If one buys a new PC, laptop, or netbook computer today, it probably comes preloaded with Microsoft Office 2010 Starter Edition. This is a significantly limited, advertising-laden version of Microsoft's suite of productivity programs, Microsoft Office. This continues the trend of PC makers providing ever more crippled versions of Microsoft's…

Busy educators who want to ask advice, offer opinions, and engage in discussions with colleagues increasingly turn to professional learning networks (PLNs)--online communities that allow the sharing of lesson plans, teaching strategies, and student work, as well as collaboration across grade levels and departments. As budget cuts limit…

No matter how many car washes or bake sales schools host to raise money, adding funds to their coffers is a recurring problem. This perpetual financial difficulty makes expansive technology purchases or changes seem like a pipe dream for school CIOs and has education technologists searching for ways to stretch money. In 2005, state K-12 school…

The Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California surveys 2,000 households each year to find out how online technology affects Internet users. Findings in the latest report show social networks are increasing and a majority of users report feeling as strongly about their communities online as their real-world communities.…

As most educators know, there is a lot more to addressing the so-called "digital divide" than having enough working machines in classrooms. Effective information technology (IT) in schools requires useful software, reliable and speedy Internet access, effective teacher training, and well-considered goals with transformative outcomes. Educators who…

Despite its image as an all-American city, downtown Peoria, Illinois, home of Bradley University, is also a place of strip clubs and violent crime. For undergraduates, it's a risky environment in which to conduct field research. Edward Lamoureux, an associate professor in Bradley's multimedia program, saw a better place in the virtual world Second…