• AOL Video Launches Digital Movie Downloads

  AOL has partnered with 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group to offer downloadable movies through the AOL Video portal. These new partnerships complement the more than 17 video content partnerships and more than 45 on-demand channels that AOL Video announced back in July. Available to anyone on the Web at the AOL Video portal is a one-stop, high-quality entertainment destination to find, watch, and share millions of free streaming and pay-to-download video content from across the Web, broadcast and cable television, and movies.

  For the full story, click here.

• LearnStar Announces Fall Grant Initiative

  LearnStar Inc., a provider of standards-based education technology and developer of the software program SmartTRAX, has announced its “Get on TRAX” fall grant opportunity for K-12 schools to receive SmartTRAX licenses for their students. Three grants of 100 student licenses (one each for an elementary, middle, and high school) will be awarded to schools based on need, enthusiasm, technology integration, innovation, and methodology. Grant submissions must be received by Dec. 11, 2006, and the winners will be announced on Dec. 15.

  For full details and application forms, click here.

• Miami-Dade County Expels Spyware

  Miami-Dade County Public Schools (Dade Schools) has turned to BigFix Inc’s AntiPest solution to help prevent spyware on the district’s 70,000 personal computers used by students, teachers, and administrators. Since deploying AntiPest, the district has reduced its spyware infection rates by 90 percent, going from a 40 percent infection rate to a four percent rate. Dade Schools recently added the AntiPest product to its existing BigFix security configuration management solution that protects networked PCs located at its more than 360 schools in the county.

  For the full story, click here.

• TechEd 2007 Puts Out a Call for Presentations

  TechEd 2007 is seeking proposals from all levels of education, from K-20, for its 12 th annual conference and exhibition at the end of March in Ontario, CA. This year’s theme is “ Inspiring the Vision” and will feature more than 250 sessions, covering a range of topics such as administrative technologies, conquering the digital divide, eLearning, mobile learning, and workforce education.

  For a full list of topics or to submit a proposal, visit TechEd’s Web site. All abstracts must be submitted by Oct. 11, 2006.

• NWEA’s MAP Testing Expands to Georgia

  The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), a nonprofit organization focused on improving K-12 assessment, has announced the addition of the first schools in Georgia to use its formative assessments aligned to the state’s curriculum standards. This new enrollment brings NWEA into its 48 th state, serving more than 2,200 school districts and testing some 2 million students. The Georgia districts and schools will begin testing a portion of their students this fall using NWEA’s formative assessment system, Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), which measures individual student growth over time and across grade levels. Because students take the test on a computer, it immediately adapts to an individual student’s ability, getting easier or harder as students answer each question. The assessment results are available immediately and provide teachers with an accurate and clear picture of what a child knows and needs to know next.

  For the full story, click here.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has published 1-to-1 Learning: Laptop Programs That Work, a comprehensive guide for planning, implementing, and managing successful laptop programs in the classroom. The guide compiles practical how-to information for initiating laptop programs, as well as experiences, strategies, and lessons from pioneers in 1-to-1 laptop projects. It offers suggestions for things such as: forming an effective and inclusive planning committee, choosing hardware and software that integrates well with existing systems, selecting the most cost-effective purchasing, support and funding options, anticipating and overcoming logistical challenges, and planning professional development activities that encourage teacher buy-in. More information about the book, as well as a free downloadable excerpt and the table of contents, are available here. Pricing: $31.95 for ISTE members; $34.95 for nonmembers.

Toshiba’s Digital Products Division has introduced the TDP-ET20U DLP mobile multimedia DVD projector, the company’s first all-in-one multimedia DVD projector featuring “extreme short projection.” Ideal for classroom and business presentations, the TDP-ET20U displays up to a 100-inch diagonal screen image from just 3.9 feet away, providing an unobstructed viewing experience whether placed on a desk or a classroom A/V cart. The projector’s integrated DVD player also allows users to play movies directly from the projector, while its 5.1-channel Dolby Pro Logic surround sound provides cinema-like quality sound. Unique to all-in-one projectors, an RGB port is included for easy connection to a PC. An HDMI port is also included, providing an interface between any A/V source. Weighing 10.6 pounds, the compact TDP-ET20U offers 1,100 lumens, a 2000:1 high-contrast ratio, and widescreen format with adjustable aspect ratio from 16:9 to 4:3. Additional ports include an S-video, composite video, and component video via three RCA jacks. Pricing: $1,399.

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