 1GHz A4 chip The tablet has the company's online iTunes Store built into it, as well as YouTube in high-definition."

Twitter May Have Peaked

"The number of Twitter users has flatlined in the last few months after explosive growth—and plenty of hype—in the early part of the year. December's total of 22 million visitors was down 770,000 from Twitter's August peak, according to analytics firm Compete."

Google releases new Google Voice for iPhone

"Google Inc unveiled a new version of its Internet phone service on Tuesday in its latest effort to bypass Apple Inc's gatekeepers and make Google Voice a popular service on the iPhone."

LJ Report on ALA Top Tech Trends Panel

"In a Top Tech Trends (TTT) session January 17 that took a somewhat different approach featuring younger, first-time participants, five panelists focused primarily on more popular trends affecting patron access and services rather than on backroom library workflows or broad concepts like software architecture and technology infrastructure."

Study Links Size of Brain Structures, Video Game Prowess

"A University of Illinois study published in the journal Cerebral Cortex suggests researchers can predict how well a player will perform in a video game by measuring the volumes of three structures in their brain."

YouTube to Charge $5 for Some Videos

"YouTube this week begins a test to see if folks will pay to watch movies on its site. The Web's most popular video sharing site Friday will offer five films from the 2009 and 2010 Sundance Film Festival for a fee around $5."

Most College Students To Take Classes Online by 2014

"Nearly 12 million post-secondary students in the United States take some or all of their classes online right now. But this number will skyrocket to more than 22 million in the next five years, according to data released recently by research firm Ambient Insight."

Teens, Kids Consume 7.5 Hours of Media a Day

"Researchers say that 8- to 18-year-olds spend 7 hours and 38 minutes a day watching TV, playing video games, or amusing themselves on a computer, which has risen by one hour and 17 minutes since 2004; that's a total of 53 hours a week."

Leading E-Textbook Seller Reports 400 Percent Sales Increase in 2009

"Hundreds of thousands of students have used CourseSmart's e-textbooks, the company says, and growth should continue."

With Tech Salaries Nearly Flat, Frustration Rises: Survey

"U.S. technology professionals are more frustrated with their pay than they have been in years as their salaries stagnate, according to an annual survey of about 17,000 visitors to the Dice.com website."

Report: New York Times to Charge Online Readers

"The New York Times is reportedly getting ready to charge readers for access to the venerable newspaper's online content. The newspaper is expected to announce in coming weeks that it will institute a metered pay plan in which readers would have access to a limited number of free articles before being invited to subscribe, according to a report in New York magazine that cited sources close to the newsroom."

Report: 2010 Seen Good for TV, Bad for E-Readers

"According to the Deloitte 2010 TMT Predictions, the TV and its fixed schedule will remain a central part of the entertainment experience despite the growing demand from viewers who want to watch individual programs when they want them. The forecast goes against many expectations as analysts have long expected the habit of downloading content from the Internet onto a computer -- when and where the viewer wants it -- to slowly spread to the way viewers also watch TV."

Economic Trends in Libraries and 2010 Outlook

"Compiled from a broad range of available sources, The Condition of Libraries: 1999-2009 presents U.S. economic trends (2009), and summarizes trends in public, school and academic libraries across several library measures, including expenditures, staffing and services. The report also highlights trends in services provided to libraries by library cooperatives and consortia."

Portico to Preserve Open Access Content from BioMed Central

"Portico (www.portico.org) is pleased to announce that it will preserve BioMed Central’s entire collection of 60,000 open access online articles and all newly published articles going forward."

Survey Shows U.S. Public Libraries in “Financial Jeopardy”

"But just when people need their public libraries the most, funding for this valued resource is decreasing, as governments cut library budgets as a way of addressing state and local deficits. More than half of responding state library agencies (52 percent or 24 states) reported cuts in state funding for public libraries between FY2009 and FY2010; and 11 of these states reported cuts were greater than 11 percent, double what was reported last year. In addition, nearly 75 percent of state library agencies also have received cuts resulting in fewer available staff, reduced funding for library materials and subscription databases, and continuing education for public library staff and trustees."

Survey: Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading

"In a benchmark survey -- the first of three to be released this year -- the Book Industry Study Group, Inc. (BISG) has just revealed concrete consumer data collected directly from book readers that addresses how print book buyers access, purchase and use e-books and e-readers."

California Law Requires Digital Textbooks by 2020

"While it seems increasingly likely that e-books will one day become the standard in education, California has passed a law to to guarantee it -- and to set a deadline."

'Horizon Report' Highlights 6 Technologies to Watch in Education

"The Horizon Report, an annual guide to tech trends, comes out next week. And it’s predicting a new technology king: open content."

Google's Goal: Digitize Every Book Ever Printed

An interview with "Daniel Clancy, an engineer and the director of Google Books."

Bringing Color to E-Readers

"Companies such as Pixel Qi, Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, Liquavista, and Kent Displays all have new ideas about the best way to make a good color screen for an e-reader, and they are eager to get in the game."

Free McAfee Security Software for Facebook Users

"Computer-security giant McAfee and Facebook are taking a big step to shore up basic security for millions of consumers. Tonight, they announced McAfee will make a complimentary six-month subscription of its Internet Security Suite software available to Facebook's 350 million users."

Is That the Library of Congress in Your Pocket?

"Radical changes in books and magazines could transform the world we live in."

Internet Use Hasn't Grown Since 2006--Plateau?

"Since 2006, the number of American adults using the Internet has leveled, according to a new survey of 2,258 people from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. In 2006, just slightly more than 70% of Americans were regular Internet users. Today, that number is 74%."

Study Finds That Papers Lead in Providing New Information

"There are more places to go for local news but less news to find there, and the great majority of actual reporting still comes from newspapers, according to a study of the Baltimore area that is scheduled to be released on Monday."

Textbooks for Rent ... Everywhere

"Textbook rental programs have been sprouting up and growing for some time, but this week there are signs of a market shift with large, traditional bookstore companies going further than they have in the past in embracing the rental concept. And at the same time, those already in the market see the interest from traditional textbook players as a sign that their model is taking off."

Bold New E-readers Grab Attention at CES

"Glimpses of the third generation are on display this week at the International Consumer Electronics Show, where manufacturers are previewing e-readers with color screens, interactive graphics and magazine-style layouts".

Survey: Facebook and Grades

"A survey of 1,127 University of New Hampshire students pursuing various majors found no link between how much time they spend Facebooking, tweeting, and YouTubing and how well they do in college."

Text Generation

"Will the decision of many college libraries to encourage students to text queries from their phones cheapen the research process, or rescue it?"

E-Books: Averting a Digital Horror Story

"On Christmas Day, for the first time in its history, Amazon.com (AMZN) sold more digital books than the old fashioned kind. It was a watershed moment for the book industry—but it's scaring. . .traditional publishers."

Amazon Takes Larger-Screen Kindle Global

"Amazon.com Inc is to sell its larger Kindle electronic reader, aimed at students, businesspeople and newspaper readers, in more than 100 countries for $489, following the rollout of its original device last year."

Google, Spring Design Offer Access to 1 Million E-books Via Alex Reader

"Spring Design, the developers of the Alex Reader, a two-screen digital reader featuring both b&w E-Ink and full-color LCD screens, has reached an agreement with Google to provide access to more than a million public domain digital books online or through download."

The Top 10 Ed-Tech Stories of 2009

"eSchool News counts down the ten most significant developments in education technology during the past year."

15 Gadgets That Changed Everything This Decade

"This decade is the decade of gadgets. From the tiny USB thumb drive introduced in 2000 to the iPhone 3G in 2008, a bunch of revolutionary devices have been brought to the market."

Obsolete Learning Technologies

"From the iPhone to the Garmin, advancements and gadgets introduced this decade changed the whole world. . . .In the process, a few things that once were considered social mainstays are now either obsolete or well on their way."

Google's Chrome Tops Safari; Is Firefox Next?

"Google Chrome hit a milestone over the weekend when it became the third-most popular browser after Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox, according to metrics firm Net Applications. It controls just 4.63 percent of the browser market, but Chrome has made significant inroads against competing browsers, such as the former bronze medalist Apple Safari."

Google's Chrome Grabs No. 3 Browser Spot From Safari

"Google's Chrome overtook Apple's Safari to become the world's third-most popular browser just 16 months after its debut, a Web metrics company said Friday."

Top 10 Security Nightmares of the Decade

"Blame the Internet for the latest decade of security lessons. Without it, you probably wouldn't even recognize the terms phishing, cybercrime, data breach or botnet."

The World’s Top 10 Spammers

"A monitoring group says these are the world's worst e-mail abusers."

A Decade of Technology Unites, Divides the World

"As we ring in a new decade, what should we wish for? Perhaps to pay closer attention to how advances in technology can not only instantly change our lives but also drive our history."

Digital Piracy Hits the E-book Industry

"When Dan Brown's blockbuster novel "The Lost Symbol" hit stores in September, it may have offered a peek at the future of bookselling. On Amazon.com, the book sold more digital copies for the Kindle e-reader in its first few days than hardback editions. This was seen as something of a paradigm shift in the publishing industry, but it also may have come at a cost. Less than 24 hours after its release, pirated digital copies of the novel were found on file-sharing sites such as Rapidshare and BitTorrent. Within days, it had been downloaded for free more than 100,000 times."