schools

Back in April something happened here at CNET that has never happened before: a TV was given a perfect 5 stars, as well as an Editors' Choice Award. We don't throw around "Spectactular" reviews all willy nilly, so this was a big deal. Such a big deal in fact, we decided to give our users a chance to win* one for their very own.

However, we aren't going to make this too easy! We want you to share a photo of your old outdated tech. Simply snap a photo of your retro tech, "like" … Read more

In 2011, Loris Elementary School in Loris, S.C., was ranked 41st in the state among grammar schools with similar demographics. By 2012, it had risen to 19th.

What happened? According to the White House: technology.

Many of the students at Loris Elementary School are from low-income families that don't have the means to give their children all of today's high-tech devices, according to the Obama administration. That's why in 2012 the school decided to introduce a technology blended learning program complete with laptops, software, and Internet access. It's apparently made a difference.

President Barack Obama … Read more

We're seeing plenty of new systems and updates to existing systems coming out of the Computex trade show, mostly tied into Intel's new fourth-generation Core i series processors. Toshiba has gone a little further than most, updating its premium PC line, from multimedia laptops to all-in-one desktops.

That said, there are few surprises here. Some updated looks, more touch screens, a promise of upcoming Intel "Haswell" generation processors -- but as most of those new CPUs haven't been announced yet (with the exception of the higher-end quad-core models), don't expect new Intel processor model … Read more

Alongside the frankly more interesting Rove 20 tabletop PC, HP has also announced revisions to the rest of its Pavilion and Envy laptop lineups. However, included in this bundle is one product that caught our eye: an update to one of our favorite laptops.

The new HP Pavilion 11 TouchSmart is an 11-inch semi-sequel to the low-cost, AMD-powered HP dm1, a system we loved when it was released in 2011 because it offered decent, portable performance at near-Netbook prices.

The new version, also with an AMD CPU, adds a standard Windows 8 touch screen and will start at $399 (yes, … Read more

I am writing this with a cold compress on my head and a milk chocolate digestive biscuit in my mouth.

Both are to soothe my furrowed thoughts.

For this is another tale of peculiarity from the antiseptic-smelling hallways of America's high schools.

It has been well-established that strange things happen in the nation's places of youth education.

You can get expelled and arrested for putting toilet cleaner and foil in a water bottle on school premises.

You can also get suspended for tweeting that you don't think your high school has very good sports teams.

Wesley Teague, … Read more

Pinckney Community High School in Pinckney, Mich., is the site of a robotics experiment gone very, very right. Junior Nick Torrance has muscular dystrophy. He uses a wheelchair to get around, but the muscle disease makes it difficult to handle simple activities, like opening up his locker.

The high school already has a top-notch robotics class. Seniors Micah Stuhldreher and Wyatt Smrcka won the 2012 SkillsUSA national robotics competition, so they were a natural choice to tackle the locker door problem with a robotics solution.… Read more

There is a huge volume of calendar and timekeeping apps on the App Store. The number seems to grow exponentially with each update of the App Store, making it nearly impossible to tell one from another. So it's rare to find an app like School Timetable HD that succinctly resolves the issues it was designed for without extraneous features, messy design, or buggy operation.

School Timetable HD is designed to keep track of your classes Monday through Friday, with notes for each class period and teacher. The app opens with a grid showing Monday through Friday and five rows. … Read more

Think back to middle school. What was the most awesome class you took? Chances are you didn't have the opportunity to sign up for the most awesome junior high class ever conceived: zombie survival skills. Unfortunately, it turns out nobody will have the chance to complete the course.

Social studies teacher Rich Harshberger at Armand Larive Middle School in Hermiston, Ore., offered an extracurricular class in zombie survival skills. Once the school district found out, they put an end to it, much like Michonne taking her katana to a shuffling undead zombie on "The Walking Dead." Total bummer.… Read more