They're basically laptops you write on, like a notepad, and they're gaining ground in US schools. "Educators at a handful of schools, many of them private high schools, are pressing ahead with plans to issue students tablet PC's for use in English, foreign language, math, science and social studies classes, the New York Times reports. Two obstacles they faced were price (that's coming down) and … [Read more...] about Tablet PCs in school
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Chicago schools: E-rate struggles
Remember the e-rate? It was big news back in the late-'90s, as US schools and libraries gratefully scrambled to apply for the federal program that helped them with Internet access (funds came from adding a tax to consumers' phone bills). The bulk of e-rate news more recently has been about corruption concerns. It's interesting that the first place I find an e-rate update this month is out of the … [Read more...] about Chicago schools: E-rate struggles
Penn. child-porn law thrown out
A US federal court Friday threw out a Pennsylvania law requiring Internet service providers to block access to online pornography, calling the law unconstitutional, the Associated Press reports. "No one challenged the state's right to stop child porn, which is already illegal under federal law," but civil liberties organizations such as the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) and the … [Read more...] about Penn. child-porn law thrown out
Cybersocializing, cyberbullying
For kids and teens, the online social scene is a little like what happens when 18-year-olds go off to college. Suddenly there's a lot of freedom; people get experimental socially. Most of what happens is relatively harmless, some not. What's different about the online scene is, the experimentation starts at a much younger age and - to an even greater degree - there are no grownups around. What I … [Read more...] about Cybersocializing, cyberbullying
Mobile phones & porn
In Europe and Asia, kids' exposure to pornography on mobile phones is becoming as big an issue as their access to Web-based porn is in North America. And it's only a matter of time in this hemisphere, as more and more US families have picture and video phones. Regs are in the works overseas. "Governments in Japan, Germany, Australia, and Taiwan are proposing or passing legislation that requires … [Read more...] about Mobile phones & porn