The spread of a seemingly playful alternative to traditional diplomas, inspired by Boy Scout achievement patches and video-game power-ups, suggests that the standard certification system no longer works in today's fast-changing job market. Educational upstarts across the Web are adopting "badges" to certify skills and abilities. If scouting…

The long-running debate over whether students should be allowed to wield calculators during mathematics exams may soon seem quaint. The latest dilemma facing professors is whether to let students turn to a Web site called WolframAlpha, which not only solves complex math problems, but also can spell out the steps leading to those solutions. In…

For online music services, an endorsement from colleges is the kiss of death. Ruckus Network, in which more than 200 colleges had signed up with to provide a free and legal alternative to unauthorized file swapping, shut down without warning on February 6, reminding some officials of two years ago when another company, Cdigix, abruptly announced…

Asking 250 students to post questions on Twitter during a class doesn't risk life or limb. But it can cause ego damage if students get disorderly online. Opening up a Twitter-powered channel in class--which professors at other universities are experimenting with as well--alters classroom power dynamics and signals to students that they're in…

Twitter is quickly becoming a global faculty lounge. Sure, it's easy to waste a lot of time on the Internet-based microblogging service reading mundane details about people's days. But one can also pick up some great higher-education gossip, track down colleagues to collaborate with, or get advice on how to improve one's teaching or research. In…

Several Web sites have emerged in recent years that encourage students to upload old exams to build a bank of test questions and answers that can be consulted by other students. This article reports that some professors have raised concerns about these sites, arguing that these could be used to cheat, especially if professors reuse old tests.…

Some professors, librarians, and administrators have begun using Twitter, a service that can blast very short notes (up to 140 characters) to select users' cell phones or computer screens. The practice is often called microblogging because people use it to send out pithy updates about their daily lives. No need to wait until you are back at your…

For years college administrators have warned students to watch their step in online social realms, noting that sharing too much could hurt them later on if future employees saw their drunken party pictures or boorish writings. Now that professors and administrators are catching Facebook fever, they should heed their own advice. The author…

The author discusses the gossip Web site Juicy Campus. Although many students express concern that potential employers who see the cite may decline to hire individuals after reading gossip-filled allegations, or that their social lives are in tatters over the mean-spirited, anonymous messages posted about them, because the site has no affiliation…

This article takes a look at how professors are becoming the latest YouTube stars. The popularity of their appearances on YouTube and other video-sharing sites end up opening the classroom and making teaching--which once took place behind closed doors--a more public art. Web videos open a new form of public intellectualism to scholars looking to…