XplanaZine

Groundbreaking ‘education learning system’ puts East Midlands schools at the forefront of personalised learning and e-safety
Over 600,000 students from across the East Midlands in England are now benefitting from a groundbreaking £45m service that is helping to boost learning, whilst protecting their online safety. The East Midlands Broadband Community, a procurement partnership of 8 local authorities, has teamed up with IT specialist Synetrix to develop one of the most extensive and advanced learning systems in the world. As well as having safe and secure internet access in over 2000 schools, pupils are able to access and share their schoolwork and teaching online, chat and e-mail to each other and create their own personalised web sites within a secure community of registered users. — 24dash.com

Science and Technology: Computers coming to Albanian primary schools
By the end of the year, all primary schools in Albania will have computers and IT centres, the education ministry announced on Sunday (May 25th). About 44% of Albania’s 600,000 primary school pupils have so far benefited from the project, titled “Schools with IT and Communication”. — Southeast European Times

School leaders get advice on ‘green’ computing
Educators can reduce energy consumption by holding online meetings and video conference calls to save on gas and printing costs, programing computers to automatically enter energy-saving “sleep” modes after 20 minutes of idle time, and offering more virtual coursework and professional development. “Going green is a long-term investment. — E-School News

The Value of a Textbook
A genetics Professor and textbook author offers a somewhat controversial defense of textbook prices in view of their value as an investment in education and personal earning power. — Inside Higher Ed

For poor, a gaping digital divide
Chicago heralds itself as one of the largest cities launching WiMax, a wireless network that will provide consumers high-speed Internet access almost anywhere in the city. Yet thousands of its residents, including schoolchildren, won’t be logging on because they can’t afford home computers or Internet access. The significance of such a barrier isn’t lost on Nicol Turner-Lee, founder of the Neighborhood Technology Resource Center, a non-profit where Marie learned computer skills and now is an instructor. People with computer skills in places like India, China and African countries are quickly advancing in the global economy, Turner-Lee said, while Americans without such skills are slipping further behind. — Chicago Tribune