More than ever, teachers are using digital video to enhance their lessons. In fact, the number of schools using video streaming increased from 30 percent to 45 percent between 2004 and 2006, according to Market Data Retrieval. Why the popularity? For starters, video-streaming products are easy to use. They allow teachers to punctuate lessons with…

This article presents an interview with Cathleen Norris and Elliot Soloway, both pioneering educators who are defining the future of technology and learning. Norris is a professor in the Department of Technology and Cognition at the University of North Texas. She is also the past president of ISTE and the past president of NECA, the organizing…

In April 2006, Apple released a beta version of Boot Camp, a free software product that enables the installation of Windows XP (Home Edition or Professional with Service Pack 2) on an Intel-based Mac. (A beta version is not the final version, but it is ready for end users to try and test.) Essentially, Boot Camp splits your Mac into two hard…

In this article, four directors discuss the security challenges that keep them worried and what they do about it. Dwayne Alton describes how his school district, IT School District of Lee County, Fort Meyers, Florida, collaborated with Cisco and installed an intrusion detection system which alerts IT staff when someone creates their own access…

Enterprise resource planning software does what school leaders have always wanted their computer systems to do: It sees all. By integrating every IT application an organization has--from purchasing and inventory control to payroll--ERPs create a single unified system. Not only does this give IT managers a holistic view to what is happening in the…

Maintaining secure, convenient administration of the PC system environment can be a significant drain on resources. Deskside visits can greatly increase the cost of supporting a large number of computers. Even simple tasks, such as tracking inventory or updating software, quickly become expensive when they require physically visiting every…

Despite the last few years' growth in awareness of open-source software in schools and the potential savings it represents, its widespread adoption is still hampered. Randy Orwin, technology director of the Bainbridge Island School District in Washington State and a strong open-source advocate, cautions that installing an open-source…

This article presents a list of this year's best practices from America's classrooms. This list was compiled by the staff of the Tech&Learning magazine. These best practices include: (1) video programs produced by the Horry County in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; (2) a gaming design course introduced at Phoebus High School, Hampton City Schools,…

In this article, the author discusses the major technical issues, products, and practices of the day. The top ten tech trends are listed and discussed. These include: (1) data mining; (2) cyberbullying; (3) 21st century skills; (4) digital content; (5) learning at leisure; (6) personal responders; (7) mobile tools; (8) bandwidth; (9) open-source…

File compression enables data to be squeezed together, greatly reducing file size. Why would someone want to do this? Reducing file size enables the sending and receiving of files over the Internet more quickly, the ability to store more files on the hard drive, and the ability pack many related files into one archive (for example, all files…

In the last year, a series of viruses and worms that caused damage across the Internet in record time has made very clear how vulnerable computer systems are. The MS Blaster, Slammer, Sasser, and Korgo.W worms have shown that signature-based antivirus software and traditional firewalls are not enough to protect networks. Everyone is worried about…

Purchasing software license and service agreements can be daunting for any district. Greg Lindner, director of information and technology services for the Elk Grove Unified School District in California, and Steve Midgley, program manager at the Stupski Foundation, provided several tips on contract negotiation. This article presents the tips…

As open source and other participatory Web venues become the norm in the new century, educators will be facing an even more overwhelming technology learning curve. A new digital divide is in the future--one that is largely generational. At its heart will be the fundamental questions of what "school" really means and whether digital immigrants can…

Multimedia is a mixture of text, audio, video, graphics, and images. Research studies have shown that higher levels of learning occur when students are presented information via multimedia rather than a single medium. The actual mechanics of inserting multimedia components into a file varies from application to application. For example, to insert…

The Moodle course management system is an open source system that educators can use to create online courses. Begun in 1999, the Moodle community has now grown so that by early June 2005 there were about 3,500 Moodle sites in more than 100 countries (and that counts only registered users). To use Moodle, one first needs to install it on a Web…