XplanaZine

Texas Virtual Academy lets kids attend public school online
The program looks a lot like home-schooling, but it carries far more requirements: Professional teachers monitor students’ attendance and academic progress every day. The students must also pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests. — Post-Bulletin

Court Ruling Threatens Virtual Schools
Virtual schools operate in 18 states, according to the Virginia-based North American Council for Online Learning, a trade association. Supporters say the schools are a godsend for parents who prefer their children learn from home. But opponents, including the nation’s largest teachers’ union, insist the cyber charter schools drain money away from traditional schools. — Associated Press

Online school offers fine, flexible education
For the last few years, online schools have provided an important public school option for many of Wisconsin’s families, proving to be a perfect fit for a wide range of students requiring the freedom and flexibility to set their own pace and learn on their own time. Unfortunately, the recent state Court of Appeals decision regarding the Wisconsin Virtual Academy has created some ambiguity. — The Capital Times

Online info sessions set for virtual public school
As the Wisconsin virtual school debate continues to spread over the Web, Wisconsin parents of students seeking an online education can learn more about Wisconsin Connections Academy by logging on to one of 11 online sessions this month and next, starting Tuesday, January 22nd. — Appleton Post Crescent

IIT education gets online
There is good news for the ones aspiring for an IIT education. Now you don’t even have to leave your home or give any entrance exams for it as you can access some of it at least, anywhere in the world for free. On the lines of the prestigious MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), IIT Bombay is going to web cast 5 of its courses. — NDTV.com

Laptops log middle school students on to learning
At Westhampton Beach Middle School in New York, each of the 1,514 students in grades four through 12 has a free, school-issued laptop with Internet access and available electronic textbooks. Read how teachers at this school are using computers rather than traditional textbooks to teach lessons. — Contra Costa Times

Virtual High School
New Fairfield, Brookfield and Bethel high schools are among area schools committed to allowing students to take online courses they don’t offer or core subject classes students need to make up so they can graduate. The schools will take part in a pilot program called Connecticut Virtual High School, which will be useful in resolving a scheduling conflict, providing a different teaching approach, or allowing students to work faster or slower than their peers, educators said. — The News-Times

Capella Education Company Announces Fourth Quarter and Year-end 2007 Earnings Release Date and Conference Call Details
Capella Education Company, a provider of exclusively online post-secondary education through its wholly owned subsidiary Capella University, announced that it will release fiscal year 2007 and fourth quarter 2007 financial results before the open of the market on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2008. A live conference call and Webcast of the earnings conference call is scheduled for the same day at 9:00 a.m. eastern time (ET). — Business Wire

Scholarship program helps support dreams
Rio Salado College, a pioneer in online education, recently began offering weekly start dates, meaning students can enroll in classes every Monday throughout the year so scholarship winners can begin class at any time. — AZ Central

Organizations plan meeting to discuss education in borough
This coming Saturday, a community meeting is planned to discuss education in the borough. Spearheaded by the Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation and sponsored by a number of organizations including the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District and the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the day-long meeting is meant to encourage discussion about ways to improve education from pre-kindergarten to the university level. — Daily News-Miner

Cornerstone University launches online MBA program
Launching an online master’s program in business administration sets the stage for Cornerstone University to move other degrees onto the Web. The Grand Rapids school plans to launch the online MBA in May and follow it up in the years ahead with other programs such as master’s degrees in education and in management, plus the bachelor’s of science in ministry leadership. — mlive.com

Cyber Univ. ‘lax on student ID’ / Education ministry to instruct online university to tighten controls
Unlike an ordinary open university, the Cyber University in Japan does not provide any lectures in classrooms, promoting itself as a school where a student can be certified as a college graduate without ever having to go to a campus. However, according to sources, the university was yet to confirm the identity of about 200 of the 620 students currently enrolled. It also is believed to have given most of the 200 students lecture credits, which are required to graduate from the college. — Daily Yomiuri Online

South City students to reap benefits of 21st-century technology
Future students at South San Francisco schools may watch lessons from home, go on virtual field trips to museums and have video conferences with book authors when the school district completes its two-year technology update. The South San Francisco Unified School District’s $2.1 million project will bring in VoIP telephones, new computers and high-speed connectivity that will offer students modern-day capabilities and streamline operations in all its 16 schools. — Examiner

Hendrix College Gets $1.5 Million Grant
Hendrix College has been awarded a $1.5 million challenge grant from the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation of Tulsa, Okla., to help fund the college’s new $22.8 million Student Life and Technology Center, proposed to be one of the most interactive and tech-savvy college facilities in the country.  — Arkansas Business