iPad a Solid Education Tool, Study Reports

"In a partnership with Apple, textbook publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt performed a pilot study using an iPad text for Algebra 1 courses, and found that 20% more students (78% compared to 59%) scored 'Proficient' or 'Advanced' in subject comprehension when using tablets rather than paper textbook counterparts."

Students of Online Schools Are Lagging

"The number of students in virtual schools run by educational management organizations rose sharply last year, according to a new report being published Friday, and far fewer of them are proving proficient on standardized tests compared with their peers in other privately managed charter schools and in traditional public schools."

Startups Aim to Bring Education Industry Into 21st Century

"For many educational institutions, financials have limited them in bringing technology into classrooms, but some argue the formality and rigidity of these places have created an uphill battle to integrate new technology. A handful of education technology startups are looking to change this. . ."

Profits and Questions at Online Charter Schools

"Agora is one of the largest in a portfolio of similar public schools across the country run by K12. Eight other for-profit companies also run online public elementary and high schools, enrolling a large chunk of the more than 200,000 full-time cyberpupils in the United States."

eCheating: Students Find High-Tech Ways to Deceive Teachers

"Everything's going digital these days — including cheating. As students gain access to sophisticated gadgets both at school and at home, educators are on the lookout for new kinds of cheating."

The Emergence of E-Mentoring

"Over the past 10 years, 25,000 struggling students from poverty-stricken schools have gotten guidance, encouragement and advice from volunteer mentors. And they haven't met face-to-face even once."

To Hover Over Schoolwork, Parents Go Online

"More public and private school systems are wiring up parent-accessible data-management systems that keep track of schoolwork, grades and attendance. There are opportunities for overuse."

Skype CEO: Our Goal Is to Connect 1 Million Classrooms

"What is perhaps Skype in the Classroom's most useful feature is a 'project' tab that helps teachers find partner classrooms for projects and ideas. One teacher, for instance, used the platform to coordinate a 'weather around the world' unit."

The iPad and Special Needs Students

"Districts that launched pilot programs last school year now are stepping up their iPad use for special-needs students after seeing results, some school officials say."

In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores

". . .to many education experts, something is not adding up — here and across the country. In a nutshell: schools are spending billions on technology, even as they cut budgets and lay off teachers, with little proof that this approach is improving basic learning."

What Will School Look Like in 10 Years?

"Computers, electronic whiteboards and other interactive technologies are fundamentally changing American education. That is the view of the experts whom The Times spoke with about what the classroom will look like 10 years from now."

South Korea Commits to Digital Textbooks

"South Korea says it wants to transition the country's education system to all-digital textbooks by 2015 so students can study anytime and anywhere."

Study Finds Kids Who Surf Internet Are Better Readers

"Parents might label it a waste of time but the hours spent surfing the internet, chatting online, and even on the dreaded Facebook appear to improve children's reading skills, The Australian reported Wednesday."

Speaking Up in Class, Silently, via Social Media

"A small but growing cadre of educators is trying to exploit Twitter-like technology to enhance classroom discussion and get students to shed inhibitions about voicing opinions."

More Pupils Are Learning Online, Fueling Debate on Quality

"Nationwide, an estimated 1.03 million students at the K-12 level took an online course in 2007-8, up 47 percent from two years earlier, according to the Sloan Consortium, an advocacy group for online education. About 200,000 students attend online schools full time, often charter schools that appeal to home-schooling families, according to another report."

Broadband Map Shows Up to 10% in U.S. Lack Good Internet

"As many as one in 10 Americans can't get Internet connections that are fast enough for common tasks such as viewing photos, video and Web pages, and two thirds of schools have broadband connections that are too slow to meet their needs."

Snow Days Virtually Eliminated with Web Tools

"Despite winter storms that forced schools and colleges across the nation to cancel classes, tech-savvy educators are turning to Facebook, podcasts and other Web tools to keep students on track."

Study: Kids Master Technology Before All Else

"Kids these days may know their way around the family computer or how to use their parents' cell phones, but a new survey says they're more likely to master those high-tech tasks than basic life skills like riding a bike or tying their shoelaces."

Schools Ill Equipped for Cyberbullies

"A U.S. researcher cautions only one in five school social workers surveyed felt their school has an effective policy on cyberbullying."

Cheaters Find an Adversary in Technology

"As tests are increasingly important in education — used to determine graduation, graduate school admission and, the latest, merit pay and tenure for teachers — business has been good for Caveon, a company that uses 'data forensics' to catch cheats, billing itself as the only independent test security outfit in the country."