Federal money for ed-tech research soon available
A federally funded research center to be introduced Jan. 25 is intended to bring digital innovations into classrooms and museums, reports the New York Times.
Judge cuts $2M penalty in Minn. song-sharing case
A federal judge on Jan. 22 drastically reduced a nearly $2 million verdict against a Minnesota woman found guilty last year of sharing 24 songs over the internet, calling the jury’s penalty “monstrous and shocking,” reports the Associated Press.
Most students applying to college online
Asheville, N.C., high school senior Jacqueline DeJournett says the convenience of applying to college online allowed her to expand her list of prospective schools from only a handful to 13. She’s part of a burgeoning trend in the college application process, reports the Ashville Citizen-Times.
What Bill Gates is learning online
It’s no surprise, really, but it turns out Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates is a strong supporter of the open-courseware movement that has swept through higher education in the last few years.
Apple in talks with education publishers over its tablet computer
Apple is in talks with the McGraw-Hill Companies and other publishers to include educational and trade titles on its planned tablet computer, BusinessWeek reports.
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.