Schools experienced a massive expansion of technology over the past few years. They put in place 1-to-1 computing programs, are now using a record number of digital learning tools, and improved the availability of home-internet access for students. It was essentially a "fast-forward" for the evolution of digital learning in schools. But…

Just days before a massive tornado devastated their community last May, a group of Joplin, Mo., educators and other community members had a meeting about "21st-century learning." Then May 22 arrived, bringing the catastrophic storm that ripped through the community of 50,000 in the southwest corner of the state. The tornado killed 161…

This article reports that young inventors at a Maryland high school are not only learning scientific principles, but also teamwork and the tenets of patent law. Twice a week, 10 members of the Clarksburg High School's Coyote Inventors Club gather in a second-floor computer lab to peck away at building a deceptively simple device: a cable that…

Under pressure to raise graduation rates, some high schools are turning to online courses to help faltering students revive their academic careers and retrieve the credits they need to earn their diplomas. As alternatives to remedial lessons, summer school, and other traditional ways of getting struggling high school students back on track,…

The closing of hundreds of U.S. schools in recent weeks because of concerns about swine flu underscores the need for administrators to make plans for continuing their students' education during any extended shutdown, emergency experts and federal officials say. Fears about a severe flu pandemic had eased as of late last week, but experts say…

Having developed a technology-based teaching unit on weather that appeared to work well for middle school students, Nancy Butler Songer and her colleagues at the University of Michigan decided in the late 1990s to take the next logical step in their research program: They scaled up. This article discusses lessons learned by several faculty…

Interest in online school courses is surging nationwide, especially at the high school level, according to those who follow trends in educational technology. Much of that demand is coming from those who enroll in just one or two a year to meet a particular academic need or resolve a scheduling hang-up. Online courses have become so popular, in…