education

Australian university to issue 11,000 iPads next year

Tablets have been eating away at the PC's position as the connected device of choice, and now they're taking their place in the classrooms of an Australian university.

The University of Western Sydney said in a statement that it plans to distribute 11,000 iPads next year to every new student and member of the faculty "to support learning and teaching innovations across the curriculum and in informal learning environments."

"With digital technology revolutionizing how we connect and interact with the world, university study should be no different," professor Kerri-Lee Krause, the university's … Read more

How to make the most of your charitable donations

They call this the Giving Season, but there is no right or wrong time to help our neighbors in need, whatever corner of the world they call home.

Our hearts are heavy this holiday. There is no comprehending last Friday's tragedy in Connecticut. In our sorrow we reach out to the people who are suffering. These sites are dedicated to ensuring our contributions do as much good as possible.

Meet the students and teachers who benefit from your school donation Sometimes what appears to be a meager contribution can make a big difference in a student's life. That'… Read more

Robots invade iPad with content-rich app

I was once served tea by Honda's Asimo, arguably the most advanced humanoid robot in the world.

Watching the machine sidle up to my table and serve the tea with the elegance of a veteran waiter, and then bow to me before retreating, was nothing short of astonishing.

The experience reinforced my belief that no matter how many times you see robots in photos or videos, nothing can match a real-life experience.

Asimo can be hard to meet, but with a lavishly illustrated new educational app from IEEE Spectrum, you can get interactive with him and 125 other bots -- from Rethink Robotics' Baxter assembly bot to Waseda University's keyboard-playing Wabot 2, and learn all about them. It's the next best thing to seeing robots up close. … Read more

Curtains for cursive? Typing replaces handwriting in schools

The slow demise of cursive handwriting is not a new story, but lately the death knell has been tolling a little louder. In a recent example, the State Board of Education of Kansas is about to debate the role of cursive lessons in the schools amid a nationwide decline in those lessons.

School districts large and small have been phasing out cursive. Verona, Wis., will phase out most third-grade cursive instruction by 2014. Indiana formally de-emphasized cursive last year in favor of pushing proficiency in keyboard use.

Common Core State Standards for what students are expected to learn have been picked up by most of the states in the union. Those standards don't require cursive. Keyboarding skills, however, are featured in the writing standards. That means most states no longer have a mandate for teaching cursive.… Read more

Samsung solar-powered school shines in rural South Africa

There's something new(ish) under the sun in the rural South African village of Phomolong, where Samsung has built a gadget-laden solar-powered classroom -- in a renovated shipping container.

The Solar Powered Internet School -- a product of Samsung's corporate-social responsibility initiative -- has solar panels on the roof that can generate nine hours of electricity a day. That power's needed to juice the electronics inside -- a 50-inch electronic board, Samsung Internet-enabled solar-powered notebooks, Samsung Galaxy tablets, and Wi-Fi cameras.

Teacher suspended for alleged 'shoot 'em up' Facebook post

I don't know how kindergarten teachers put up with 5-year-olds screeching all day, but they do.

Well, mostly.

Some hit the bottle. And some hit Facebook.

Tameka Gatewood, who plies her trade at Rainshaven Elementary School in Memphis, Tenn., apparently chose the latter, more modern option.

As WMCTV reports, Gatewood was a tad frustrated when two of her little ones said unkind things to each other.

So she allegedly posted:

How bout I blasted both of them. The girl in my class hair is nappy almost every day and the boy wears dirty clothes, face nasty and can't … Read more

Pearson, Bertelsmann team up with eye on digital books

Pearson and Bertelsmann today announced an agreement to create a global consumer publishing organization by combining Penguin and Random House.

The two firms are well-known for their English language publishing activities in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. Penguin, a brand based in the Pearson group and Bertelsmann's Random House will now be combining their resources in a joint venture called Penguin Random House. Under the terms of the agreement, Bertelsmann will own 53 percent of the joint venture and Pearson will own 47 percent.

Marjorie Scardino, chief executive of Pearson, said that the move would result in … Read more

Coolest app I've seen all month: Solar Walk

Do you dream of traveling to the stars? Unless you've got $20 million and change for a ticket to orbit, Vito Technology's Solar Walk is about as close as you're going to get.

This jaw-dropping iOS app provides a wholly interactive 3D model of our solar system, one that's had me hooked for days. It's the kind of thing you can imagine a science teacher using in the classroom of the future -- except that we don't have to wait.

Solar Walk works like an outer-space edition of Google Earth, letting you rotate, zoom, … Read more

iPad Mini event to include education push, report says

Apple's iPad Mini could be a solid way for the company to continue its push into the education market, according to a new report.

At tomorrow's iPad Mini event, Apple will highlight the device's appeal to educational institutions, Bloomberg is reporting, citing a source. The source didn't say how Apple will flex its educational muscle, but it might center on the device's size and reduced cost.

Apple's iPad Mini will likely be unveiled at tomorrow's special event. The device is expected to ship with a 7.85-inch screen. The appeal to educational institutions … Read more