The widespread use of virtual classrooms, Internet exploration and chat rooms has stretched the concept of the schoolhouse while the popularity of social networking sites, blogging and text messaging have affected the way students communicate with and about each other, their teachers, school administrators, and their schools. Add to the mix…

The Internet has great difficulty coping with the sharp increase in mobile devices like cellphones and laptops, and handling bandwidth-hungry traffic such as video, now demanded by an increasing number of users. According to Ellen W. Zegura, chairwoman of computer sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Internet is like a big…

While it is important for accounting information systems (AIS) students to understand computer technology, internal controls and business processes, such knowledge is of little use without reference to appropriate contexts. Integrating Wall Street Journal (WSJ) readings and discussions into AIS classes can enrich learning by stimulating…

Blogs are a hot topic in academia. A search on "blog" in the "Chronicle of Education's" Web site returns nearly two hundred articles, covering such topics as the dangers an impolitic blog can do to an institution's leaders (Read, 2006) or the blogger's career (Tribble, 2005) and the mutual use of blogs by instructors to lambaste students (Lipka,…

With K-12 students seeming to, at all times, have one foot in the real world and one in the virtual, school districts are starting to acknowledge a new collective responsibility: to teach kids what it means to be a good digital citizen and how to go about being one. The movement to address and characterize digital citizenship originated in the UK,…

This study examined cyberbullying in three distinct phases to facilitate a multifaceted understanding of cyberbullying. The phases included (a) a quantitative survey, (b) a qualitative focus group, and (c) development of educational scenarios/simulations (within the Second Life virtual environment). Phase III was based on adolescent feedback about…

This article presents the top-ten IT-related issues in terms of strategic importance to the institution, as revealed by the tenth annual EDUCAUSE Current Issues Survey. These IT-related issues include: (1) Funding IT; (2) Administrative/ERP Information Systems; (3) Security; (4) Infrastructure/Cyberinfrastructure; (5) Teaching and Learning with…

The Portuguese came to Macau in the 16th century, Macao has become part of China again since 1999. Under the strong economic growth in recent years, the Macao government has invested substantial human, material and financial resources for the implementation of IT in education in Macau since 2001. This paper reviewed the development of IT in…

Today's interconnected technical environment creates unprecedented opportunities while simultaneously introducing risks. With economic, social and personal interactions increasingly occurring in technology-mediated settings new vulnerabilities are continually being introduced. This dissertation seeks to improve extant understanding of how…

Describes how academic lobbyists are trying to decide whether to back a proposed bill that might shield universities from getting sued for electronic piracy, or to fight for a better deal. (EV)

The data contained on desktop computer systems and networks pose security issues for virtually every district. Sensitive information can be protected by educating users, altering the physical layout, using password protection, designating access levels, backing up data, reformatting floppy disks, using antivirus software, and installing encryption…

Discusses some basic notions of modern cryptography: public key systems and digital signatures. Describes how theoretical modern cryptography can help solve security problems on the Internet. (Author/JKP)

Like other technologies, the Internet is vulnerable to misuse by hostile individuals (flamers), sexual predators, and pornographers. Schools can shield students from these negative influences by using LinQ, a new product that restricts access to certain inappropriate Internet areas. Technology codes of conduct and staff development are alternative…

Examines some frequently encountered unsolicited computer intrusions, including computer viruses, worms, Java applications, trojan horses or vandals, e-mail spamming, hoaxes, and cookies. Also discusses virus-protection software, both for networks and for individual users. (LRW)

Discussion of use of the Internet for online payments focuses on payment mechanisms for conducting transactions. Highlights include commercial requirements; security requirements; various proposed and currently used mechanisms; and future possibilities. (LRW)