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Item(s) found: 321
NEW REPORT SHOWS TECHNOLOGY CAN CLOSE ACHIEVEMENT GAPS AND IMPROVE LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR AT-RISK STUDENTS
Date CapturedWednesday December 23 2015, 8:33 AM
The report includes several recommendations that could expand the use and positive impact of technology among at-risk high school youth: Technology access policies should aim for one-to-one computer access. Technology access policies should ensure that speedy internet connections are available. States, districts, and schools should favor technology designed to promote high levels of interactivity and engagement and make data available in multiple forms. Curriculum and instruction plans should enable students to use technology to create content as well as learn material. Policymakers and educators should plan for “blended” learning environments, characterized by significant levels of teacher support and opportunities for interactions among students, as companions to technology use. The report cautions that its recommendations must be accompanied by adequate professional learning opportunities for teachers on how to use the technology and pedagogies that are recommended, including technical assistance to help educators manage the hardware, software, and connections to the internet.
Using Technology to Support At-Risk Students' Learning
Date CapturedWednesday December 23 2015, 8:19 AM
Teachers Use of Educational Technology in US Public Schools
Date CapturedFriday December 04 2015, 11:20 AM
2009
Hearing on “How Emerging Technology Affects Student Privacy"
Date CapturedMonday February 16 2015, 12:24 PM
United States House of Representatives 114th Congress, 1st Session; Committee on Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Hearing on “How Emerging Technology Affects Student Privacy" February 12, 2015 Statement of Joel R. Reidenberg Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair and Professor of Law Founding Academic Director, Center on Law and Information Policy Fordham University New York, NY Good morning Chairman Rokita, Ranking Member Fudge and distinguished
Building public trust in uses of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act de-identified data
Date CapturedFriday November 14 2014, 7:01 AM
Deven McGraw; The aim of this paper is to summarize concerns with the de-identification standard and methodologies established under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations, and report some potential policies to address those concerns that were discussed at a recent workshop attended by industry, consumer, academic and research stakeholders. Center for Democracy & Technology, 1634 I Street, NW Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20006, USA; deven@cdt.org J Am Med Inform Assoc 2013;20:29-34 doi:10.1136/amiajnl-2012-000936
Latanya Arvette Sweeney, Ph.D.cv
Date CapturedSaturday November 08 2014, 7:37 PM
Latanya Arvette Sweeney, Ph.D. Professor of Government and Technology in Residence Department of Government Director, Data Privacy Lab dataprivacylab.org/ Harvard University 1737 Cambridge Street, CGIS K310 Cambridge, MA 02138
Data Privacy Lab
Date CapturedFriday November 07 2014, 8:09 AM
Research projects - The Data Privacy Lab is a program in the Institute for Quantitative Social Science (IQSS) at Harvard University and offers thought leadership, research, and discussion on privacy and technology, working directly with researchers at IQSS and leveraging colleagues across Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Law School, and MIT. The Lab started in 2001 at Carnegie Mellon University in the Heinz School of Public Policy and in 2002, moved to the School of Computer Science, where it operated until 2011 before relocating to Harvard. The Lab has had dramatic impact on privacy technology developments and policy. Latanya Sweeney founded the Lab and continues as its Director.
Cloud Computing, Regulatory Compliance, and Student Privacy: A Guide for School Administrators and Legal Counsel
Date CapturedTuesday July 01 2014, 2:48 PM
J. Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law 511 (2014) Volume 30 Issue 3 (2014)
INFORMATION RESELLERS Consumer Privacy Framework Needs to Reflect Changes in Technology and the Marketplace
Date CapturedThursday November 21 2013, 2:23 PM
What GAO Recommends: Congress should consider strengthening the consumer privacy framework to reflect the effects of changes in technology and the increased market for consumer information. Any changes should seek to provide consumers with appropriate privacy protections without unduly inhibiting commerce and innovation. The Department of Commerce agreed that strengthened privacy protections could better protect consumers
Transforming Data to Information in Service of Learning,
Date CapturedFriday May 24 2013, 8:58 AM
SETDA developed this new report, "Transforming Data to Information in Service of Learning," to raise awareness about the major K-12 data standards and interoperability initiatives underway to address this gap and to offer recommendations for how K-12 education can become more responsive to educators and better targeted toward individual student success. The report will help education leaders understand the context for these interoperability initiatives and their relationship to teaching and learning. The widespread implementation of new and emerging interoperability initiatives will be instrumental to realizing the full potential of technology in education.
SB 173
Date CapturedThursday January 24 2013, 4:27 PM
TEXAS Sen. Estes SB 173: Relating to prohibiting the use of radio frequency identification technology to transmit information regarding public school students. (RFID)
Frequently Asked Questions—Cloud Computing
Date CapturedMonday September 24 2012, 10:25 AM
FERPA does not prohibit the use of cloud computing solutions for the purpose of hosting education records; rather, FERPA requires States to use reasonable methods to ensure the security of their information technology (IT) solutions.
Learning Registry Index Solution – RFP Guidance SLC Project Document January 31, 2012 Copyright
Date CapturedSunday April 29 2012, 3:33 PM
The Learning Registry is a joint technology effort of the US Departments of Education and Defense, supported by public, private and nonprofit members who participate in various roles as educational content publishers, indexing and search providers, and content consumers.
NYS State Technology Law § 208 (Current as of 9/16/2011)
Date CapturedMonday March 12 2012, 6:12 PM
"State entity" shall mean any state board, bureau, division, committee, commission, council, department, public authority, public benefit corporation, office or other governmental entity performing a governmental or proprietary function for the state of New York, except: (1) the judiciary; and (2) all cities, counties, municipalities, villages, towns, and other local agencies.
The effect of Twitter on college student engagement and grades
Date CapturedSaturday February 12 2011, 9:17 PM
R. Junco,G. Heiberger & E. Loken; This study provides the first piece of controlled experimental evidence that using Twitter in educationally relevant ways can increase student engagement and improve grades, and thus, that social media can be used as an educational tool to help students reach desired college outcomes. We provided evidence to suggest that students and faculty were both highly engaged in the learning process through communication and connec- tions on Twitter. As there is continuing growth in the use of social media by college students and faculty, it is hoped that this study will motivate further controlled studies of Twitter and other social media to evaluate how emerging technologies can be best used in educational settings and to tease out the variance between the effects of the actual technology and of the ‘Web 2.0 mentality.’
The Problems Of Web Surveillance
Date CapturedTuesday January 11 2011, 8:54 AM
Clarification by Ryan Calo: 1) Consumers do not understand the circumstances under which the government may gain access to their data. 2) Electronic privacy laws are outdated and do not reflect contemporary technology or practices. 3) Regardless of the government’s motives, certain practices threaten to chill free speech and should be viewed with great skepticism.
Proposed Security Assessment & Authorization for U.S. Government Cloud Computing
Date CapturedThursday November 04 2010, 8:10 PM
Proposed Security Assessment and Authorization for U.S. Government Cloud Computing: Over the past 18 months, an inter-agency team comprised of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), General Services Administration (GSA), the CIO Council and working bodies such as the Information Security and Identity Management Committee (ISIMC), has worked on developing the Proposed Security Assessment and Authorization for U.S. Government Cloud Computing. This team evaluated security controls and multiple Assessment and Authorization models for U.S. Government Cloud Computing as outlined in this document. The attached document is a product of 18 months of collaboration with State and Local Governments, Private Sector, NGO’s and Academia. This marks an early step toward our goal of deploying secure cloud computing services to improve performance and lower the cost of government operations, but we need to improve this document through your input.
NSF Funds Research to Enable Distributed, Fair, and Privacy-Preserving Collaboration
Date CapturedSaturday September 25 2010, 4:14 PM
Stevens Institute of Technology: [Hoboken, NJ, September 25, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Dr. Susanne Wetzel, Associate Professor of Computer Science, has recently been awarded a $457K research grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to investigate privacy and security in the context of enabling collaboration.]
REPORT: FUTURE OF THE INTERNET, CLOUD COMPUTING - The future of cloud computing
Date CapturedTuesday June 15 2010, 10:50 PM
[The future of cloud computing Technology experts and stakeholders say they expect they will ‘live mostly in the cloud’ in 2020 and not on the desktop, working mostly through cyberspace-based applications accessed through networked devices. This will substantially advance mobile connectivity through smartphones and other internet appliances. Many say there will be a cloud-desktop hybrid. Still, cloud computing has many difficult hurdles to overcome, including concerns tied to the availability of broadband spectrum, the ability of diverse systems to work together, security, privacy, and quality of service. ] Janna Quitney Anderson, Elon University; Lee Rainie, Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project
Letter to: Chairman Boucher and Ranking Member Stearns
Date CapturedMonday June 07 2010, 6:26 PM
Mike Sachoff -- [In response to a discussion draft of a new privacy bill now under consideration by the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, ten privacy and consumer groups today called for stronger measures to protect consumer privacy both online and off. The organizations including the Consumer Federation of America, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Consumer Watchdog, World Privacy Forum, Consumer Action, USPIRG, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, Privacy Times, Privacy Lives, and the Center for Digital Democracy, raised their concerns in a letter to Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher and Ranking Member Cliff Stearns. The groups recommended the following: *The bill should incorporate the Fair Information Practice Principles that have long served as the bedrock of consumer privacy protection in the U.S., including the principle of not collecting more data than is necessary for the stated purposes, limits on how long data should be retained, and a right to access and correct one's data. *The bill's definitions of what constitutes "sensitive information" need to be expanded; for instance, to include health-related information beyond just "medical records." *The bill should require strict "opt-in" procedures for the collection and use of covered data and should prohibit the collection and use of any sensitive information except for the transactions for which consumers provided it.]
Guide to Protecting the Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
Date CapturedMonday May 03 2010, 11:04 AM
Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology - [The escalation of security breaches involving personally identifiable information (PII) has contributed to the loss of millions of records over the past few years. Breaches involving PII are hazardous to both individuals and organizations. Individual harms may include identity theft, embarrassment, or blackmail. Organizational harms may include a loss of public trust, legal liability, or remediation costs. To appropriately protect the confidentiality of PII, organizations should use a risk-based approach; as McGeorge Bundy once stated, "If we guard our toothbrushes and diamonds with equal zeal, we will lose fewer toothbrushes and more diamonds." This document provides guidelines for a risk-based approach to protecting the confidentiality of PII. The recommendations in this document are intended primarily for U.S. Federal government agencies and those who conduct business on behalf of the agencies, but other organizations may find portions of the publication useful. Each organization may be subject to a different combination of laws, regulations, and other mandates related to protecting PII, so an organization‘s legal counsel and privacy officer should be consulted to determine the current obligations for PII protection. For example, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued several memoranda with requirements for how Federal agencies must handle and protect PII. To effectively protect PII, organizations should implement the following recommendations.]
How Different are Young Adults from Older Adults When it Comes to Information Privacy Attitudes and Policies?
Date CapturedThursday April 15 2010, 6:12 PM
Chris Jay Hoofnagle - University of California, Berkeley - School of Law, Berkeley Center for Law & Technology; Jennifer King -UC Berkeley School of Information; Berkeley Center for Law & Technology; Su Li- University of California, Berkeley- School of Law, Center for the Study of Law and Society; Joseph Turow - University of Pennsylvania - Annenberg School for Communication: [Abstract: Media reports teem with stories of young people posting salacious photos online, writing about alcohol-fueled misdeeds on social networking sites, and publicizing other ill-considered escapades that may haunt them in the future. These anecdotes are interpreted as representing a generation-wide shift in attitude toward information privacy. Many commentators therefore claim that young people “are less concerned with maintaining privacy than older people are.” Surprisingly, though, few empirical investigations have explored the privacy attitudes of young adults. This report is among the first quantitative studies evaluating young adults’ attitudes. It demonstrates that the picture is more nuanced than portrayed in the popular media. ] [Among the findings: _ Eighty-eight percent of people of all ages said they have refused to give out information to a business because they thought it was too personal or unnecessary. Among young adults, 82 percent have refused, compared with 85 percent of those over 65. _ Most people — 86 percent — believe that anyone who posts a photo or video of them on the Internet should get their permission first, even if that photo was taken in public. Among young adults 18 to 24, 84 percent agreed — not far from the 90 percent among those 45 to 54. _ Forty percent of adults ages 18 to 24 believe executives should face jail time if their company uses someone's personal information illegally — the same as the response among those 35 to 44 years old.]
FTC Seeks Comment on Children's Online Privacy Protections; Questions Whether Changes to Technology Warrant Changes to Agency Rule.
Date CapturedTuesday April 06 2010, 2:51 PM
[In a Federal Register notice to be published shortly, the FTC poses its standard regulatory review questions and identifies several areas where public comment would be especially useful. Among other things, the FTC asks: What implications for COPPA enforcement are raised by mobile communications, interactive television, interactive gaming, or other similar interactive media. For input on the use of automated systems – those that filter out any personally identifiable information prior to posting – to review children’s Web submissions. Whether operators have the ability to contact specific individuals using information collected from children online, such as persistent IP addresses, mobile geolocation data, or information collected in connection with behavioral advertising, and whether the Rule’s definition of “personal information” should be expanded accordingly. Whether there are additional technological methods to obtain verifiable parental consent that should be added to the COPPA Rule, and whether any of the methods currently included should be removed. Whether parents are exercising their right under the Rule to review or delete personal information collected from their children, and what challenges operators face in authenticating parents. Whether the Rule’s process for FTC approval of self-regulatory guidelines – known as safe harbor programs – has enhanced compliance, and whether the criteria for FTC approval and oversight of the guidelines should be modified in any way.]
CDT- Updating the Privacy Act of 1974 -
Date CapturedTuesday March 16 2010, 9:16 PM
[Updating the Privacy Act of 1974 June 5, 2009 government-wide push toward the development of policies and practices to protect the information of citizens and other individuals. While the underlying framework of the law, rooted in the principles of Fair Information Practices (FIPs), is still sound, the thirty-five year-old wording of the Act renders it ill-equipped to meet many of the privacy challenges posed by modern information technology. 1) Updating the Privacy Act of 1974 2) Fair Information Practices are Central 3) The Creation of Federal Privacy Leadership 4) Updating Definitions to Match Changing Data Practices 5) Strengthening Privacy Notices
Groups Urge California PUC to Adopt Rules to Protect Consumer Privacy
Date CapturedSunday March 14 2010, 8:54 PM
infozine reports [San Francisco, CA - infoZine - Privacy advocates are warning that "smart meters" intended to precisely measure and control home electrical consumption could erode the privacy of daily life unless regulators limit data collection and disclosure. In a joint filing yesterday, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to adopt rules to protect the privacy and security of consumers' energy-usage information. The Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic at UC Berkeley School of Law drafted the comments for CDT. Smart meters being installed now in California will collect 750 to 3,000 data points a month per household. This detailed energy usage data can indicate whether someone is at home or out, entertaining guests, or using particular appliances. Marketers and others may seek such data. To head off misuse of the information, CDT and EFF urged the California PUC to adopt comprehensive privacy standards for the collection, retention, use and disclosure of consumers' household energy data. ]
Security and Privacy? Forget About It
Date CapturedMonday March 08 2010, 8:41 PM
By Richard Adhikari - TechNewsWorld - [As the Obama administration grapples with the thorny issue of beefing up the United States' cybersecurity infrastructure, and as security experts warn of impending cyberwarfare, a debate is raging over how much surveillance is enough. One of the biggest problems about implementing cybersecurity is that it involves a measure of surveillance, and the line between surveillance and snooping is razor thin. Thin enough, in fact, that Einstein 3, the latest iteration of the Federal government's intrusion detection program, has aroused privacy concerns because it can examine the content of email. That, some privacy advocates believe, makes it almost equivalent to warrantless wiretapping. The security community is divided over the issue.] [Using NSA technology almost certainly will lead to an invasion of privacy, the EFF's Rotenberg fears. "The folks over at NSA are not just interested in looking for malware, they're very interested in content," he said. "This is the problem with Einstein 2 and Einstein 3." On the other hand, turning over the responsibility for deep packet inspection to private companies could have its own pitfalls. "Deep packet inspection opens the doors to commercialization," Rotenberg warned. "The companies can say, 'We have to do this because of our security mandate and oh, by the way, there's a marketing opportunity here.'"]
New digital signs target people by age and gender
Date CapturedSunday March 07 2010, 6:26 PM
sjohnson@mercurynews.com writes ["The vast majority of people walking in stores, near elevators and in other public and private spaces have no idea that the innocent-looking flat screen TVs playing videos may be capturing their images and then dissecting and analyzing them for marketing purposes," the nonprofit, Southern California-based World Privacy Forum warned in a report it issued on digital signs in January. "Controls need to be put in place now, before this technology runs amok."]
New digital signs target people by age and gender
Date CapturedSunday March 07 2010, 6:26 PM
sjohnson@mercurynews.com writes ["The vast majority of people walking in stores, near elevators and in other public and private spaces have no idea that the innocent-looking flat screen TVs playing videos may be capturing their images and then dissecting and analyzing them for marketing purposes," the nonprofit, Southern California-based World Privacy Forum warned in a report it issued on digital signs in January. "Controls need to be put in place now, before this technology runs amok."]
The Smart Grid and Privacy
Date CapturedSunday February 21 2010, 7:14 PM
Concerning Privacy and Smart Grid Technology
Sebelius, Solis Announce Nearly $1 Billion Recovery Act Investment in Advancing Use of Health IT, Training Workers for Health Jobs of the Future
Date CapturedMonday February 15 2010, 6:21 PM
WASHINGTON, DC - Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis today announced a total of nearly $1 billion in Recovery Act awards to help health care providers advance the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology (IT) and train workers for the health care jobs of the future. The awards will help make health IT available to over 100,000 hospitals and primary care physicians by 2014 and train thousands of people for careers in health care and information technology. This Recovery Act investment will help grow the emerging health IT industry which is expected to support tens of thousands of jobs ranging from nurses and pharmacy techs to IT technicians and trainers. The over $750 million in HHS grant awards Secretary Sebelius announced today are part of a federal initiative to build capacity to enable widespread meaningful use of health IT. This assistance at the state and regional level will facilitate health care providers' efforts to adopt and use electronic health records (EHRs) in a meaningful manner that has the potential to improve the quality and efficiency of health care for all Americans. Of the over $750 million investment, $386 million will go to 40 states and qualified State Designated Entities (SDEs) to facilitate health information exchange (HIE) at the state level, while $375 million will go to an initial 32 non-profit organizations to support the development of regional extension centers (RECs) that will aid health professionals as they work to implement and use health information technology - with additional HIE and REC awards to be announced in the near future. RECs are expected to provide outreach and support services to at least 100,000 primary care providers and hospitals within two years.
Secretary Napolitano Outlines Five Recommendations To Enhance Aviation Security
Date CapturedThursday January 07 2010, 7:53 PM
Secretary Napolitano outlined the following five recommendations: Re-evaluate and modify the criteria and process used to create terrorist watch lists—including adjusting the process by which names are added to the “No-Fly” and “Selectee” lists. Establish a partnership on aviation security between DHS and the Department of Energy and its National Laboratories in order to develop new and more effective technologies to deter and disrupt known threats and proactively anticipate and protect against new ways by which terrorists could seek to board an aircraft. Accelerate deployment of advanced imaging technology to provide greater explosives detection capabilities—and encourage foreign aviation security authorities to do the same—in order to identify materials such as those used in the attempted Dec. 25 attack. The Transportation Security Administration currently has 40 machines deployed throughout the United States, and plans to deploy at least 300 additional units in 2010. Strengthen the presence and capacity of aviation law enforcement—by deploying law enforcement officers from across DHS to serve as Federal Air Marshals to increase security aboard U.S.-bound flights. Work with international partners to strengthen international security measures and standards for aviation security.
Net Privacy 2010: How Far Will the Needle Move?
Date CapturedSaturday January 02 2010, 1:33 PM
eSecurity Planet Kenneth Corbin writes [Some of the largest companies in the industry, including Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), have expressed support for baseline privacy legislation, providing it doesn't get too specific in targeting specific technologies. In the early part of 2010, Rep. Rick Boucher, who chairs the House subcommittee on technology and the Internet, has said he plans to introduce a bill that would do just that. He has been working with Cliff Stearns, the ranking Republican on the subcommittee, as well as the leaders of the subcommittee on consumer protection, to draft the bill, and spent the better part of 2009 seeking input from a variety of stakeholders.]
The Smart Grid and Privacy
Date CapturedWednesday December 16 2009, 9:01 PM
EPIC Concerning Privacy and Smart Grid Technology - [A list of potential privacy consequences of Smart Grid systems include: Identity Theft; Determine Personal Behavior Patterns; Determine Specific Appliances Used; Perform Real-Time Surveillance; Reveal Activities Through Residual Data; Targeted Home Invasions (latch key children, elderly, etc.); Provide Accidental Invasions; Activity Censorship; Decisions and Actions Based Upon Inaccurate Data; Profiling; Unwanted Publicity and Embarrassment; Tracking Behavior Of Renters/Leasers; Behavior Tracking (possible combination with Personal Behavior Patterns); Public Aggregated Searches Revealing Individual Behavior. Plans are underway to support smart grid system applications that will monitor any device transmitting a signal, which may include non-energy-consuming end use items that are only fitted with small radio frequency identification devices (RFID) tags may be possible. RFID tags are included in most retail purchases for clothing, household items, packaging for food, and retail items.
Refocusing the FTC’s Role in Privacy Protection
Date CapturedMonday December 14 2009, 5:31 PM
Comments of the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) in regards to the FTC Consumer Privacy Roundtable.
Refocusing the FTC’s Role in Privacy Protection
Date CapturedTuesday November 10 2009, 3:33 PM
Center for Technology in Government (CDT) Policy Post 15.17, November 10, 2009. [ A Briefing On Public Policy Issues Affecting Civil Liberties Online from The Center For Democracy and Technology Refocusing the FTC’s Role in Privacy Protection 1) CDT Submits Comments in regards to the FTC Consumer Privacy Roundtable 2) The Significance of a Comprehensive Set of Fair Information Practice Principles 3) Examining FIPs at Work: Recent FTC Enforcement Actions Demonstrate a Path Forward 4) CDT Recommendations for Future FTC Action
PUBLIC Law, Chapter 230 LD 1183, item 1, 124th Maine State Legislature
Date CapturedSunday November 08 2009, 10:35 PM
SP0431, LR 597, item 1, Signed on 2009-06-02 00:00:00.0 - First Regular Session - 124th Maine Legislature, page 1 - 2. Marketing purposes. "Marketing purposes," with respect to the use of health-related information or personal information, means the purposes of marketing or advertising products, goods or services to individuals. 3. Person. "Person" includes an individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association, syndicate, organization, society, business trust, attorney-in-fact and every natural or artificial legal entity. 4. Personal information. "Personal information" means individually identifiable information, including: A. An individual's first name, or first initial, and last name; B. A home or other physical address; C. A social security number; D. A driver's license number or state identification card number; and E. Information concerning a minor that is collected in combination with an identifier described in this subsection. 5. Verifiable parental consent. "Verifiable parental consent" means any reasonable effort, taking into consideration available technology, including a request for authorization for future collection, use and disclosure described in the notice, to ensure that a parent of a minor receives notice of the PUBLIC Law, Chapter 230 LD 1183, item 1, 124th Maine State Legislature An Act To Prevent Predatory Marketing Practices against Minors collection of personal information, use and disclosure practices and authorizes the collection, use and disclosure, as applicable, of personal information and the subsequent use of that information before that information is collected from that minor. § 9552. Unlawful collection and use of data from minors
The Obama Administration’s Silence on Privacy
Date CapturedWednesday June 03 2009, 7:03 PM
By Saul Hansell [Peter Swire, an Ohio State law professor who served on the Obama transition team, offered one reason it might be difficult for the administration to find its voice on privacy. There is a split, he told the conference, between the typical view of privacy among technology experts and the emerging view of people brought up in the social networking, Web 2.0 world. “The Web 2.0 movement is opposed to the privacy movement,” he said. Traditionally, privacy advocates have pushed for a policy of “data minimization,” he argued. The less information kept about people, this theory goes, the less there is for government or corporations to use to hurt individuals. The new ideology revolves around what Mr. Swire called “data empowerment.” People assemble and control information about themselves through online social networking and other sites. And access to data can create political and social movements, just as volunteers met each other and organized during the Obama presidential campaign.]
Senate Resolution Pushes for Public Release of CRS Reports
Date CapturedFriday May 08 2009, 7:11 PM
[A Briefing On Public Policy Issues Affecting Civil Liberties Online from The Center For Democracy and Technology Senate Resolution Pushes for Public Release of CRS Reports 1) Senators Introduce Resolution to Make Congressional Research Public 2) Public Access to CRS Reports Limited by CRS Policies 3) Senate Resolution 118 Improves on Previous Resolution]
Cloud Standards Effort Could Turn into a Dustup
Date CapturedMonday May 04 2009, 4:32 PM
Digits - Technology News and Insights -- By Ben Worthen - [The Open Cloud Standards Incubator is part of an organization called Distributed Management Task Force. The DMTF was founded in 1992 and has developed standards for managing computers and sharing information on the Web in the past. Its members are a who’s who of the tech industry’s old guard—in addition to IBM and Microsoft they include EMC, H-P, Intel and many others. It’s too early to call the absence of Internet companies a rift, but it’s a split reminiscent of the one that occurred when IBM tried to get companies to sign up for its “Open Cloud Manifesto” a few weeks ago. At the time companies that didn’t participate in IBM’s effort were quick to dismiss the manifesto as meaningless marketing.]
Google Gives Advice on Cloud Computing
Date CapturedSaturday March 21 2009, 6:17 PM
PC Chloe Albanesius writes[Google has commissioned a report that unsurprisingly touts the benefits of cloud computing, and offers recommendations for policy makers looking at the technology. Google called on lawmakers to embrace full connectivity, open access, security, and privacy when considering cloud-based computing.] REPORT LINKED.
HHS Names David Blumenthal As National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
Date CapturedSaturday March 21 2009, 1:00 PM
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes a $19.5 billion investment in health information technology, which will save money, improve quality of care for patients, and make our health care system more efficient. Dr. Blumenthal will lead the effort at HHS to modernize the health care system by catalyzing the adoption of interoperable health information technology by 2014 thereby reducing health costs for the federal government by an estimated $12 billion over 10 years.
White House Responds to Privacy Complaints?
Date CapturedTuesday March 03 2009, 3:29 PM
EFF -- Hugh D'Andrade [YouTube cookies are not the only third-party web tracking technology in use on government websites, as we pointed out in our letter. There is still the issue of "invisible pixel" style webbug/tracker on every page on the site, hosted by WebTrends.com, which raises equally important concerns. Also, if the government continues to use edge-caching technology such as that provided by Akamai, Inc. or Amazon S3, the government should require those providers to destroy any IP address or other information that they obtain about visitors to the websites as part of providing the service as soon as reasonably possible.]
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998
Date CapturedTuesday March 03 2009, 3:14 PM
TITLE XIII-CHILDREN'S ONLINE PRIVACY PROTECTION ***NOTE INCONSISTENCY BETWEEN DEFINITIONS OF PERSONAL INFORMATION AND PARENTAL CONSENT BETWEEN COPPA AND FERPA COPPA DEFINITION (LINK HAS FULL COPPA TEXT) (8) PERSONAL INFORMATION.—The term "personal information" means individually identifiable information about an individual collected online, including— (A) a first and last name; (B) a home or other physical address including street name and name of a city or town; (C) an e-mail address; (D) a telephone number; (E) a Social Security number; (F) any other identifier that the Commission determines permits the physical or online contacting of a specific individual; or (G) information concerning the child or the parents of that child that the website collects online from the child and combines with an identifier described in this paragraph. (9) VERIFIABLE PARENTAL CONSENT.—The term "verifiable parental consent" means any reasonable effort (taking into consideration available technology), including a request for authorization for future collection, use, and disclosure described in the notice, to ensure that a parent of a child receives notice of the operator's personal information collection, use, and disclosure practices, and authorizes the collection, use, and disclosure, as applicable, of personal information and the subsequent use of that information before that information is collected from that child.
Testimony of Secretary Janet Napolitano before the House Committee on Homeland Security on DHS, The Path Forward
Date CapturedWednesday February 25 2009, 3:13 PM
Release Date: February 25, 2009 - The Committee’s platform items: [Improving the governance, functionality, and accountability of the Department of Homeland Security; enhancing security for all modes of transportation; strengthening our Nation: response, resilience, and recovery; shielding the Nation’s critical infrastructure from attacks; securing the homeland and preserving privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties; connecting the dots: intelligence, information sharing, and interoperability; implementing common-sense border and port security; and inspiring minds and developing technology – the future of homeland security. ]
Twitter and status updating
Date CapturedThursday February 12 2009, 6:13 PM
Pew Internet - Amanda Lenhart and Susannah Fox -- [As of December 2008, 11% of online American adults said they used a service like Twitter or another service that allowed them to share updates about themselves or to see the updates of others.] [The use of Twitter is highly intertwined with the use of other social media; both blogging and social network use increase the likelihood than an individual also uses Twitter. Twitter users and status updaters are also a mobile bunch; as a group they are much more likely to be using wireless technologies -- laptops, handhelds and cell phones -- for internet access, or cell phones for text messaging. Overall, Twitter users engage with news and own technology at the same rates as other internet users, but the ways in which they use the technology -- to communicate, gather and share information -- reveals their affinity for mobile, untethered and social opportunities for interaction. Moreover, Twitter as an application allows for and enhances these opportunities, so it is not so surprising that users would engage in these kinds of activities and also be drawn to an online application that expands those opportunities]
Rethinking the Role of Consent in Protecting Health Information Privacy
Date CapturedTuesday January 27 2009, 9:52 AM
CDT is advocating for the inclusion of privacy protections in the President's economic stimulus bill, which contains at least $20 billion for a national health information technology network. CDT's paper argues that personal health information should easily flow for treatment, payment, and certain core administrative tasks without requiring patient consent, but that stricter limits need to be placed on marketing and other secondary uses. January 26, 2009. This paper advocates for a new generation of privacy protections that allow personal health information to flow among health care entities for treatment, payment, and certain core administrative tasks without first requiring patient consent, as long as there is a comprehensive framework of rules that governs access to and disclosure of health data. Patient consent is one important element of this framework, but relying on consent would do little to protect privacy. This paper also suggests how a framework of protections can provide patients with more meaningful opportunities to make informed choices about sharing their personal health information online.
Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) Applauds Critical Privacy, Security Provisions in Health IT Stimulus Bill
Date CapturedSunday January 18 2009, 5:59 PM
[The bill's privacy provisions include the following: Stronger protections against the use of personal heath information for marketing purposes; Accountability for all entities that handle personal health information; A federal, individual right to be notified in the event of a breach of identifiable health information; Prohibitions on the sale of valuable patient-identifiable data for inappropriate purposes; Development and implementation of federal privacy and security protections for personal health records; Easy access by patients to electronic copies of their records; and Strengthened enforcement of health privacy rules. The provisions in the bill are similar to those that received bipartisan approval by the House Energy & Commerce Committee in the last Congress.]
Upgraded Biometric Technology Facilitates Visitors' Entry to the United States
Date CapturedThursday January 15 2009, 7:41 PM
For nearly five years, U.S. Department of State (State) consular officers and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers have collected biometric information—digital fingerprints and a photograph—from all non-U.S. citizens between the ages of 14 and 79, with some exceptions, when they apply for visas or arrive at major U.S. ports of entry. State consular officers began collecting 10 fingerprints from visa applicants in 2007. Collecting 10 fingerprints increases fingerprint matching accuracy and reduces the possibility that the system will misidentify an international visitor. It also strengthens DHS's capability to check visitors' fingerprints against the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) criminal data and enables DHS to check visitors' fingerprints against latent fingerprints collected by Department of Defense (DOD) and the FBI from known and unknown terrorists around the world.
Biometric Center of Excellence (BCOE)
Date CapturedWednesday January 14 2009, 7:54 PM
BCOE will enable the FBI to provide enhanced U.S. government services in the global quest to fight crime and terrorism with state of the art biometrics technology. Headquartered in Clarksburg, West Virginia, the BCOE is the FBI’s focal point to foster collaboration, improve information sharing, and advance the adoption of optimal biometric and identity management solutions across the law enforcement and national security communities.
For your eyes only -- DHS develops privacy guidelines for Science and Technology Directorate
Date CapturedThursday December 25 2008, 4:13 PM
Kathleen Hickey -- Special to GCN -- [DHS’ "Principles for Implementing Privacy Protections in S&T Research" will incorporate privacy protections into sensitive research conducted by the directorate, while allowing it to provide advanced tools, technologies and systems related to homeland security. DHS also has established a Privacy Office to address these concerns. An example of research affected by the new privacy rules is the development of new physical screening technologies.]
U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program Planning and Execution Improvements Needed
Date CapturedMonday December 22 2008, 3:21 PM
GAO-09-96 -- DHS has not adequately met the conditions associated with its legislatively mandated fiscal year 2008 US-VISIT expenditure plan. The plan does not fully satisfy any of the conditions that apply to DHS, either because it does not address key aspects of the condition or because what it does address is not adequately supported or is otherwise not reflective of known program weaknesses. Given that the legislative conditions are intended to promote the delivery of promised system capabilities and value, on time and within budget, and to provide Congress with an oversight and accountability tool, these expenditure plan limitations are significant. Beyond the expenditure plan, other program planning and execution limitations and weaknesses also confront DHS in its quest to deliver US-VISIT capabilities and value in a timely and cost-effective manner.
HHS -- Health Information Technology
Date CapturedThursday December 18 2008, 5:18 PM
2008 Data Mining Report
Date CapturedMonday December 08 2008, 6:18 PM
This report describes DHS programs that meet the definition of data mining required by the Congress in Section 804 of the 9/11 Commission Act, entitled the Federal Agency Data Mining Reporting Act, and summarizes the Privacy Office’s public workshop, Implementing Privacy Protections in Government Data Mining, which was held on July 24-25, 2008. The Report also presents principles for implementing privacy protections in research projects conducted by the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), the Department’s primary research and development arm. The Principles, which were developed jointly by the Privacy Office and S&T, provide guidance for incorporating privacy protections into privacy-sensitive S&T research and development projects in a manner that supports the DHS mission. [As the Privacy Office’s Data Mining Workshop demonstrated, the term “data mining” can mean different things to different people. One thing is clear, however: regardless of how data mining is defined, data mining research that uses PII can have significant impacts on individual privacy, and those impacts must be addressed. The Department has taken a major step toward this goal by developing its Principles for Implementing Privacy Protections for Research Projects, which will be embedded in new research projects carried out by S&T, whether they involve data mining or not. The Privacy Office looks forward to collaborating with S&T to implement these Principles, so that research critical to the Department’s mission is carried out in a manner that sustains individual privacy.]
Freedom Under Surveillance, Part II
Date CapturedThursday December 04 2008, 7:07 PM
Independent Examiner Brian Trent says [On September 17 of this year, the House passed the “School Safety Enhancements Act of 2008.” As part of this $50 million initiative, surveillance equipment is specifically earmarked and encouraged. Why would the federal government be so interested in mandating surveillance equipment for schools? Isn’t that the job of the states in which those schools dwell? And really, isn't this going a little far... for any level of government?] Also says [In 2005, slipped insidiously into an $81 billion bill for "supporting troops" and "tsunami relief" was a tiny law - The Real ID Act - which creates a de facto National ID card. Originally, the law required it be in place by 2008, but it met with ferocious resistance from the states. Yes! The states actually rebelled… but don’t break out the champagne yet. The Feds have "allowed" an extension through 2009 for states that request it. Every driver's license will be required to include "physical security features" and "a common machine readable technology." The cultists who support this National ID card say that it's all voluntary.]
Freedom Under Surveillance, Part I
Date CapturedThursday December 04 2008, 7:02 PM
Independent Examiner Brian Trent says [In recent years U.S. manufacturers began utilizing RFIDs in a staggering array of products. Making use of the same technology that allows cars to sail through EZ Pass tolls, RFIDs are being stitched into clothing, sneakers, razors, books, boots, and just about everything else that a tiny tracking device can be attached on or in. The initial incentive is a highly practical one: "tagged" products can be readily tracked through the distribution gauntlet from factory to store shelf. Concealed like many extant antitheft devices, they will do nothing unless touched by a "reader signal," which makes the RFID "reply" with its own unique signal – an electronic dialogue invisible to the person wearing it.]
Transition Watch: Napolitano had doubts about Real ID
Date CapturedWednesday December 03 2008, 4:13 PM
Washington Technology - [The so-called enhanced driver’s licenses have radio frequency tags that can be read from about 20 to 30 feet away for quick processing in border lanes. They are designed to comply with Real ID requirements.]
Protecting Personal Information: Is the Federal Government Doing Enough?
Date CapturedWednesday June 18 2008, 6:20 PM
Statement of Ari Schwartz, Vice President Center for Democracy & Technology before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs -- "Current federal laws and policies provide to those agency officials who care about privacy valuable tools to protect personal information in the hands of the federal government. Unfortunately, these laws and policies clearly have not been implemented consistently in a way that prevents indifference or wanton neglect of personal information. Moreover, even diligent officials find gaps in existing laws, especially because those laws, especially the Privacy Act of 1974, have failed to keep pace with technological change. To adequately protect privacy in this digital age, when more information is collected and shared than ever before, both Congress and the Executive Branch will need to work together to close the long-recognized gaps in existing laws and policies. At the same time, both branches must foster the leadership and insist upon the measurement capabilities needed to ensure that existing and new laws and policies are implemented uniformly and diligently."
How Facebook spells the end of privacy
Date CapturedWednesday June 18 2008, 10:15 AM
We can hope for common sense about information privacy, but technology keeps changing the norms.
Vermont to study student privacy policies
Date CapturedThursday June 12 2008, 4:14 PM
Reformer reports, "The state (Vermont) board is also going to consider how the education department handles third party research requests on behalf of the education department using student data. Under the proposed change, the department information technology team would classify data as sensitive and confidential, and a written contract would have to be signed before the release of records. A third proposed policy spells out how organizations that contract with the education department go about obtaining student information for their work."
Testimony of David Sohn -- Senior Policy Counsel -- Center for Democracy and Technology
Date CapturedThursday June 12 2008, 11:21 AM
Testimony before The House Committee on Small Business June 12, 2008 -- CDT expressed concern about the impact on privacy and data security of a proposal that would require banks to track credit card payments, and report the data to the Internal Revenue Service for tax enforcement purposes. CDT explained that the proposal would require increased private sector tracking of Social Security numbers of individual businesspeople; such tracking could lead to additional data collection from small businesses and others, and would set a dangerous precedent.
Public Interest and Privacy Groups Call on Congress to Investigate the Use of New Technology that Discloses Private and Personal Internet Activity without Notice to Consumers
Date CapturedFriday June 06 2008, 2:11 PM
This privacy invasion is enabled by a technology called, “Deep Packet Inspection,” which allows an ISP to grab all the information coming out of a user’s computer before it hits the Internet. This private and personal information is then turned over to the ISP’s business partner, usually a third-party firm, which then logs the subscriber information, categorizes it, and delivers ads to the consumer based on a customized profile, gleaned from the information snared by the ISP. Technology that collects and uses this level of personal and private data without any opportunity for the consumer to opt out is unacceptable. Consumers must be made aware of the practice and allowed to choose for themselves whether releasing personal information is an acceptable trade-off for receiving targeted advertising.
Privacy Impact Assessment for the Use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology for Border Crossings
Date CapturedThursday June 05 2008, 10:39 PM
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology that is to be used in cross border travel documents to facilitate the land border primary inspection process. A unique number is embedded in an RFID tag which, in turn, is embedded in each cross border travel document. At the border, the unique number is read wirelessly by CBP and then forwarded through a secured data circuit to back-end computer systems. The back-end systems use the unique number to retrieve personally identifiable information about the traveler. This information is sent to the CBP Officer to assist in the authentication of the identity of the traveler and to facilitate the land border primary inspection process. Multiple border crossing programs use or plan to take advantage of CBP’s vicinity RFID-reader enabled border crossing functionality including CBP’s own trusted traveler programs, the pending Department of State’s (DoS) Passport Card, the Mexican Border Crossing Card, the proposed Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL) offered by various states, tribal enrollment cards that could be developed by various Native American Tribes, and the proposed Enhanced Driver’s Licenses being developed within the various provincial authorities in Canada. DHS, DoS, and States and other entities collect PII from travelers during the enrollment/application process for current or anticipated RFID enabled travel documents. This PII is stored in secured computer systems and is associated with a unique RFID identifier stored in a card the traveler presents during the border crossing process. In order to expedite processing, this unique RFID identifier is transmitted wirelessly from the individual’s RFID enabled card to an RFID reader which triggers the CBP computer systems to retrieve the PII stored in secured back-end systems and pre-position the PII associated with that traveler corresponding to the unique RFID identifier. This automated process enables the CBP Officer to quickly compare the information presented on the computer screen with the information on the travel card and the traveler, and thus enhance security and complete the clearance process faster than if the enrollment information were not available. No personally identifiable information is transmitted via RFID, and the traveler is fully informed of the methods for transmitting and using this information as part of the enrollment process for RFID enabled travel documents.
CDT Testimony before House Health Subcommittee, June 04, 2008
Date CapturedWednesday June 04 2008, 4:20 PM
CDT Testimony Supports Draft Health Health Information Legislation -- We need a comprehensive privacy and security framework that is based on fair information practices (i.e., the Markle Foundation Common Framework) and sets clear guidelines for use and disclosure of electronic health information. The framework should build on HIPAA and incorporate protections for health information held by non-health care entities.CDT today testified before the House Health Subcommittee in support of draft legislation regarding health information technology and privacy legislation. CDT supports the draft language because it takes critical steps toward the goal of a comprehensive privacy and security framework, and targets many of the key issues raised by the new e-health environment. CDT urged the Subcommittee to develop this framework by building on the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. CDT also recommended including strong protections for health information held, or managed on behalf of consumers, by employers and companies not part of the traditional health care system
Registry of USG Recommended Biometric Standards
Date CapturedTuesday June 03 2008, 9:55 PM
This Registry of USG Recommended Biometric Standards (Registry) supplements the NSTC Policy for Enabling the Development, Adoption and Use of Biometric Standards, which was developed through a collaborative, interagency process within the Subcommittee on Biometrics and Identity Management and approved by the NSTC Committee on Technology. This Registry is based upon interagency consensus on biometric standards required to enable the interoperability of various Federal biometric applications, and to guide Federal agencies as they develop and implement related biometric programs.
Links to Biometric Technology Websites
Date CapturedTuesday June 03 2008, 9:41 PM
Government Sponsored Biometric Technology Websites
Date CapturedTuesday June 03 2008, 9:17 PM
Microchips Everywhere: a Future Vision (RFID)
Date CapturedTuesday June 03 2008, 6:54 PM
January, 2008 -- AP reports, "Some of the world's largest corporations are vested in the success of RFID technology, which couples highly miniaturized computers with radio antennas to broadcast information about sales and buyers to company databases. Already, microchips are turning up in some computer printers, car keys and tires, on shampoo bottles and department store clothing tags. They're also in library books and 'contactless' payment cards (such as American Express' 'Blue' and ExxonMobil's 'Speedpass.')"
N.Y. opts for hybrid driver’s licenses
Date CapturedTuesday June 03 2008, 2:03 PM
Washington Technology reports, "Some of the enhanced licenses have been controversial because of privacy concerns. Washington, which was the first state to begin producing the new licenses, includes a radio frequency identification microchip on the licenses. The RFID chips, which can be read wirelessly from 20 feet to 30 feet away, have been criticized for their potential to be scanned without authorization, risking identity theft and loss of privacy. It is not clear whether New York’s licenses will include the RFID chip. Information was not immediately available from a spokesman for the state Department of Motor Vehicles."
General Information Technology Access Account Records System (GITAARS) DHS/ALL-004, May 15, 2008, 73 FR 28139
Date CapturedTuesday June 03 2008, 12:51 PM
In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of Homeland Security is giving notice that it proposes to update a system of records in its inventory. The Department of Homeland Security is updating the General Information Technology Access Account Records System system of records notice to include four new routine uses and to add to the categories of records covered by the system. The first new routine use will allow for information sharing with federal agencies such as the Office of Personnel Management, the Merit Systems Protection Board, Office of Management and Budget, Federal Labor Relations Authority, Government Accountability Office, or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission when information is requested in the performance of those agencies' official duties. The second routine use will allow for the routine sharing of business information outside of the Department for official purposes. This includes the sharing of business contact information to contacts outside of the Department. The third routine use allows for sharing for the purpose of investigating an alleged or proven act of identity fraud or theft. The fourth routine use allows sharing of information to regulatory and oversight bodies, including auditors, who are responsible for ensuring appropriate use of government resources.
Comments regarding the FTC Town Hall Meeting on Behavioral Advertising, Ehavioral Advertising: Tracking, Targeting, and Technology
Date CapturedMonday June 02 2008, 10:39 PM
By Center for Digital Democracy, Center for Democracy and Technology, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, Privacy Times, Public Information Research, World Privacy Forum:
Chris Jay Hoofnagle
Date CapturedMonday June 02 2008, 6:40 PM
Chris Jay Hoofnagle is senior staff attorney to the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic and senior fellow with the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology. His focus is consumer privacy law. From 2000 to 2006, he was senior counsel to the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and director of the organization’s West Coast office.
The Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic
Date CapturedMonday June 02 2008, 6:34 PM
The Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic at UC Berkeley Law provides an opportunity for law students and graduate students to represent clients and conduct interdisciplinary research.
Daniel Solove
Date CapturedMonday June 02 2008, 4:54 PM
Daniel J. Solove is an associate professor of law at the George Washington University Law School. He is the author of The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet (Yale University Press 2007), The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age (NYU Press 2004) and Information Privacy Law (Aspen Publishing, 2d ed. 2006).
The Center for Democracy and Technology
Date CapturedMonday June 02 2008, 3:34 PM
The Center for Democracy and Technology is a non-profit public interest organization working to keep the Internet open, innovative, and free. As a civil liberties group with expertise in law, technology, and policy, CDT works to enhance free expression and privacy in communications technologies by finding practical and innovative solutions to public policy challenges while protecting civil liberties. CDT is dedicated to building consensus among all parties interested in the future of the Internet and other new communications media.
TESTIMONY OF DANIEL J. SOLOVE -- “RFID TAGS AND INFORMATION PRIVACY”
Date CapturedMonday June 02 2008, 10:34 AM
"The problems, then, don’t end with the collection of data from RFID tags or the implantation of RFID tags. Merely getting people’s consent at these stages is not sufficient enough protection. The problem is what happens to all that data that is stored. We need better downstream protections of the data from RFID tags. We need a way to ensure that the tags can be permanently deactivated. We need a way to ensure that the tags are not read by unauthorized persons. And we need a way to ensure that when people agree to use an RFID tag, that the tags or the information are not later used for different purposes without that person’s consent. The technology of RFID is not malignant or benign in and of itself. It all depends upon how we regulate it. Right now, our law protecting personal information needs to advance much further in order for RFID to be of net benefit to our society.
E P I C A l e r t -- Volume 15.11 -- May 30, 2008
Date CapturedSunday June 01 2008, 5:16 PM
Published by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC Washington, D.C. Table of Contents -- [1] Congressman Barton Urges Scrutiny of Google's Privacy Practices [2] Computers, Freedom & Privacy Conference Explores Technology Policy [3] Telecom Immunity 'Compromise' Under Consideration in Congress [4] Senate Investigates Role of US Firms in China [5] Congressmembers Call on Charter Cable to Halt Net Snooping Plan [6] News in Brief [7] EPIC Bookstore: Privacy Journal Survey of State and Federal Laws [8] Upcoming Conferences and Events
Comptroller says employee in Greece ran NY schools' computers
Date CapturedThursday August 30 2007, 10:27 AM
AP reports, "The audit said the computer maintenance contracts were never approved by the school board and had not been put out to bid as required. In response, the board's president, Amy Levere, said that some board officials were aware of the arrangement at the time, even if they had not formally approved it, and that there were good reasons to hire the employee, including his experience and familiarity with the computer system."
Tech Privacy Issues Remain Confounding
Date CapturedSaturday August 25 2007, 11:31 AM
AP reports, "Ponemon said multiple surveys have shown that roughly 10 percent of consumers will change their behavior in order to improve their privacy online. Nearly 70 percent say they're sensitive to the subject but won't alter what they do. The rest pretty much don't care."
Department Of Defense Awards $2.1 M Grant To Stony Brook’s Computer Science Department
Date CapturedFriday August 24 2007, 4:20 PM
The project will develop languages, techniques and tools for managing, enforcing, and maintaining trust relationships in systems with service-oriented architectures. The techniques will be implemented as stand-alone tools and integrated into a prototype system that will be an experimental test-bed for evaluation of the techniques. The framework will accommodate services that interact across a variety of interfaces, including network communication channels, shared memory, and shared databases. Therefore, it will apply to many legacy systems as well as explicitly service-oriented systems such as Web services. The project will focus on issues of trust management, information flow tracking, trust analysis and assurance, and policy enforcement.
Search Privacy Practices
Date CapturedSunday August 12 2007, 8:09 AM
Center for Democracy and Technology--a D.C.-based think tank--released a report (pdf) on the privacy policies of major search engines. Report includes recommendations including, "No amount of self-regulation in the search privacy space can replace the need for a comprehensive federal privacy law to protect consumers from bad actors. With consumers sharing more data than ever before online, the time has come to harmonize our nation’s privacy laws into a simple, flexible framework."
New Jersey Governor Calls for Training Teachers on Internet Safety
Date CapturedThursday August 09 2007, 11:15 AM
School Library Journal reports, "Teachers and administrators would use the training to instruct students, parents and community groups on the potential dangers they may encounter on the Internet, Corzine said in a letter to Attorney General Anne Milgram and Education Commissioner Lucille Davy. The letter asks that the departments of Law and Public Safety and Education work together to strengthen existing Internet safety training and that the program be established and implemented by the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year."
Borrowing for school upgrades approved
Date CapturedThursday August 09 2007, 10:36 AM
Buffalo News reports, "Buffalo’s $1 billion school modernization blitz took a major step forward Wednesday when the city control board approved a $180 million borrowing for the next phase of the project. Officials were quick to point out that the state is footing the tab for 94 percent of the 10-year renovation plan."
Senate Asks FTC to Oversee Internet Safety
Date CapturedMonday August 06 2007, 8:06 PM
PC Magazine reports, "The measure, introduced by the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, calls on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to oversee a government-directed public awareness campaign, directs the Commerce Department to establish an online safety and technology working group, requires schools that receive e-rate funding to include tutorials on the detriments of 'cyberbullying' and strengthens child pornography enforcement."
LI colleges fight terror
Date CapturedThursday August 02 2007, 9:03 PM
Newsday opines, "Stony Brook University has received a $2.1 million grant from the Department of Defense to research ways to help plug this yawning gap in the security of computer systems. The grant, one of only four awarded nationally by the Pentagon in the cyber-security field, will fund a five-year project to develop solutions to help computer users prevent their systems from being corrupted or infiltrated. And Long Island University's Homeland Security Management Institute has been chosen as one of six universities across the nation to share in an annual $18 million program over the next four years to improve railroad security. "
Local classes picked for tech program
Date CapturedWednesday August 01 2007, 9:56 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "The program is part of a regional effort by the Tech Valley Chambers of Commerce Coalition, a group of 24 chambers of commerce in 19 counties from the Canadian border to the Orange-Rockland county line, to encourage math, science and technology education to eventually create a more tech-savvy work force."
Technology grant will aid Mount Markham class
Date CapturedWednesday August 01 2007, 9:46 AM
uticaOD.com reports, "Marzeski's classroom will receive computers, camcorders, microscopes and other learning tools to help students achieve a 'hands-on' experience, Marzeski said. 'For a rural school like Mount Markham to have this opportunity it is just unheard of,' she said Tuesday, the day the grant was announced."
Educational equality slips from hands of students
Date CapturedTuesday July 10 2007, 9:07 AM
Louisiana Weekly Guest Commentary by U. S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, "The Student Bill of Rights will guarantee that all students have access to: * High quality teachers and school administrators * Rigorous academic curricula and methods of instruction * Small class sizes * Quality facilities, textbooks, instructional materials and supplies * Up-to-date library resources * Up-to-date computer technology * Quality guidance counseling
Bill seeks to 'delete' Web site predators
Date CapturedWednesday July 04 2007, 8:44 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "According to the U.S. Department of Justice, one in five children are approached by an online predator and only 25 percent of those children tell their parents about the situation. About 50,000 sexual predators are online at any given time, and many of them often utilize social networking sites, according to data compiled by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children."
Cyberbullying and Online Teens
Date CapturedWednesday June 27 2007, 8:21 PM
Pew Internet Study --by Amanda Lenhart . "About one third (32%) of all teenagers who use the internet say they have been targets of a range of annoying and potentially menacing online activities – such as receiving threatening messages; having their private emails or text messages forwarded without consent; having an embarrassing picture posted without permission; or having rumors about them spread online."
United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT)
Date CapturedTuesday June 26 2007, 3:22 PM
Established in 2003 to protect the nation's Internet infrastructure, US-CERT coordinates defense against and responses to cyber attacks across the nation.
Cameras May Watch You Take Tests Online
Date CapturedTuesday June 19 2007, 4:13 PM
AP reports, "New technology will place cameras inside students' homes to ensure that those taking exams online don't cheat."
HIGHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE PLAN
Date CapturedTuesday June 19 2007, 12:18 PM
The bill includes expanding the eligibility for the state’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), enhancing the tuition tax credit for families, establishing a student loan debt relief program, providing assistance to help our veterans afford college tuition and creating a math, science and engineering technology retention initiative for New York’s students.
Orange County Social Services' computer system still full of glitches
Date CapturedMonday June 18 2007, 8:57 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "It was supposed to free social service workers from paperwork and help protect vulnerable children from abuse and neglect. But Connections, the state-run computer system launched in 1996 to keep track of abuse reports and foster-care placements, remains incomplete and plagued with problems almost 10 years after it was supposed to be finished."
The NetLingo Top 20 Internet Acronyms Every Parent Needs to Know
Date CapturedSaturday June 16 2007, 7:59 PM
Protecting Children In The Internet Age
Date CapturedMonday June 11 2007, 1:50 PM
New York State Senate Task Force On Critical Choices
Poll: Schools aren't meeting data-storage rules
Date CapturedMonday June 04 2007, 2:10 PM
eSchoolNews reports, "Six months after new federal rules mandated that schools, businesses, and other organizations keep tabs on all digital communications produced by their employees, an informal survey of K-12 school districts by data-management company CommVault suggests that most schools still aren't prepared to meet the new requirements."
Texas school ready for handheld computers
Date CapturedMonday June 04 2007, 11:23 AM
Baytown Sun reports, "Each of the 350 students will receive a specially designed handheld computer on which they can type notes, exchange e-mails with teachers and fellow students, create and view customized graphic animations and multimedia presentations, present their projects to the class and research topics on the Internet."
PROF'S RECORD 142G PAY HIKE
Date CapturedMonday June 04 2007, 9:50 AM
NY Post Fredric U. Dicker writes, "It was revealed earlier that Dr. Alain Kaloyeros, the head of SUNY's state-of-the-art College of Nanoscale Science and Technology in Albany, was earning $525,000-a-year. Then last week, SUNY officials - without any notice to the public - granted Kaloyeros, 51, the unprecedented raise, bringing his annual state salary to $666,995."
Spitzer calls for overhaul of higher education
Date CapturedTuesday May 29 2007, 5:23 PM
AP reports, "Spitzer sees higher education -- public and private -- as a key to creating and retaining jobs in what he calls an innovation economy. He notes announcements so far this year to retain and increase jobs in Binghamton, Rochester, Albany and elsewhere have been the result of high-technology firms working with universities."
A failing score in current events
Date CapturedTuesday May 29 2007, 9:36 AM
The Cincinnati Enquirer opines, "With No Child Left Behind and expanded standardized testing, today's children may be the most analyzed, evaluated and benchmarked generation ever. But oddly - especially for a generation so immersed in technology - young people today are generally poorly informed about news of the world around them."
Frequently Asked Questions about the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule
Date CapturedWednesday May 23 2007, 9:28 AM
The following FAQs are intended to supplement the compliance materials available on the FTC website.
Stony Brook posts personal info by mistake
Date CapturedTuesday May 22 2007, 8:57 AM
Newsday reports, "Instead of the usual fundraising pitch or another notice, letters sent to tens of thousands of Stony Brook University affiliates earlier this month contained disturbing news: The university had inadvertently posted their personal information on the Internet. The letters, dated May 7, said that during a Web site overhaul, the Health Sciences Center library had made public a long-dormant file containing the names and Social Security numbers of 89,853 current and former faculty, staff, students, alumni and others. The file had been stored on a university Web server from 2002 until it was inadvertently copied to a publicly accessible area."
New York State Technology Law § 208
Date CapturedMonday May 14 2007, 7:33 PM
"Private information" does not include publicly available information that is lawfully made available to the general public from federal, state, or local government records.
Privacy and the Handling of Student Information in the Electronic Networked Environments of Colleges and Universities (ID: PUB3102)
Date CapturedMonday May 14 2007, 1:41 PM
This paper authored by CAUSE Task Force identifies the privacy challenges and opportunities of technology advances, presents a set of primary principles that underlie fair information practices, and recommends a process whereby a full spectrum of campus constituencies can be involved in discussions that will lead to a better understanding of campus culture and values with regard to these principles. Included in the principles discussion are related issues that arise in a networked environment, as well as examples of practices that represent lesser and greater application of the principles. Many helpful appendices are included. The paper was developed in cooperation with AACRAO.
A Blueprint for Handling Sensitive Data: Security, Privacy, and Other Considerations (ID: ESEM071)
Date CapturedMonday May 14 2007, 1:35 PM
Link to powerpoint presentation by H. Morrow Long and Krizi Trivisani -- Information security risks at colleges and universities present challenging legal, policy, technical, and operational issues. According to a recent study by the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR), security incidents have resulted in compromises of personal information which have led to bad publicity and the potential for identity theft. Among the steps to protect sensitive data include an information security risk management program, data classification policies, clearly defined roles and responsibilities, awareness programs, and technology solutions among other interventions. This seminar presentation outlines a blueprint for protecting sensitive data according to the EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Security Task Force.
EDUCAUSE
Date CapturedMonday May 14 2007, 1:11 PM
EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology.
UWF student records possibly compromised
Date CapturedSaturday May 12 2007, 10:03 PM
FOX News reports, "He [ Associate Vice President of Information Technology Michael Dieckmann] says because the account is a student's, who is also an employee, the breach opened up access to thousands of student records. 'We can tell exactly what was viewed and the potential and around 120, 130 students records were potentially compromised,' Dieckmann went on to say."
Schools Discover Automated Calling And Go Wild
Date CapturedSaturday May 12 2007, 4:38 PM
Wall Street Journal reports, "But snafus in some systems across the country have resulted in parents' being bombarded by calls five nights a week. Schools send endless repeats of the same messages, or place calls at 2 a.m., or send updates about kids who don't even go there anymore. At Whittier High School, the system hasn't been fine-tuned to differentiate between absences and lateness. [Name deleted] says she gets calls saying her grandson [name deleted], a 10th grader at Whittier, skipped class, so she goes with him to the school office to clear his record. 'He has water-polo practice and he's sometimes a little late to class,' she says. But 'there's no talking to this recording.' The school district says if a student arrives in class after the teacher submits the day's attendance list, that can register as a skipped class and trigger a call home."
Laptops a Bust
Date CapturedFriday May 11 2007, 8:14 AM
Post-Standard reports, "Although the number of schools with one-to-one computing is still growing - one study found that half the nation's largest school districts aim to be there by 2011 - a U.S. Department of Education study also showed other districts are abandoning the idea. The federal study concluded the laptops did not measurably improve grades or test scores."
Illinois Efforts to Promote Internet Safety Education for School Age Children
Date CapturedTuesday May 08 2007, 9:08 AM
Government Technology reports, "Joined by educators from Chicago Public Schools (CPS), CPS Board President Rufus Williams and area lawmakers, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan unveiled new and concentrated measures designed to help protect today's school children from threats not known to school kids of just a few years ago: online predators and other criminals that use the Internet to perpetrate crimes against children."
Editorial: Where are you now?
Date CapturedTuesday May 01 2007, 8:58 AM
The Post (Ohio) reports, "Big Brother is watching, and he wants to know why you didn’t show up for your math class all last week. Ohio University’s Student Help Center has paired up with Residence Life to keep track of student class attendance. Using swipe-card technology — used in some science, math and art classes in Morton and Walter Halls — resident assistants are notified when one of their residents misses two consecutive classes (a not-so-uncommon occurrence) in the same course. The resident assistants are then required to check on the students."
How'd You Do In School Today?
Date CapturedTuesday May 01 2007, 8:33 AM
Washington Post reports, "Sherry Turkle, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, warns against 'overtechnologizing.' A grade-tracking system like Edline, Turkle says, 'sounds to me terribly intrusive.' The best way for parents and students to communicate is to talk about what is going on at school, she says. "When you just see a grade as a number, it's not necessarily opening the possibility of dialogue. Potentially it's closing down dialogue." Turkle says Edline reminds her of the panopticon, an 18th-century idea for a specially designed building that would enable jailers to watch prisoners without the prisoners knowing they were being observed. The panopticon has become a metaphor for Big Brother."
Teachers find adjusting to technology a real education
Date CapturedTuesday May 01 2007, 8:17 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "Education is way behind, Richardson said. Business and the media, even politics, have adjusted to the wave of technology and its changes. Students have changed as well: 55 percent of them use social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook; 57 percent of students have created material for the Internet. They use information sites like Wikipedia. They blog and send instant messages, create videos and more."
Tech Valley High's first students meet
Date CapturedSunday April 29 2007, 9:02 AM
Times Union reports, "The school will have no more than 400 students in grades 9-12 drawn from 48 school districts within the two BOCES, which serve seven counties: Albany, Columbia, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Schoharie, Saratoga and Greene. It will focus on math, science and technology. In fall 2008, the school will add up to 48 sophomores. In fall 2009, the high school will open in its own building in Rensselaer County, with 100 students in each grade."
Here's a bright idea: Turn off the lights!
Date CapturedWednesday April 25 2007, 9:21 AM
NY Daily News reports, "Lights at the historic Tweed Courthouse, which houses the Education Department headquarters, were still blazing at 3:50 a.m. Education Department spokeswoman Margie Feinberg said Tweed is regularly cleaned during off-hours. The department's building at 65 Court St. in Brooklyn also was lit well into the wee hours. Feinberg said those lights had to be on because of an unspecified number of information technology and payroll employees who work overnight. She refused to provide an exact number of late-night workers and referred further questions to the city. The Education Department paid $172,000 in the most recent fiscal year for lighting, elevators, air conditioning and heating for the Court St. building. If the department stopped running its lights at night, it would potentially save a third of that cost, or about $57,000 a year. The city could hire one new teacher at the average starting salary of $42,512 or two new cops at $25,000 each."
$20,000 stipend proposed for new teachers
Date CapturedTuesday April 10 2007, 9:25 AM
Ithaca Journal reports, "The program's goal is to address a decline of qualified math and science job candidates at technology companies such as Advion. Recent graduates will be asked to pass two proficiency tests to receive the stipend for the next five years. At the end of the five years, teachers have the opportunity to pass the tests again to extend the stipend. Candidates would face a standardized test in their field, as well as a pedagogical test."
Contact Your Senators Today-- Support Federal Funding For Libraries!
Date CapturedMonday April 09 2007, 2:22 PM
Please contact your Senators immediately and ask them to sign the "Dear Colleague" letter (PDF) being circulated by Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) in support of funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program.
Computer security issues cited in Webster schools
Date CapturedFriday April 06 2007, 9:54 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "The audit released this week has been discussed with school officials who have responded with a plan to correct the problems. Some of the changes have already been implemented. Last summer, auditors found that the district's network server computers and other equipment were installed in 13 separate rooms throughout the district. Only three of the rooms were locked and only one was equipped with an adequate cooling and ventilation system. Auditors found that the district's system of passwords was inadequate. The district did not require employees to use complex passwords and users were not required to change passwords periodically. The district's financial software also does not turn off after being inactive for a period of time. As a result, users often stay logged on throughout the day, even when they were not at their computers, which increases the risk of unauthorized users accessing the computer system and the data stored there."
Effectiveness of Reading and Mathematics Software Products: Findings from the First Student Cohort
Date CapturedThursday April 05 2007, 9:16 AM
National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance study finds: "Test scores were not significantly higher in classrooms using the reading and mathematics software products than those in control classrooms. In each of the four groups of products-reading in first grade and in fourth grade, mathematics in sixth grade, and high school algebra-the evaluation found no significant differences in student achievement between the classrooms that used the technology products and classrooms that did not. There was substantial variation between schools regarding the effects on student achievement. Although the study collected data on many school and classroom characteristics, only two characteristics were related to the variation in reading achievement. For first grade, effects were larger in schools that had smaller student-teacher ratios (a measure of class size). For fourth grade, effects were larger when treatment teachers reported higher levels of use of the study product." Dynarski, Mark, Roberto Agodini, Sheila Heaviside, Timothy Novak, Nancy Carey, Larissa Campuzano, Barbara Means, Robert Murphy, William Penuel, Hal Javitz, Deborah Emery, and Willow Sussex. Effectiveness of Reading and Mathematics Software Products: Findings from the First Student Cohort, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, 2007. Prepared under Contract No.: ED-01-CO-0039/0007 with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
School ends program to equip students with personal computers
Date CapturedWednesday April 04 2007, 4:05 PM
AP reports, "One of the first high school laptop computer programs in the country will be phased out over the next three years. The Liverpool School Board agreed to end the program because teachers complained the machines had become a distraction in class, with some students downloading music and games. Liverpool initiated its voluntary computer leasing, rent-to-own program seven years ago. About 1,550 of the high school's 1,962 students were enrolled in the laptop lease program, said Maureen Patterson, assistant superintendent for instruction. Administrators said they wanted to put control of technology back in the hands of teachers. Too much emphasis was placed on the technology and not on how laptops could be used as a tool within the lesson, they said."
Internet Safety: Newest School Subject
Date CapturedWednesday April 04 2007, 3:09 PM
VOA reports, "More and more schools across the country are taking on the task of teaching Internet safety to students and parents. School officials are stepping in, even though the online luring or harassment is primarily happening off campus."
Study: Schools lag in technology
Date CapturedThursday March 29 2007, 8:48 AM
Times Union reports, "New York gets a C-minus for the way its schools use technology, putting it in the same league as Missouri, Colorado and New Jersey and behind Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, according to a national survey."
Remarks of Secretary Spellings at the Celebration of Teaching and Learning Conference
Date CapturedSaturday March 24 2007, 8:44 AM
US Department of Education Press Release: In the last 50 years, American ingenuity has put a man on the moon, a rover on Mars, and computers in our businesses, our homes, and even our pockets. We launched the World Wide Web, mapped the human genome, and developed life-extending drugs and treatment for AIDS. Having every child on grade level by 2014 is another great goal, and it's one we can accomplish. With the right support for teachers, including new technologies, we will close the achievement gap and reach our goal of No Child Left Behind.
Local Administrator Honored for Outstanding Contributions to Education
Date CapturedSaturday March 17 2007, 10:12 AM
Ira Goldstein, managing coordinator for emerging technology with Capital Region BOCES, has been selected as the recipient for the Leadership and Support Award by the School Administrators Association of New York State (SAANYS).Goldstein will be recognized for his achievements at the SAANYS annual awards ceremony on May 11, 2007 at the Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Latinos Online: Hispanics with lower levels of education and English proficiency remain largely disconnected from the internet
Date CapturedThursday March 15 2007, 6:28 PM
By Susannah Fox, Pew Internet & American Life Project and Gretchen Livingston, Pew Hispanic Center find, "Differences in levels of education and English proficiency explain much of the difference in internet usage between Hispanics and non-Hispanics. Internet use is uniformly low for whites (32%), Hispanics (31%), and African Americans (25%) who have not completed high school. However, 41% of Latino adults have not finished high school, compared with about one in ten non-Hispanic whites and one in five African Americans. The same pattern is evident at the other end of the spectrum of educational attainment. College-educated adults all have equally high levels (about 90%) of internet use regardless of race or ethnicity, yet the college educated make up a smaller share of the Latino population when compared with non-Hispanics. Language is also a powerful factor, as internet use is much higher among Latinos who speak and read English fluently than among those who have limited English abilities or who only speak Spanish. Language is not an issue in the white and black populations as the shares of adults with limited English abilities is quite small. A statistical analysis of the survey results shows education and language are each highly significant factors when other differences in group characteristics are taken into account. When the different levels of language or education are controlled statistically, Hispanics and non-Hispanics show similar levels of internet use."
Mount Saint Mary College makes math, science stand out with new $25M addition to campus
Date CapturedTuesday March 13 2007, 7:40 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "The nation's shortage of nurses, and math and science teachers is approaching crisis mode. And Mount Saint Mary College has a plan. The answer: a new facility, costing $25 million, that will cover 30,000 square feet and accommodate the school's 2,600 students. 'The Math, Science & Technology Center will serve the entire student body through math, science and information technology requirements in the core curriculum,' said Bryan M. Maloney, the vice president for college advancement. 'It will especially serve nursing, education and science majors in intermediate and advanced courses with labs associated with them.'"
Audit faults Buffalo school contracts
Date CapturedMonday March 12 2007, 7:26 AM
AP reports, "A state audit criticizes Buffalo Public Schools for spending 6-point-3 (m) million dollars for school reform and technology initiatives without contracts detailing the work that was supposed to be done or the ability to make sure the district was getting what it paid for. The 41-page report urges district officials to recover any money spent on services that were not provided while questioning oversight and management."
SUNY chief hears business views on university role
Date CapturedFriday March 09 2007, 7:40 AM
Press-Republican reports, "In the North Country, particularly, goals include developing more small-business and entrepreneurial opportunities and increasing broadband access and online training, [SUNY Chancellor Ryan] he said. 'The importance of putting in broadband infrastructure is crucial.' 'The key thing we have been fighting for is the importance of high-speed broadband, which allows us to do long-distance learning,' said Allen Dunham, chair of the North Country Workforce Investment Board. That would decrease traveling for training opportunities, assist hospitals with imaging needs and provide incentive for students to stay in the area after graduation and land jobs locally, among other things, he said. Other topics that participants said were discussed Thursday included the role of SUNY in providing support for communities and economic developers, the role of colleges in workforce development, how the business community can take better advantage of innovation and invention being produced at SUNY schools and what support emerging technology companies need from SUNY and the state."
Local Texas school chief earns national honor as 2007 ‘Tech-Savvy Superintendent’
Date CapturedSaturday March 03 2007, 10:26 AM
Star Community News reports, "Superintendent Annette Griffin of the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD achieved national recognition Wednesday in the seventh annual 'Tech-Savvy Superintendents' award program presented by America’s leading ed-tech newspaper, eSchool News."
ASCB Position on Public Access to Scientific Literature
Date CapturedThursday March 01 2007, 5:38 PM
The American Society for Cell Biology is a nonprofit scientific society of over 11,000 members at leading research institutions, state colleges, undergraduate teaching institutions, and biotechnology companies. The major activities of the Society include organization of influential scientific meetings in cell biology, advocacy for sound science policy, and programs that support the careers of women and underrepresented minorities in basic biomedical research. The ASCB is also a publisher. The Society’s publications include the high-impact monthly research journal, Molecular Biology of the Cell.
Maryland truancy bill offers no real solutions
Date CapturedFriday February 23 2007, 7:54 AM
Maryland Gazette.net reports, "The truancy problem is an urban or inner city problem as a result of failed education policies. It begs the question, why we do not understand that our kids know what they need and what they want? Why are we punishing them for a system that has failed? Why are we not including the truancy offenders at the table to address the problem and solutions? Why are we not engaging our parents, churches, community, social workers and nonprofits to help us solve this problem? We have stripped our schools of vocational training, our county lacks a performing arts center and we do not have state-of-the-art technology training centers. In addition, our schools are overcrowded and many of our children are becoming frustrated when they cannot get the extra help needed to stay on pace. We have failed to provide positive alternatives to the truancy problem."
School denial angers activist
Date CapturedTuesday January 16 2007, 9:51 AM
Post-Tribune reports, "A Charter School Academy of Trade and Technology pitched by a local education [Indiana] activist has failed to gain approval to open despite parent and business backing."
Data show where Ithaca City School District (ICSD) has progressed
Date CapturedMonday January 15 2007, 7:08 AM
Ithaca Journal contributor Michael Pliss, Ithaca City School District's Director of Information and Instructional Technology writes, "The Equity Strategic Plan calls for us to set local benchmarks for progress toward equity. The experience of identifying and collecting the diverse array of data for the First Annual Equity Report Card makes plain the need for flexible student information systems and for staff training in data stewardship and data governance. Collecting and analyzing data for equity is not an end in itself. But we believe our ability to make real progress in eliminating race, class and disability in student success and participation is critically supported by our efforts in data analysis. Knowing where we are is a crucial first step in getting to where we need to be, a place where all students are achieving their dreams."
State aid fuels school construction projects
Date CapturedSunday January 14 2007, 8:28 AM
Post-Standard reports, "Each district was allocated a share of EXCEL aid in the state budget, based on enrollment and its financial need.However, districts must submit project applications that meet state criteria in order to collect. The project must involve school expansion or renovation, health and safety, accessibility, energy conservation and education technology. More than a dozen districts in Central New York have passed or are putting expansion and renovation projects before voters in coming months. And other districts are beginning to explore their needs to take advantage of the state's largesse. "
High-speed help
Date CapturedTuesday January 09 2007, 6:02 AM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin opined, ""If you live in the rural edges of Greater Binghamton you may live in a zone where all you have available for Internet access is dial-up service. At least that's a gateway, but in today's fast-paced computer communications, it's akin to Stone Age technology. Some features just won't work well with dial-up. Broadband is becoming the industry standard, with wi-fi as the choice for cutting edge businesses. Lacking access to broadband can hamper not only communication but educational research. In other words, it puts our rural students at a disadvantage to their peers."
Paterson New Jersey schools may be monitored
Date CapturedSaturday December 30 2006, 8:19 AM
NorthJersey.com reports, "Other findings in the audit include incomplete or outdated personnel and special education student files, missing receipts in student activity money and a need for enhanced computer technology security measures."
$260K grant intended to improve education technology
Date CapturedThursday December 28 2006, 9:57 PM
The Business Review (Albany) reports, "Blended learning is a combination of traditional classroom and online instruction. The award is going to Peter Shea, an assistant professor in UAlbany's Department of Educational Theory and Practice."
Villanova Heads Most-Wired College List
Date CapturedWednesday December 13 2006, 5:50 PM
AP reports, "At Villanova, first-year students are given laptops -- and replacements after their sophomore year. Nursing students get personal digital assistants, and engineers get tablet PCs. Over the Internet, students can register for classes, download lectures, take exams and get grades. Tech-support calls are guaranteed a response within 24 hours." MIT placed second and Indiana number three.
Colorado state audit critical of online schools
Date CapturedMonday December 11 2006, 4:21 PM
Rocky Mountain News reports, "Online schools in Colorado are lagging behind traditional schools in a number of areas, including state exams that all students take, according to a state audit released this morning. The online schools have popped up in rural areas, especially in southeastern Colorado, in an effort to keep schools in small communities alive."
SUNY Cobleskill gets $1M to not let waste go to waste
Date CapturedMonday December 11 2006, 7:00 AM
The Daily Star reports, "The funding is coming from the Department of Defense because the Pentagon would someday like to have mobile bio-waste to bio-energy facilities that can be used on its bases, said Holly Cargill-Cramer, SUNY Cobleskill director of public relations. But the technology will first be used to benefit the SUNY Cobleskill campus, where the plant will be located, she said."
Teaching the future of nanotechnology
Date CapturedWednesday December 06 2006, 5:25 AM
Times Union reports, ""That new nanotechnology work force is already being trained, even though AMD's chip fab isn't expected to be completed by 2012 at the earliest. Hudson Valley Community College is preparing to graduate its first class of semiconductor manufacturing workers next spring. Five students are in the final year of a two-year semiconductor manufacturing technology program, a rigorous course of study with electronics, chemistry, physics and advanced mathematics required, in addition to semiconductor manufacturing classes."
Buffalo school district acted to save teachers' jobs
Date CapturedThursday November 30 2006, 9:41 AM
Buffalo News contributor James A. Williams, superintendent of the Buffalo Public Schools writes, "The hard work of our teachers is showing results, as evidenced by the success of our summer school program and the Commencement Academy. The determination of teachers who want to make a difference has allowed us to open the Math Science Technology School at Seneca, Academy School @ 44 and to bring Advanced Placement classes into every high school."
For $150, Third-World Laptop Stirs a Big Debate
Date CapturedThursday November 30 2006, 7:15 AM
NY Times reports, ""Five countries — Argentina, Brazil, Libya, Nigeria and Thailand — have made tentative commitments to put the computers into the hands of millions of students, with production in Taiwan expected to begin by mid-2007. "
Academics Get Exemption from DVD Copyright Law
Date CapturedTuesday November 28 2006, 8:19 AM
NPR Joel Rose reports, "The Digital Millennium Copyright Act made it illegal to reproduce copyrighted material from DVDs -- even short excerpts. That proved to be an enormous obstacle to the professors of college film-studies programs, who wanted to be able to burn discs of selected scenes for their classes. Three professors from the University of Pennsylvania asked for an academic exemption to the law. And surprisingly, they say, it has been granted."
Telling Tales Out of School, on YouTube
Date CapturedMonday November 27 2006, 3:36 AM
NY Times reports, "In the good old days, students simply used technology like cellphones to cheat on tests. Now, they’re posting what happens in their classrooms on YouTube. "
Colleges in N.Y. to link computer resources
Date CapturedSunday November 26 2006, 8:52 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Colleges across the state, including some in the Rochester region, are establishing a computerized network that allows them to act collectively like a statewide supercomputer ready to tackle elaborate computational problems. University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, State University College at Geneseo and Alfred University are among nearly two dozen higher education institutions behind NYSGrid."
Distance learning programs can close ethnic gap
Date CapturedSaturday November 25 2006, 8:07 AM
Times Union contributor WILLIAM M. STEWART, Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management, Excelsior College, Albany writes, "Going forward, community organizations, government agencies, churches and other groups working with minorities can significantly impact these numbers by encouraging black and Hispanic adults to consider accredited distance learning programs as a means to completing their college education."
No spare time for lost school bus: Call in, ask for help
Date CapturedWednesday November 22 2006, 6:23 AM
The Journal News opined, "Buses will be delayed by traffic conditions or road detours at times. Substitute drivers are sometimes needed. Yet, we believe this incident was all the more upsetting because a health department worker first appeared to downplay the situation, and the parents believed they were given little information not only during, but after the event. Really, what matters here is common sense and clear procedures. If a bus is more than 10 minutes behind schedule, an aide or driver should have an easy and efficient way to communicate with a supervisor or dispatcher, which, in turn, should alert parents. If a driver is unsure about a route, early contact within minutes is needed. The communication technology is available. It should be used. There should never be a question about the location of a school bus."
New York schools' building bonanza
Date CapturedMonday November 20 2006, 5:00 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "A one-time dose of state money injected into local school districts has fueled a frenzy of expansion and construction proposals. Eight districts have either gone to voters recently or plan to do so next month. The state Department of Education expects to see an increase in proposals as well. The state sweetened the pot this year with aid dubbed "Excel," or Expand Our Childrens' Education and Learning aid. Every district in the state can get the money if they have a project that fits: expansion or renovations, technology, health and safety, or access for the disabled. The money is a one-time shot. Districts can wait, but no one knows how much money future Legislatures and governors will set aside for the program."
SUNY leader urges 'K-16' education path
Date CapturedSaturday November 18 2006, 3:30 PM
Kingston Freeman reports on Chancellor Ryan, K-16 education and workforce preparation, "The Center for Excellence program supports major upgrades of research facilities and other high technology and biotechnology capital projects, allowing colleges, universities and research institutions to secure research funding that could lead to new job creation. Four of the six current Centers for Excellence are located on the SUNY campuses in Buffalo, Albany Binghamton, and Stony Brook."
Use of Technology in Education
Date CapturedFriday November 17 2006, 5:46 PM
The Board of Regents created a statewide Technology Policy and Practices Council to study the use of technology in education. As part of this effort, the Metiri Group will be conducting random surveys of school districts and other members of the University of the State of New York. Commissioner Mills urges all selected to participate in the survey process; a letter from him with additional information is available at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/metirisurvey.htm.
Dozens of NYC parents e-mail City Hall over cell phone ban
Date CapturedWednesday November 15 2006, 4:12 AM
AP reports, "Gotbaum [public advocate] and some other lawmakers say principals should set their own policies. They site safety as the No. 1 concern. In the e-mails, some parents pointed to the Sept. 11 disaster and the daily threat of terrorism as the primary reasons why their children need phones. "The reality is that the NYC subway system is vulnerable to terrorist attack," said the parent of a ninth grader. 'When we have so little control over these horrific incidents, and must continue to live our lives (as Mayor Bloomberg suggests we do), something as simple and basic as cell phone contact with our children should not be up for negotiation.' Another wrote: 'She and I both feel a little less crazy knowing that if something major happens - an accident, a crisis - that she can be in touch with me. If your child went to school blocks from ground zero, you'd know what I'm talking about.'"
Elmira College offers new master's program
Date CapturedSaturday November 11 2006, 7:56 AM
Star-Gazette reports, "Elmira College will offer a new master's degree program in January that school officials hope will prepare the local work force for the future. Four areas of concentration -- in general management, information technology management, health services management and emergency-disaster preparedness management -- will be offered during the winter term that starts Jan. 8."
Making the Grade: Online Education in the United States, 2006
Date CapturedThursday November 09 2006, 8:46 AM
Study concludes: "Problem areas identified in previous years are still seen as areas of concern among academic leaders. • Only 4.6 percent of Chief Academic Officers agreed that there are no significant barriers to widespread adoption of online learning. • Nearly two-thirds of the academic leaders cite the need for more discipline on the part of online students as a critical barrier. • Faculty issues, both acceptance of online and the need for greater time and effort to teach online, are also important barriers. • Neither a perceived lack of demand on the part of potential students nor the acceptance of an online degree by potential employers was seen as a critical barrier." I. Elaine Allen, Ph.D., and Jeff Seaman, Ph.D., November 2006
More students turn to the Web for college classes
Date CapturedThursday November 09 2006, 3:55 AM
The Washington Times reports on a survey to be released today, "The Sloan survey results also suggest academic officials are becoming more comfortable with online learning. About 62 percent of chief academic officers said they felt students learned as well or better from online courses as they did in face-to-face ones. However, that left about 38 percent who found online courses degraded the educational experience. And almost all said they aren't certain online learning will be more widely adopted. Among the obstacles are that online courses take more time and effort to prepare, students need more self-discipline and faculty often aren't convinced online learning is worthwhile."
Is big brother watching you?
Date CapturedWednesday November 08 2006, 8:01 AM
The Cavelier Daily reports, "You use your ID card to swipe into the dining hall or gym, and to unlock your dorm or office. You sign on to University computers and log into Webmail, ISIS or Toolkit. You use your Social Security number to check out library books and obtain financial aid. With the sheer volume of data a student produces in a single day, it begs the question: Can the University track your every move?"
LIU opens high-tech model classroom in Rockland
Date CapturedWednesday November 08 2006, 6:30 AM
The Journal News reports, "But Melody Hockley, an English as a second language teacher at Eldorado Elementary School in Chestnut Ridge, was more skeptical. She predicted a continuing disparity between what was available to teachers in their classrooms and what was available at LIU. The amenities and equipment in the room, she said, 'is more for the manufacturers to show off what they can do.' 'It looks nice and pretty," she said, 'but if there are budget problems, it's not getting into the classroom.'"
School district wants to inform about dangers of social networking
Date CapturedMonday November 06 2006, 2:53 PM
Pantagraph.com reports, "'We take student privacy issues very seriously, and we are very careful about releasing student information,' said McArdle[Lexington school Superintendent]. 'Unfortunately, many times students are too willing to share too much information on Web sites (such as myspace.com, youtube.com, xanga.com, or webtickle.com) with no thought that someone might use it inappropriately.' In response, the school district, in conjunction with the Lexington Council of Churches, will sponsor a presentation at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday featuring Jack Bristow, former DARE officer for Livingston County. Bristow serves as the liaison for Pontiac High School and gave a social networking presentation at a recent meeting of the Illinois Principals Association."
Web conference to address state of Internet laws
Date CapturedThursday November 02 2006, 7:45 AM
The Daily Orange reports, "The Syracuse University community will have the opportunity to witness a global discussion of Internet governance, which concerns creating internationally-accepted laws for the Internet, today from 7:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. in Eggers Hall. The event is a live broadcast of a Web conference in the Maxwell Global Collaboratory. Participating in the conference are representatives from two larger conferences in progress, one in Greece and the other in Grenada, and from the Internet Corporation for Assigning Names and Numbers. The broadcast, which is hosted by the School of Information Studies' Collaboratory on Technology Enhanced Learning Communities, is open to the public."
Group of University Researchers to Make Web Science a Field of Study
Date CapturedThursday November 02 2006, 3:31 AM
NY Times reports, "Web science is related to another emerging interdisciplinary field called services science. This is the study of how to use computing, collaborative networks and knowledge in disciplines ranging from economics to anthropology to lift productivity and develop new products in the services sector, which represents about three-fourths of the United States economy."
DODEA seeks parents’ opinions in online survey
Date CapturedSaturday October 28 2006, 6:45 PM
Stars and Stripes reports, "The survey, which is based in part on the Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, helps DODEA identify areas that need improvement. Teachers, parents and students in grades four and five, six through eight and nine through twelve are given separate surveys. Questions focus on areas such as curriculum, instruction, standards, assessment, technology and student support, according to a DODEA statement."
Unclear 'Net Tutors Aided Kids
Date CapturedThursday October 26 2006, 4:55 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "Thousands of struggling city students unwittingly relied on online tutors based in India who were neither fingerprinted nor subjected to criminal background checks, probers charged."
Encampment at Rochester Institute of Technology's National Technical Institute backs Gallaudet protest
Date CapturedTuesday October 24 2006, 6:23 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "A smattering of students, in a show of solidarity with their peers at Gallaudet University, braved bitter winds and threatening skies Monday to set up a 'tent city' on the front lawn of Rochester Institute of Technology's National Technical Institute for the Deaf, where they camped out in protest of the hiring of Gallaudet's incoming president."
Turmoil at Gallaudet Reflects Broader Debate
Date CapturedSaturday October 21 2006, 7:36 AM
NY Times DIANA JEAN SCHEMO writes, "Should Gallaudet be the standard bearer for the view that sees deafness not as a disability, but as an identity, and that looks warily on technology like cochlear implants, questioning how well they work and arguing that they undermine a strong deaf identity and pride? Or should Gallaudet embrace the possibilities of connecting with the hearing world that technology can offer?"
The American Competitiveness Initiative: The Education Revolution Begins
Date CapturedFriday October 20 2006, 4:05 PM
Baltimore Times reports, "With the announcement of American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI), low-income and minority students have an excellent opportunity to prepare themselves for well-paid careers in science and technology. However, this federal assistance program will best benefit students of color, only if their parents are aware of the initiative's goals, areas of focus and the criteria to qualify for financial aid to support secondary education."
Video-gaming American schools
Date CapturedThursday October 19 2006, 9:18 AM
The Enquirer reports, "One of the nation's most prestigious scientific groups on Tuesday put video games into play in an ambitious new bid to transform American education. The Federation of American Scientists called for major investment in digital educational games that could reshape how students learn and workers are trained for 21st century jobs."
Researchers See a Downside as Keyboards Replace Pens in Schools
Date CapturedWednesday October 11 2006, 3:53 AM
The Washington Post reports, "The loss of handwriting also may be a cognitive opportunity missed. The neurological process that directs thought, through fingers, into written symbols is a highly sophisticated one. Several academic studies have found that good handwriting skills at a young age can help children express their thoughts better -- a lifelong benefit. Children who don't learn correct technique find it harder to write by hand, so they avoid it. Schools that do teach handwriting often stop after third grade -- right after kids learn cursive. By the time computers are more widely used in classrooms for writing, perhaps in fourth or fifth grade, many children already have decided they don't like to write."
New York state and Guardian Angels partner in online safety prgram
Date CapturedMonday October 09 2006, 1:45 PM
AP reports, "Teachers will also be taught to make sure students' work has not been plagiarized and learn how to detect and stop cyber-bullying: attacks on children by other children through e-mail, instant messaging or rumors on Web sites."
Recreate New York high schools
Date CapturedMonday October 09 2006, 7:31 AM
The Journal News writes, "Today's students can't wait decades for high school to become meaningful schooling — it has to be aggressively restructured now. With tougher standards, expanding curriculum and new technology demands in their faces, that means high-schoolers should be supported in taking five, even six years to earn high school diplomas — including those who aren't classified 'special-ed' or pegged as English-learners. And bright or otherwise gifted students should be allowed opportunities to graduate in less than four years."
SUNY Brockport opens college door
Date CapturedSunday October 08 2006, 8:06 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle guest essayist Christine E. Murray, dean, School of Professions, State University College at Brockport writes, "The college [SUNY Brockport] is moving forward to collaborate with the CSD's effort to create small secondary schools focusing on college preparation. For three years, the college's Computational Math, Science and Technology Institute has offered professional development to teachers, introducing new ways to teach these vital subjects."
Nanuet turns to text-messaging to notify parents
Date CapturedFriday October 06 2006, 6:37 AM
The Journal News reports, "It used to be that phone calls and, more recently, e-mails were the only way to reach parents during school emergencies. The Nanuet school district is adding a new tool to its communications arsenal: text messaging."
Cyber Bullying has become a trend that can't be ignored
Date CapturedWednesday October 04 2006, 6:24 AM
The Press Republican reports, "McBride [educator and expert] asked students what would happen if there were laws preventing youths from purchasing cell phones until they were 17 and requiring parental oversight and approval before sending e-mails. Cyber bullying, she said, is causing adults around the world to consider such laws. 'You are taking this technology stuff to another level, and you understand this technology better than we do. We are not being overprotective; we are trying to get to the level where we can protect you.'"
Is Your Child’s School Effective? Don’t rely on NCLB to tell you
Date CapturedFriday September 29 2006, 8:10 AM
Hoover Institute Education Next writes, "It must also be admitted that most states could not have used growth scores when NCLB was enacted, simply because most states had not constructed the tracking system Florida has put together. Congress may have done all that it could in 2002. But since other states are now beginning to build their own warehouses of data that follow the progress of individual students, the time has arrived when a legislative fix should be feasible." Paul E. Peterson, professor of government at Harvard University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and Martin R.West, assistant professor at Brown University both serve as editors of Education Next.
Pew Internet & American Life Project
Date CapturedMonday September 25 2006, 7:52 PM
Schools, parents and police monitor online hangout in search of bad guys - and good information
Date CapturedMonday September 25 2006, 8:37 AM
Newsday reports on website, "'In one way, it's a tool for a parent,' Palmer [parent] said. 'We found it [MySpace] just to be really an avenue where we can kind of get a grasp on what kids are doing, what they're talking about, what they're getting involved in.'"
Now read this
Date CapturedMonday September 25 2006, 5:56 AM
Journal News opined on New York State Education Department results of English Language Arts test, "State Education Commissioner Richard Mills worried Thursday about the slacking off in literacy instruction. It apparently begins in fifth grade — not the abrupt nosedive New Yorkers had come to expect in eighth. Said Mills: 'Adult literacy scores are too low, but this is where it begins.' So must the response, starting with unplugging students from electronics, and plugging them into reading books, writing clearly and speaking their minds, coherently."
Flap Over New York City School Computer Dump
Date CapturedMonday September 25 2006, 4:31 AM
NY Post DAVID ANDREATTA and JANA WINTER write, "Administrators at Walt Whitman Intermediate School in Flatbush trashed scores of computer monitors, keyboards, hard drives, printers and desks, leaving them outside like high-tech gravestones."
Ohio probing absence rates
Date CapturedSaturday September 23 2006, 6:29 PM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH reports, "The attendance numbers for many Internet charter schools look good. In fact, the number with perfect scores are a little too good, prompting the Ohio Department of Education to give them a second look later this month, said Todd Hanes, executive director of the department’s Office of Community Schools."
Privacy? What privacy?
Date CapturedFriday September 22 2006, 11:35 PM
Minnesota Daily Kate Nelson opined on higher education online security breaches, "These threats to privacy and their effects are very real and are much more deserving of attention than the supposed dangers of Facebook. The notion that our "private" information is available to virtually anyone seeking it is not a possibility - it's reality.
Wyoming 'Virtual school' policies sought
Date CapturedFriday September 22 2006, 11:03 AM
AP reports, "The University of Wyoming and the state's community colleges offer classes online. But Wyoming is one of the few states without any written policy for online and other distance learning at the K-12 level."
Local Dutchess County schools get state aid for tech upgrades
Date CapturedWednesday September 20 2006, 6:56 AM
The Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "Dutchess County schools will receive almost three-quarters of a million dollars for their technology programs, officials announced Tuesday. The money — $712,676 total — will be divided among nine school districts. The amount each school district receives was partly based on enrollment figures."
Los Angeles Unified School District left the parents behind
Date CapturedFriday September 15 2006, 1:31 PM
LA Daily News reports on highlights of a California state audit, "The district has 'all but abandoned' efforts to increase parental and community involvement, a goal of its 2000 reorganization. Promised staffing reductions were only temporary, and the number of support employees has actually increased over 1999 levels. The district says additional employees are needed to manage school construction and technology programs. The district should evaluate why local advisory councils have not met objectives; develop guidelines for what the councils should accomplish; and define how local districts can help."
Sullivan pledges $7.5M for a greener Sullivan County Community College
Date CapturedFriday September 15 2006, 6:57 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "The high-performance building would house new programs for students in environmental technology, energy services technology, wind power and environmental science."
History-making Syracuse meeting goes virtual
Date CapturedThursday September 14 2006, 5:50 AM
The Post-Standard reports, "Not many people would chortle about getting a chance to participate in a Syracuse school board meeting, but Education Commissioner Nancy McCarty did."
Texas Extension Program Helps Prepare Special-Needs Students for Life After High School
Date CapturedWednesday September 13 2006, 1:21 PM
Texas A&M University AgNews reports, "The program, funded through the Texas Education Agency, is designed to assist career and technology teachers – formerly known as vocational teachers – who are working with students with special needs, primarily in high school, he [Dr. Rick Peterson, Extension parenting specialist and project director] said."
Nursery-school students get head start on computers
Date CapturedMonday September 11 2006, 9:32 AM
The Columbus Dispatch reports, "About two-thirds of children in nursery school use computers and 23 percent of them use the Internet, according to a national study." (read study on Education New York Online --- see Education Policy page, Information Policy link)
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) training developers of video games
Date CapturedMonday September 11 2006, 6:11 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "With the video game industry anticipating notable employment growth over the next couple of years, Rochester Institute of Technology this fall has launched a new master's degree in game design and development. It also is pursuing plans to create a bachelor's degree program, said Andrew Phelps, an associate professor and director of the game design and development program."
Louisiana high school keeps parents involved
Date CapturedWednesday September 06 2006, 9:32 AM
Daily World reports, "Several years ago, she [Leger, school principal] said, the school installed a voice mail system where parents can call to confirm their child's homework assignments. Leger said teachers are required to have their weekly assignments into the system by 3 p.m. on Mondays. They remain one of the few schools who still maintain the hotline. 'This allows teachers to leave messages on the system, and parents can also leave messages on the system, which keeps parents and teachers in constant communication,' she said. Leger is using computer technology to her advantage. She encourages teachers to exchange e-mail addresses with parents for easier contact."
Welcome to a new school year of building bridges
Date CapturedWednesday September 06 2006, 7:57 AM
Ithaca Journal guest columnist Judith Pastel, superintendent of the Ithaca City School District, writes, "Last year, many ICSD employees worked closely with me to upgrade our internal communications processes, that is, how we communicate with each other. This was the first major step toward a culture of on-going and improved communication. This year, we will build on those initial efforts and make serious headway with our external communication. Community members and the public will read monthly guest columns by district staff. Our goal is to publish a district newsletter during October and during May. Serious review of our Web site is in progress in order to improve accessibility and content. By the end of the school year, I will be asking community members to provide input on our efforts."
Computer and Internet Use by Students in 2003
Date CapturedTuesday September 05 2006, 11:00 AM
This report examines the use of computers and the Internet by American children enrolled in nursery school and students in kindergarten through grade 12. One of the more important findings presented in the report is that schools appear to help narrow the disparities between different types of students in terms of computer use. Differences in the rates of computer use are smaller at school than they are at home when considering such characteristics as race/ethnicity, family income, and parental education. DeBell, M., and Chapman, C. (2006). Computer and Internet Use by Students in 2003 (NCES 2006– 065). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Rush-Henrietta district wants to keep in touch: New council, Web site aim to keep bonds among alumni strong
Date CapturedTuesday September 05 2006, 5:49 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "About 3,000 of the district's 35,000 graduates already have registered on the Web site and posted updates about their lives, and 75 have done so in the last two weeks of August, said Joe Bellanca, council president and a 1965 graduate."
2 majors in crime new to college: Roberts Wesleyan College introduces degrees in white-collar issues, forensic science
Date CapturedMonday September 04 2006, 11:28 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports on Roberts program and courses at State University College at Buffalo, Genesee Community College and Hilbert College, "The economic-crime investigation program has courses in criminal justice, accounting and computer science, and students will specialize either in accounting or computers. And for the major, the college is creating courses on white-collar crime, computer forensics and computer network security."
Web site draws pleas to revamp New Jersey school funding
Date CapturedMonday September 04 2006, 10:55 AM
Courier News reports, "Lawmakers [New Jersey] created a Web site to solicit suggestions on how the state can ease the property tax burden. The site has received more than 1,000 suggestions since it was created Aug. 14. A common theme from the suggestion box: New Jersey residents are tired of paying high property taxes to fund public schools."
COLLEGE PHONE PLAN AN EASY 'CELL'
Date CapturedMonday September 04 2006, 9:13 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "Baruch College students searching for an open computer on campus, assignments for a missed class, and even their best friends this fall semester now need only check their mobile phone for the info."
Surf's Up! Settlement Means Internet Use For More Students
Date CapturedThursday August 31 2006, 10:10 AM
The Tampa Tribune reports, "The new funding results from a 2003 settlement of a class-action suit in which Florida accused the computer giant of violating antitrust laws and driving up the cost of technology. Microsoft denied all allegations but settled for up to $202 million, paid out in the form of $5 and $12 technology vouchers to reimburse Florida consumers and businesses that had purchased Microsoft products."
Tweaking of 'No Child' Seen
Date CapturedThursday August 31 2006, 8:57 AM
The Washington Post reports on NCLB, charter schools, and a national student "unit" tracking system, "Saying that the federal government has 'done about as much' as it can in many ways, Spellings [US Department of Education Secretary] noted that states need to do much of the remaining work on NCLB in order to meet the goal of reading proficiency by 2014."
Mississippi education drives economy
Date CapturedMonday August 28 2006, 8:36 PM
Delta Democrat Times reports, "Jobs and education are inextricably intertwined. There is no hope for a good economy without strong schools. There will be nowhere for students in Mississippi to work if the state's educational system fails to prepare them to compete in the global economy. All of that takes money. It also takes a commitment from the business community to support public education and a willingness from parents to think differently about what their children will be learning in school."
Audit finds sensitive data vulnerable at Arizona education agency
Date CapturedMonday August 28 2006, 8:20 PM
AP reports on the vulnerable systems, "The systems are used for a variety of purposes, ranging from teacher certification to tracking student attendance that is used to allocate state funding to school districts and charter schools. Confidential information kept on the department's computer systems include teachers' names, birth dates and Social Security numbers and students' names and birth dates, the audit report noted. Many of the security flaws have been noted previously but the audit found that only some of them had been fixed, the department said."
Students get a homework 'Buddy'
Date CapturedSaturday August 26 2006, 8:36 AM
NY Daily News reports, "June Herold, vice president and general manager of AOL education and consumer services, says the company spent two years with teachers, students and parents and found that many complained there was no one place to get the homework help and info needed for every subject. StudyBuddy.com is an education site with a search engine, math and science review and a writing wizard."
University at Buffalo's impact on Western New York communities
Date CapturedThursday August 24 2006, 2:55 PM
UB Reporter writes, "In terms of education, Henderson [vice president for external affairs] explains UB encourages the establishment of a "pre-K through 16 education continuum"—an educational pipeline that sets students on a seamless track from grade school to graduate studies."
Education Department working to fix web site glitch after data breach
Date CapturedWednesday August 23 2006, 9:54 PM
AP reports, "The Web site program includes names, birthdates, Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers and in some cases account information for holders of federal direct student loans. It does not involve those who have loans managed through private companies."
Researchers Yearn to Use AOL Logs, but They Hesitate
Date CapturedWednesday August 23 2006, 10:18 AM
NY Times reports, "Companies occasionally mete data out to academic researchers. Microsoft has done this, but in a controlled fashion. Yahoo shares some statistical data with researchers who are approved case by case through an internal vetting program, according to Joanna Stevens, a company spokeswoman, but query data, she said, has never been distributed."
Glitch reveals too much on Education Dept. website
Date CapturedWednesday August 23 2006, 8:39 AM
Boston Globe reports, "A federal Department of Education official said yesterday that a routine software upgrade made Sunday night introduced a bug into the system that mixed up the data of different borrowers."
Gaps in checking teaching credentials can miss predators
Date CapturedTuesday August 22 2006, 8:34 AM
USA Today Greg Toppo writes on school safety, "Schools need to follow up on background checks and notice if a job candidate switches schools frequently, experts say. They also should carefully review applications for inconsistencies or omissions and administer new criminal checks when contracts come up for renewal."
Florida schools to receive a piece of $3.7 million from Microsoft settlement
Date CapturedMonday August 21 2006, 9:27 PM
Boca Raton News reports on Microsoft lawsuit, "Signed in April 2003, the settlement resolved class action lawsuits that alleged Microsoft violated Florida's antitrust laws. The settlement provided benefits to consumers and businesses that purchased licenses for Microsoft operating system, productivity suite, spreadsheet or word processing software between Nov. 16, 1995, and Dec. 31, 2002, for use in the state of Florida. A maximum amount of $202 million was available to Florida consumers and businesses. Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft committed one-half of any unclaimed settlement funds to Florida's public schools in the form of vouchers. Microsoft denied each allegation but reached a settlement."
California student tracking system receives a failing grade: Millions spent, yet state can't calculate dropouts
Date CapturedMonday August 21 2006, 5:20 PM
Union Tribune reports, "California has fallen far behind other large states with sophisticated student tracking systems, such as Texas and Florida, and cannot accurately calculate a basic fact about school performance: the dropout rate."
New Hampshire outside school plan too outside the box
Date CapturedSunday August 20 2006, 6:46 PM
The Herald opined on non-traditional for credit courses, "The program would allow students to substitute outside-the-school learning for classroom work to gain high school credit. For example, a student could get high school science credit for taking an Internet course on astronomy or get physical education credit for running in a road race."
Mainstreaming For-Profit Education? Interesting
Date CapturedSaturday August 19 2006, 8:44 AM
PHI BETA CONS contributor Candace de Russy opined on for-profit/online higher education, "It will also be interesting to watch what UI spends on this program, which by its nature can forgo the usual array of costly non-instructional amenities (climbing walls, etc.) and can exploit the relatively low cost of online instruction. Thus this program can utilize the very finest, but fewer, faculty – a prospect heretofore threatening to the professoriate and the cause of its resistance to this innovation."
Arizona State Education computer system is exposed for attacks
Date CapturedFriday August 18 2006, 8:58 PM
The Daily Dispatch reports on Arizona Auditor General's Office findings, "The report, being released today, noted that the agency makes many of its applications accessible via the Internet so that schools can report information and access data. Auditor General Debbie Davenport said her staffers found that private information, like teacher names, birth dates and social security numbers 'could be viewed by individuals who have no right or need to access it.'''
New Jersey to look at revising high school standards
Date CapturedFriday August 18 2006, 8:46 PM
AP reports, "New Jersey high school students need more science, mathematics and technology education, even if they plan to go right to work instead of college, state officials said Thursday as they unveiled plans to rework high school requirements."
Montana one of many states failing NCLB teacher equity requirements
Date CapturedThursday August 17 2006, 6:23 PM
AP reports, "The Education Department is asking the Montana Office of Public Instruction to do one of two things: either provide data showing that poor and minority children are taught by teachers with similar qualifications and experience as those who instruct other children, or submit a revised plan. McCulloch said Wednesday that the state would provide the department with more information, but that her office doesn't have the technology to collect information on teacher experience levels, which the department is requiring."
Elmira school board to get laptops
Date CapturedWednesday August 16 2006, 8:48 AM
Star-Gazette reports, "Most information will now be e-mailed to board members or posted on a Web page protected with a password, according to the district. Each board member will have an e-mail account to allow them to communicate with district employees, parents and community members."
California State Law Limits Funding of Online Charter Schools—A.G.
Date CapturedMonday August 14 2006, 3:46 PM
Metropolitan News reports, "The state may not fund an on-line charter school for the instruction of pupils who reside outside either the county where the school is chartered or an adjacent county, Attorney General Bill Lockyer said in a published opinion."
Professors ban in-class Web surfing
Date CapturedMonday August 14 2006, 9:20 AM
The Buffalo News reprints a Chicago Tribune information policy news story, "With universities rapidly installing wireless networks, Internet surfing has taken the place of the crossword puzzle as the most popular classroom distraction. Some professors are so fed up, however, that they're banning laptops or finding ways to shut off the wireless capabilities in their classrooms." University of Chicago law school, professor Randy Picker has no intention of banning laptops or Internet access.
Stanford opens high school for gifted students
Date CapturedMonday August 14 2006, 8:29 AM
San Francisco Chronicle reports on US first online program for ultra-smart, "The new online high school comes as advocates of gifted education say the federal No Child Left Behind Act has unintentionally hurt gifted students in the public schools. They say that because teachers face pressure to make all students proficient, they don't challenge the successful ones who could do more."
Texas schools to offer TAKS online
Date CapturedSunday August 13 2006, 7:11 PM
AP reports, "Texas joins 21 other states this year by offering its standardized test, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, online. The test is used to assess skills in math, English, science, reading, writing and social sciences, and teacher pay and school funding is tied to how well students perform."
Digital lessons: Collaborations helped bring life to new student program
Date CapturedFriday August 11 2006, 8:37 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle editorial opined, "Through the Rochester After School Academy, which is coordinating the 'Rochester Digital Ripple' program, the students are getting a stipend while learning about cutting-edge technology. There's another lesson here, though, for the community at large. All kinds of players came together to make this happen in the year that it took to work out details."
University Tries to Make Texas a Science Force
Date CapturedThursday August 10 2006, 2:14 AM
The NY Times reports, "In an effort to make Texas a magnet for scientific and medical research, the University of Texas is planning a $2.5 billion program to expand research and teaching in the sciences, including medicine and technology."
Niagara County Community College launches high-tech upgrade
Date CapturedSunday August 06 2006, 4:28 PM
Buffalo News reports, "College technicians will be able to upgrade software in any of the school's 1,000 desktop computers, and discover a software problem on any one of them and fix it without leaving their laboratory. They also will be able to plug security holes in the school's Windows computer operating system to prevent hackers from accessing it."
Kentucky schools and afterschool programs share student database
Date CapturedSaturday August 05 2006, 11:21 PM
AP reports, "The Louisville project has caught the attention of educators in other states. It may turn into a national model of how schools can work with community groups, particularly as afterschools take on a greater role in helping students read and do math."
A new high-tech take on school group project
Date CapturedFriday August 04 2006, 9:34 AM
Boston Globe reports, "The technology is most commonly associated with Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia written and edited by the public with nearly 2 million registered users . But it has broader uses, and educators are experimenting with wiki textbooks, wiki lesson plans that teachers share, and projects in which students develop wikis as they would write papers."
Instant msg-ing messes with grammar? As if! lol!
Date CapturedThursday August 03 2006, 7:34 AM
University at Toronto writes on research by linguists Sali Tagliamonte and Derek Denis, "The study finds that instant messaging language does mirror patterns in speech, but that teens, surprisingly, are actually using a fusion of different levels of diction. Teens are using both informal forms that their English teachers would never allow, yet they also use formal writing phrasing that, if used in speech, would likely be considered 'uncool.'”
TXTING IS OK 4 U: KIDS' GRAMMAR 'SURVIVES' HI-TECH HABIT
Date CapturedThursday August 03 2006, 7:28 AM
NY Post David Andreatta writes, "Researchers found that while teens routinely use speech slang that makes English teachers cringe, their instant messages contain formal phrasing worthy of a pat on the back from Shakespeare or, at least, a British grandfather."
The new learning curve: Technological security
Date CapturedWednesday August 02 2006, 8:51 AM
USA Today reports, "Raising awareness among computer users about privacy protection is a never-ending job, especially on college campuses where the student population changes each year."
Students in Victor to get China 'key' pals
Date CapturedWednesday August 02 2006, 7:58 AM
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle writes on schools superintendent's trip to China, "Although McElheran did not see the creative spirit found in American industry, he did see a China that realizes the importance of math and science to competing in the global economy. China, he noted, produced about 600,000 engineers in 2005 compared with about 70,000 in the United States."
Marist College Named a Technology Innovator by Tech Magazine
Date CapturedTuesday August 01 2006, 12:10 PM
PR Newswire reports, "Marist achieved this national distinction in the area of podcasting. Magazine editors noted that Marist stood out from other institutions because Marist is the only college or university to have student-driven course content."
Girls, women need more PC confidence
Date CapturedTuesday August 01 2006, 10:06 AM
Buffalo News reprints LA Times story on technology and gender, "Hargittai, who studies the social demographics of computer use, discerned a few expected patterns: that younger subjects and more-educated subjects had better online computer skills, and rated themselves as more proficient Internet users, than older ones or those with more limited education. But as she continued to sift her data, Hargittai noticed something she had not set out to find: that although the online skills of men and women were roughly equal, women, as a group, rated their proficiency significantly lower than did men. Men, who as a group were no better at plying the Internet than women, rated their skills, on average, a couple notches above."
$1.75 Million Grant to Support College Students With Scholarships, Internships and Mentors
Date CapturedMonday July 31 2006, 11:22 PM
SpaceRef reports, "A consortium led by the Hispanic College Fund (HCF) with the support of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and the United Negro College Fund Special Programs Corporation (UNCFSP) was awarded a $1.75 million grant to administer NASA's Motivating Undergraduates in Science and Technology Program (MUST) and award scholarships and internships to undergraduate students pursuing degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, more widely known as STEM fields."
Community Colleges Challenge Department of Education Move to Limit Availability of New Academic Competitiveness Grants
Date CapturedMonday July 31 2006, 7:25 PM
US Newswire reports, "The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has called upon the Department of Education (ED) to modify its regulations for the new Academic Competitiveness Grants (ACG) program and extend eligibility to students enrolled in certificate programs such as biotechnology, aerospace manufacturing technology, electronics engineering and renewable energies. AACC maintains that the law creating the ACGs clearly includes these and other certificate programs."
U at Buffalo to add online engineering degree
Date CapturedMonday July 31 2006, 7:19 AM
Business First of Buffalo reports, "The program is designed for working professionals and others who have completed the first two years of their education in technical disciplines."
How to apply to Empire State College
Date CapturedSunday July 30 2006, 3:20 PM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle writes, "Empire State College has everything from undergraduate degrees in 11 areas of study from the arts to science, mathematics and technology; to six master’s degree programs, including three Master of Arts in policy studies programs, a Master of Arts in liberal studies, a Master of Business Administration degree and Master of Arts in Teaching program for career changers."
EDUCAUSE
Date CapturedFriday July 28 2006, 11:04 AM
EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology.
REPORT-CARD REVOLUTION
Date CapturedFriday July 28 2006, 8:07 AM
NY Post columnist Ryan Sager writes, "The broad, squishy ideas of 'standards' and 'accountability' have been all the rage in education reform for some time. They were the basis for President Bush's No Child Left Behind law, which theoretically requires all public schools in America to make all students 'proficient' in English and math."
EDUCAUSE/Cornell Institute for Computer Policy and Law
Date CapturedThursday July 27 2006, 8:44 PM
Tech learning is hands-on
Date CapturedThursday July 27 2006, 8:45 AM
Times Union reports, "It's all part of the college's Science and Technology Entry Program -- or STEP -- which introduces minority and disadvantaged middle and high school youth to areas of science, math and technology."
Pennsylvania Digital Schools a blessing and a challenge
Date CapturedMonday July 24 2006, 9:46 AM
phillyBurbs.com reports, "In a 2004 final summary, the Pennsylvania Department of Education said the program spawned new instructional styles, more cooperative learning, more student engagement and better communication between students, teachers and parents. But enthusiasm was dampened in several cases by technical problems."
Encyclopedia of Educational Technology
Date CapturedSunday July 23 2006, 9:36 PM
Education Center Focuses on High-Quality Teaching Using Video and Latest Technology
Date CapturedFriday July 21 2006, 7:14 PM
Newswise reports, "The University of Virginia Curry School of Education has been awarded $10 million from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences to determine if a new method for training preschool teachers results in their students, especially disadvantaged children, learning language and literacy skills better."
The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) and Libraries
Date CapturedThursday July 20 2006, 8:56 PM
American Library Association -- Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) policy brief explains, " the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act or “CALEA” and how it relates to our Nation’s libraries. This is an important issue because it may impact library budgets in the very near future, require certain technology expenditures and impose administrative burdens on library personnel to administer certain security requirements under the law."
Texas AG: Laptop Computers Not Equivalent To Textbooks ; Money set aside for books can't be used to buy hardware or other equipment, the state attorney general ruled
Date CapturedWednesday July 19 2006, 8:17 PM
Information Week reports, "The opinion was published on Tuesday by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott in response to a request by Geraldine Miller, chair of the state's board of education. Miller had raised the issue after a bill was introduced in the Texas legislature that would have changed the word "textbook" in state law to 'instructional material,' and would have potentially allowed for the purchase of laptop computers to meet textbook requirements in schools."
Senate Includes Education Technology Funding as Critical Component of U.S. Competitiveness Agenda
Date CapturedWednesday July 19 2006, 3:44 PM
Newswire PR reports, "As part of their Mission Critical Campaign (MCC), education and business leaders have urged Congress to restore funding for the EETT program to a minimum of $496 million as provided in FY2005 as a key component for student success, meeting the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act and ensuring the nation's competitiveness."
Charter School Gets Home at Education Headquarters
Date CapturedSaturday July 15 2006, 9:46 AM
NY Times DAVID M. HERSZENHORN reports, "City education officials had wanted the Ross school to share a building on the Lower East Side with the New Explorations Into Science, Technology and Math school. But parents at that school, known as NEST, waged months of protests and filed a lawsuit to block the Ross school from moving in. Their most prominent supporter was Sheldon Silver, the State Assembly speaker, who considers NEST a jewel of his Manhattan district." (registration)
North Carolina State University adds groundbreaking Data Analytics Education
Date CapturedFriday July 14 2006, 9:26 AM
CRM Today reports, "The tools, concepts and practices of analytics hold the key to understanding massive amounts of data and then using this knowledge to make sound decisions. Whether it is uncovering fraud in banking transactions, improving the quality of healthcare received by patients or predicting which customers will respond to a marketing campaign, the applications of data analytics cross all industries. As such, the ability to strategically apply analytics transcends industry, making experts in the field in high demand."
RIT drive exceeds target at $309M; Eight-year campaign funds major growth, scholarships
Date CapturedFriday July 14 2006, 8:06 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "The campaign also is responsible for seven endowed professorships, two building additions to the Gleason College of Engineering, and construction of the Center for Bioscience Education and Technology. RIT will break ground later this year on a building for some College of Applied Science and Technology engineering programs, Simone said."
Virtual school may open in Illinois
Date CapturedThursday July 13 2006, 9:34 AM
Chicago Tribune reports, "The Chicago Virtual Charter School plans to serve a variety of children, including the gifted, those with learning disabilities and those who find it difficult to settle down in a more structured teaching environment."
Bipartisan Congressional Delegation Receives Petition with 7,000 Signatures Equating School Technology with National Competitiveness
Date CapturedWednesday July 12 2006, 12:55 PM
PRNewswire reports, "Funding for the EETT is currently proposed for elimination in the pending U.S. House Labor-HHS- Education Appropriations bill, while the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to vote July 18."
Podcast craze hits classrooms; Some say digital lectures can let students catch up
Date CapturedTuesday July 11 2006, 8:06 AM
Boston Globe reports, "Students, some professors say, might be tempted to skip class and the discussion that can flow after a lecture."
Generous gift, new name for RIT business college
Date CapturedMonday July 10 2006, 8:45 PM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Rochester Institute of Technology is renaming its College of Business after the donor of a multi-million-dollar gift to the school."
Arizona state gives K-12 schools $5.5M for e-learning
Date CapturedMonday July 10 2006, 9:05 AM
Business Journal of Phoenix reports, "A bill recently signed into law will create a task force of technology, business and education leaders to oversee implementation of e-learning measures across Arizona."
Museum to offer high-tech programs, partners with schools, colleges, businesses to fill education gap
Date CapturedMonday July 10 2006, 6:36 AM
Star Gazette reports, "The project will focus on getting students interested in high-tech fields starting in middle school, and will build on the Flying Start summer youth camp launched last year by Wings of Eagles Discovery Center. The effort is designed to fill what organizers see as a gap in local education programs."
Singapore: America's next college town
Date CapturedSaturday July 08 2006, 8:54 AM
CNETnews.com reports, "The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the National Research Foundation of Singapore on Friday announced plans to establish a major, new research center in Singapore in 2007."
As Federal Funding Disappears, So Do Computers From Classrooms
Date CapturedWednesday July 05 2006, 10:18 AM
MTV reports, "Among the most controversial of the education budget cuts is the phasing out of funding for the Enhancing Education Through Technology program. The plan was introduced to equip students with the technological know-how to succeed in our computer-dependent society, as well as to ensure that every student is technologically literate by the end of eighth grade, as dictated by No Child Left Behind."
Differences in Actual and Perceived Online Skills: The Role of Gender
Date CapturedSunday July 02 2006, 7:27 PM
Differences in Actual and Perceived Online Skills: The Role of Gender by Eszter Hargittai and Steven Shafer 2006. Social Science Quarterly. 87(2):432-448. June. The literature on gender and technology use finds that women and men differ significantly in their attitudes toward their technological abilities. Concurrently, existing work on science and math abilities of students suggests that such perceived differences do not always translate into actual disparities. There has been little work exploring gender differences with respect to Internet use ability, especially based on a diverse sample of adult users. Researcher uses new data on Web-use skill to test empirically whether there are differences in men's and women's abilities to navigate online content. Findings suggest that men and women do not differ greatly in their online abilities. However, study finds that women's self-assessed skill is significantly lower than that of men. We discuss the implications of these findings for social inequality with respect to Internet use.
Women Underestimate Their Web Savvy
Date CapturedSunday July 02 2006, 7:03 PM
Read referenced study on Education New York Online EDUCATION POLICY page, GENDER folder.
MyYearbook.com goes online with high school keepsake
Date CapturedSunday July 02 2006, 8:28 AM
Forum Guide to Elementary/Secondary Virtual Education
Date CapturedThursday June 29 2006, 10:59 AM
This NCES guide provides recommendations for collecting accurate, comparable, and useful data about virtual education in an elementary/secondary education setting.
Update: Net neutrality rejected in tie-vote by panel
Date CapturedThursday June 29 2006, 10:07 AM
Capital Region high-tech school gets a reboot
Date CapturedSunday June 25 2006, 8:05 AM
Times Union
South Carolina Virtual High School
Date CapturedSaturday June 24 2006, 9:05 AM
Cool Community Colleges: Creative Approaches to Economic Development
Date CapturedWednesday June 21 2006, 8:46 PM
06/27/2006. Time : 11:00AM to 12:15PM (ET). This webinar will discuss the ways in which art, design, and culture are inegral to developing and strengthening an information- and technology-based economy. Learn how community colleges are fueling economic development and revitalization—locally, nationally, and internationally—while promoting creative industries such as crafts, high-end design, artisan foods, digital arts, media, and entertainment.
ANTENNAS ON SCHOOL A HARD 'CELL' (NY Post registration)
Date CapturedTuesday June 20 2006, 8:25 AM
Online Party Crashers (NY Times registration)
Date CapturedSunday June 18 2006, 8:54 AM
Computer crash lesson for college
Date CapturedThursday June 15 2006, 6:15 PM
Latin Tech gets 100G
Date CapturedWednesday June 14 2006, 7:08 AM
Teens Are Wired ... And Yes, It's OK
Date CapturedMonday June 12 2006, 7:13 PM
Pennsylvania Launches New Statewide Public Cyber School
Date CapturedMonday June 12 2006, 8:16 AM
At Center of Excellence, students glimpse their future
Date CapturedThursday June 08 2006, 1:07 PM
Oregon Web School Draws Pupils, Critics
Date CapturedWednesday June 07 2006, 8:27 PM
Parents and the Web: 'Complete dichotomy'
Date CapturedWednesday June 07 2006, 8:43 AM
Cybercrime spurs college courses in digital forensics
Date CapturedTuesday June 06 2006, 9:07 AM
Harvard profs lay down Law: No laptops in class
Date CapturedSunday June 04 2006, 9:16 AM
Live Internet searches as classroom tool
Date CapturedSaturday June 03 2006, 9:17 PM
Cyber school begets an education empire
Date CapturedTuesday May 30 2006, 7:31 AM
Feds: Lack of diversity in IT could derail U.S. competitiveness
Date CapturedThursday May 18 2006, 12:12 PM
Simulations and Learning
Date CapturedThursday May 18 2006, 11:55 AM
UAlbany is named top U.S. nanotech college
Date CapturedSaturday May 13 2006, 8:46 AM
Technology transforms voc-ed
Date CapturedFriday May 12 2006, 11:41 AM
New technology center at Binghamton University
Date CapturedThursday May 11 2006, 10:54 AM
Missouri poised for online education
Date CapturedWednesday May 10 2006, 9:00 PM
Schools await wire-tap ruling
Date CapturedWednesday May 10 2006, 12:32 PM
Virtual high school offers real diplomas in Washington state
Date CapturedTuesday May 09 2006, 6:39 AM
Science teaching gets weak diversity grade
Date CapturedMonday May 08 2006, 10:39 PM
Internet safety fears spark education effort
Date CapturedMonday May 08 2006, 8:34 AM
CITY SCHOOLS BLOCK KIDS' WEB CLIQUES (NY Post registration)
Date CapturedMonday May 08 2006, 7:44 AM
Bush Advises Graduates on Technology
Date CapturedSaturday May 06 2006, 12:55 PM
Report: States lag in school data use
Date CapturedFriday May 05 2006, 8:21 PM
South Carolina bill could enable online education
Date CapturedWednesday May 03 2006, 8:58 AM
Arkansas's online encyclopedia launched
Date CapturedWednesday May 03 2006, 7:55 AM
Technology No Longer Distances Deaf Culture
Date CapturedMonday May 01 2006, 6:33 PM
Does Home Internet Use Influence the Academic Performance of Low-Income Children?
Date CapturedSunday April 30 2006, 8:03 PM
Developmental Psychology, 2006, Vol. 42, No. 3. Linda A. Jackson, Alexander von Eye, Frank A. Biocca, Gretchen Barbatsis, Yong Zhao, & Hiram E. Fitzgerald; Michigan State University. Findings indicated that children who used the Internet more had higher scores on standardized tests of reading achievement and higher grade point averages 6 months, 1 year, and 16 months later than did children who used it less. Older children used the Internet more than did younger children, but age had no effect on the nature or the academic performance benefits of Internet use. Implications for the digital “use” divide are discussed.
Duke Showcases Advances in Classroom Technology
Date CapturedFriday April 28 2006, 9:50 PM
Parents get real education in cyberspace
Date CapturedFriday April 28 2006, 2:21 PM
Missouri State University tests new ‘digital literacy' exam
Date CapturedThursday April 27 2006, 2:22 PM
Stanford offers a school for gifted in cyberspace
Date CapturedSunday April 23 2006, 9:35 AM
Webcasts connect kids to science, nature
Date CapturedFriday April 21 2006, 11:42 AM
Stanford targets gifted high schoolers
Date CapturedWednesday April 19 2006, 10:23 AM
Florida educators use latest technology in the classroom
Date CapturedMonday April 17 2006, 11:01 AM
Secretary Spellings Visits India and Sri Lanka
Date CapturedThursday April 13 2006, 11:33 AM
BlackBerry suit threatens school service
Date CapturedTuesday January 24 2006, 12:45 PM
Are We Really A Nation Online? Ethnic and Racial Disparities in Access to Technology & Consequences
Date CapturedMonday December 12 2005, 12:27 PM
Report for the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund: Robert W. Fairlie University of California, Santa Cruz and National Poverty Center, University of Michigan September 20, 2005.



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