Annual poll of college freshmen shows effects of recession
The New York Times reports that the recession hit this year’s college freshmen hard, affecting how they chose a school as well as their ability to pay for it, according to an annual nationwide survey released Jan. 21.
If your password is 123456, just make it HackMe
Despite all the reports of internet security breaches over the years, many computer users have reacted to the break-ins with a shrug, reports the New York Times.
Online college for union members in the works
The National Labor College will make about 20 online courses available for the AFL-CIO’s 11.5 million members next fall in an effort to help workers adapt to a job market that increasingly requires higher education.
New tech tools help Haiti quake relief
Hundreds of tech volunteers spurred to action by Haiti’s killer quake are adding a new dimension to disaster relief, developing new tools and services for first responders and the public in an unprecedented effort, the Associated Press reports.
MIT lags in hiring, promoting black, Hispanic faculty, internal report says
MIT must do a better job recruiting and retaining black and Hispanic faculty, who have a significantly more difficult time getting promoted than white and Asian colleagues, according to a frank internal study released today by the university. The Boston Globe reports that in some departments, such as chemistry, mathematics, and nuclear science and engineering, no minorities have been hired in the last two decades, according to the report, which was more than two years in the making.
Report details coming trends in campus technology
Open scholarly content will become more commonplace in higher education in the next year as online universities and textbook companies organize and harness the internet’s mass of educational material, according to a report that predicts campus technology advances within the next five years.
An antitrust complaint for Google in Germany
Google said on Monday that it faced antitrust complaints in Germany from newspaper and magazine publishers who want the company to pay for using article snippets in its Web news service and search results, reports The New York Times.
Grand Rapids textbook rental program expands
Grand Rapids Community College students were among the first in the nation to be able to rent their textbooks from their Follett’s campus bookstore, but now the company is expanding the program to colleges across the country, the Grand Rapids Press reports.
Microsoft to cut time it holds internet search data
Software giant Microsoft said it would slash by two thirds the time it holds internet users’ personal data gathered from search queries, according to AFP.
Has Google developed the next wave of online education?
Combining text, audio, and video chat with features like drag-and-drop documents and interactive polls, Google Wave is a free web program that could add unprecedented depth to student interaction, many educators say.