educational

No homecoming queen vote if you don't wear RFID tag?

The lovely thing about technology is that it helps you control children.

They need to be controlled. Otherwise, they will run amok and do all sorts of dreadful things, like go to the restroom, smoke cigarettes, or kiss each other.

Hanging IDs with RFID chips around students' necks isn't exactly new. Some Texas schools have been enjoying it for some time.

However, recently, the Northside Independent Schools District in San Antonio encountered a little consternation when it announced its foray into the idea -- one that is reportedly being instituted to combat truancy (and therefore make the schools more money).

Now that the IDs are in force, a counter-force has emerged: civil disobedience.

I would like to identify MySanAntonio.com as suggesting that most kids happily accept the new tags, as their path through school (if they show up) is made simpler and quicker. For example, in the lunch queue. … Read more

Facebook and Gates Foundation host education hackathon

Facebook partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today to host an education-centered hackathon called "HackEd."

The goal of "HackEd" is to kick-off the Gates Foundation's new $2.5 million investment fund called the College Knowledge Challenge. The fund is dedicated to getting developers to build apps for students that would assist them in navigating the college process -- this means helping young folks get into school and stay there.

"At Facebook, we believe that a more open and connected world can have a big impact in addressing some of society's biggest … Read more

Cory Booker's plan to 'hack' politics and disrupt democracy

SAN FRANCISCO -- Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker, a rising star in the Democratic Party, came to San Francisco to introduce #waywire, a video news product he co-founded, and to appeal for the use of technology to "disrupt our democracy and hack our politics to better reflect the purpose of our people."

Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt here, Booker described #waywire as an app for creating, collecting and sharing news video. #waywire is now available in "alpha" and has an iPhone app, and is integrated with social networks such as Facebook and … Read more

Apple's iPad overtaking PC sales in schools

As back to school kicks off in the U.S., new data claims that Apple's iPad is outpacing traditional PCs in sales to students and schools for the first time ever.

Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Company, wrote to investors today that the iPad is now "cannibalizing" PCs in sales to the K-12 market, according to Apple Insider.

"Clearly, a significant portion of iPad sales represented an expansion of the market," Wolf wrote, according to Apple Insider. "But in view of the fact that Mac sales held steady at around 520,000 … Read more

Textbook seller Chegg sets sights on the 'student graph'

Amazon textbook rentals don't scare Chegg CEO Dan Rosensweig -- the well funded startup has grand plans of its own that it believes will propel it into a whole new league.

Chegg, which started as a textbook purchase and resale service for students, has set its sights on expanding what Rosensweig calls a "student graph," a social network for students that aids them in college planning and studies, from high school to college graduation and beyond.

The student graph aims to connect students in the Chegg network, similar to Facebook and other social networks. Rosensweig expects that … Read more

Kno launches digital textbooks for K-12 pupils

Kno has announced a new partnership with publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt that sees the company getting into the K-12 education space.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Kno has launched a digital textbook rental system aimed at K-12 students, expanding its product range beyond its higher education roots.

From today, digital versions of HMH's K-12 textbooks can be rented through the Kno digital textbook app at a cost of $9.99 or less for one year.

The app is currently available in an iOS and Web version, while Kno plans to develop versions of the app for both Android tablets and … Read more

Mom allegedly hacks school computer, changes kids' grades

There is nothing like a mother's love. Or, perhaps, her shame.

Who knows what allegedly moved Catherine Venusto, who stands accused of illegally accessing the Northwestern Lehigh School District's computers and altering history. Her children's history.

Or, at least, their chemistry and math.

The allegation is that she used knowledge gained as a former employee of the school district to poke her way into the computer system, using the superintendent's password and that of 9 other employees.

The Morning Call declares that she allegedly altered her daughter's failing grade to a medical exception.

However, another … Read more

littleBits goes big, closes $3.65 million funding round

littleBits, makers of the eponymous educational circuitry kits, has announced the close of its series A funding round this morning, having taken in $3.65 million from various investors. True Ventures, funder of companies like MakerBot and FitBit, leads the group, with Khosla Ventures, O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, and Lerer Ventures pitching in.

Along with the funding, littleBits has also announced that supply chain and manufacturing firm PCH International will be helping to scale up production.

littleBits kits are made up of a series of electronic modules that connect together with magnets, with a color-coding system to guide assembly. Each … Read more

'Rah' squared: Cheerleaders urge girls toward science

One of the more unspoken thoughts about why girls don't want to become scientists is that science is less interesting than scientists would have you believe.

But here are some girl scientists who clearly believe the opposite and may leave you unable to speak.

For these are the Science Cheerleaders. They are crusaders for the cause of getting more little girls to love science.

Yes, they wear short skirts and carry pom-poms. But these are engineers and dentists who want to find any way possible to get you to pay attention.

I am grateful to Jezebel for locating evidence … Read more

NYC Generation Tech aims to turn high schoolers into techies

Despite the lagging economy and slow job growth, the tech sector is booming. And according to some estimates, it's only going to get better. This may be one of the reasons why some politicians and educators are pointing kids in the tech direction.

New York City's Economic Development Corp. and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship announced the launch of NYC Generation Tech today. It's an initiative aimed at teaching the city's high school students hands-on tech training while also pairing them with mentors in the biz.

Designed specifically for "students interested in transforming the world … Read more