Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eCampus News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Web scammers home in on job-seeking college students

The phony job ads come as college graduate hiring by genuine companies appears healthier.

Sitting at her laptop hunting for a part-time job, University of California-Davis student Isra Sebiaa spotted an “office help” ad that sounded incredibly appealing.

Posted by an “international business consultant” in Davis, Calif., the would-be employer was frequently overseas and needed help running errands, paying bills, mailing packages, and doing shopping. The pay: $150 a week for 10 hours of work, plus mileage and expenses.

“It sounded perfect,” recalls Sebiaa, a senior majoring in political science. She immediately applied online, sending her resume, a crisp cover letter, and a request for a face-to-face interview.…Read More

Study: Young adults do care about online privacy

Young adults should be informed about online privacy, experts say.
Young adults should be informed about online privacy, experts say.

All the dirty laundry younger people seem to air on social networks these days might lead older Americans to conclude that today’s tech-savvy generation doesn’t care about privacy.

Such an assumption fits happily with declarations that privacy is dead, as online marketers and social sites such as Facebook try to persuade people to share even more about who they are, what they are thinking, and where they are at any given time.

But it’s not quite true, a new study finds. Despite mounds of anecdotes about college students sharing booze-chugging party photos, posting raunchy messages, and badmouthing potential employers online, young adults generally care as much about privacy as older Americans.…Read More

Carnegie Mellon to offer online safety program

Ninety percent of children surveyed said they use some form of online social networking.
Ninety percent of children surveyed said they use some form of online social networking.

Carnegie Mellon University will use a $20,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to create and distribute internet safety advice to faculty, teachers, and students in K-12 schools and on college campuses.

The university’s internet safety lessons can be found on its Information Networking Institute web site, which also includes tools such as an encyclopedia of hundreds of web terms.

The web-based tools will be sampled at St. Bede School in Pennsylvania, the university announced Jan. 25.…Read More