2 words about student data privacy: Snowden, Target
Based on a webinar with a student data privacy expert panel of 3, we consider a question not asked in this first report of a series.
Technology
Computers play humanly impossible metal drum tracks
Drummers in heavy metal bands are getting so fast that it is frequently impossible for humans to play the parts, especially the bass drum. Bands turn to computers.
Gates invests in a cellphone powered by urine
While we may not agree with all the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation does in education, some work the foundation does gets an A+ from us.
Charles Co. to get planetarium; kids talk with astronauts
STEM is taking root in Maryland schools, and Charles County, with a brand new science center (planetarium/IMAX), is making a big statement in terms of its students' futures.
Engineer, not an accountant, named CEO at GM
The largest US auto maker named a woman to the post of CEO. Mary Barra will take over the reins at GM in January. She's also an engineer who is credited with the redesign of several product lines.
Wash. district drops lunch line palm scanner experiment
The school board in Payallup, Wash., said it would stop testing palm scanners in the cafeterias that link student biometric data with a database that holds their pre-paid lunch money accounts.
Plainfield CCSD 202 blocks all Google sites
We wonder why a huge unit school district in Chicago's western suburbs would block Google, given the fact that it is the <em>de facto</em> standard in Internet search engines.
Startup Calif. firm builds programmable robot for kids
Robots that kids as young as 5 will be able to program have been developed by a startup in Silicon Valley, which is now launching a crowd-funding campaign to bring them to market.
Sign up computer science classes for an 'hour of code'
Be a part of history and join what could be 10 million novice programmers everywhere up for an hour of computer programming during the week of Dec 9-15.
Grand Theft Auto V is released, leads to spree
With the recent release of one of the most violent video games on the market and a hit-and-run/kidnapping spree in Alabama, we look at the connection between video games and teen violence.