Presenting the results of the first major study of technology implementation in schools, examining the positive and negative consequences of the Internet on equity, academics, and social life, the authors draw on over 300 interviews with teachers, students, and administrators--done over the course of five years--and offer an assessment of the underlying cultural issues that will ultimately determine the speed and success of technology integration.

With its easily obtainable wealth of information, the Internet has proven to be both a boon and a challenge for today's public schools. Teachers can download lesson plans and participate in online professional development courses; students can access new research and chat with other students around the world. But with technological innovation come legal pitfalls, where issues such as free expression, privacy, and copyright take on a whole new dimension. The Internet and the Law: What Educators Need to Know provides a clear and in-depth discussion of the key legal issues public schools face in using the Web, e-mail, and other computer technologies. As an educator and an attorney, Kathleen Conn brings a unique and informed perspective to this changing arena, succinctly identifying and examining major risks for schools and the specific case law that shapes these issues, including: * First Amendment protection for teachers and students, * Filtering and blocking technology for obscene material, * Use of students' personal information and education records, * Downloading and storing of copyrighted material, * Fair use, * Defamation in Internet communications, and * E-mail harassment. To help educators handle these issues, Conn offers sound advice in developing policies that comply with the law while safeguarding the school or district. As the use of technology in schools continues to evolve, teachers, administrators, and school staff must stay aware of the law that governs it. The Internet and the Law provides the solid legal grounding that every educator needs. Note: This product listing is for the Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of the book.

Written in a non-threatening and nontechnical style, this guide examines both the pitfalls and the opportunities of Internet use in schools. The author discusses techniques for use in the classroom, such as exercises and activities in the core subjects; valuable curriculum links; obstacles encountered, such as the variable content of Web sites; what is needed in order to get connected; the use of intranets; how to publish information on the net.

A comprehensive look at the promise and potential of online learning In our digital age, students have dramatically new learning needs and must be prepared for the idea economy of the future. In Getting Smart, well-known global education expert Tom Vander Ark examines the facets of educational innovation in the United States and abroad. Vander Ark makes a convincing case for a blend of online and onsite learning, shares inspiring stories of schools and programs that effectively offer "personal digital learning" opportunities, and discusses what we need to do to remake our schools into "smart schools." Examines the innovation-driven world, discusses how to combine online and onsite learning, and reviews "smart tools" for learning Investigates the lives of learning professionals, outlines the new employment bargain, examines online universities and "smart schools" Makes the case for smart capital, advocates for policies that create better learning, studies smart cultures

College students are heavy users of the Internet compared to the general population. Use of the Internet is a part of college students¿ daily routine, in part because they have grown up with computers. It is integrated into their daily communication habits and has become a technology as ordinary as the telephone or television. This report finds that: College students say the Internet has enhanced their education, and that college social life has been changed by the Internet. The report also discusses the implications of college students¿ Internet use for the future. Charts and tables.