Monthly Archives: April 2010

The 60 Best Teachers On Twitter

We at EduDemic are huge Twitter fans. This site has been live for just about a week and we already have nearly 100 followers and an active discussion happening right now on our live stream page thanks to Twitter. So we thought it might be …

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The Secret To Stop Bullying, Both On and Offline

Boston.com has a well thought-out and potentially helpful approach to stopping bullying from happening in our nation’s schools. Neil Swidey discusses a few controversial topics however, such as how Norway has the gold-standard on bullying policies but that may be due to its homogeneity. A …

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Viral On Campuses Nationwide: The Serenading Unicorn

Just in time for a beautiful weekend, EduDemic is proud to bring you a glimpse into what’s making the rounds on college campuses right now. From the creators (Stephen Goldblatt and Daniel Stein) of Elf Yourself by OfficeMax comes… The Serenading Unicorn. It’s a great …

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Cyber-Bullying: Principal Blaming Social Media. Is He Right?

Bullying 2.0. A New Jersey school principal says social media is to blame for a new style of bullying. Anthony Orsini, principal of Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Ridgewood, says students have a very easy time badgering and bullying classmates online thanks to social networks …

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Online Fraternity Started By Florida Student

Will hazing be accomplished via chatroulette? In what is probably the laziest attempt at fraternity creation (off to a good start), a Florida student has decided to start his own online fraternity. There are already 24 co-ed member (have they ever met one another in …

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Party's Over: No More Hard Alcohol Allowed at Harvard Parties

Just in time for the end-of-semester celebrations. Don’t plan on ordering that Jack and Coke at an on-campus formal event at Harvard University after this semester. Forget about the screwdriver, too. And don’t even think about a gin and tonic. Harvard can no longer serve …

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How Stanford Students Are Using Social Media For Social Good

Through an experimental class at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business that tries to use social media for the public good, a trio of students posted a video to YouTube this spring promoting an organization that hopes to save the lives of millions of prematurely born …

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PRIVACY CRISIS: Why Twitter, Facebook, And You Need Oversight

It started with news organizations talking about the banning of iPads on college campuses. The only problem was that iPads have never been banned at schools and probably never will be. Heck, many schools are embracing iPads. How did this ban rumor happen you ask? …

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Why Facebook’s ‘Like’ Feature Is Bad For Sharing

Privacy is all over the news. It’s been revealed that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t believe in privacy. Not a big surprise. The real concern is not whether he believes in it. It’s if  the 400 million users do. As websites clamor to use the …

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Why Social Media Is Not A Fad [Video]

While doing research for a final paper, I happened across a well-done and insightful video that presents a few good arguments why social media is not a fad. I will be posting the reasons social media is not going away once this final paper is …

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Where The Billions Go: Bill Gates On Why He Invests In Education

Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and professional worldwide mosquito-killer, has a simple new post up today on his blog GatesNotes. In it, he describes the effects some of his billions of dollars in investment in schools and higher ed. He does this by showcasing a …

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BRB IN CAR CRASH LOL: Driving While Texting Rate Soars Despite Ban

If you’re reading this on your phone while driving…please put the phone down. The Auto Club of Southern California says surveys by the organization indicate that a California law banning texting while driving is not having the intended results. According to the surveys, texting while driving declined …

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Unveiled Today: Princeton Website Caters To Students' Every Whim…For A Price

There’s a new way for Princeton students to get whatever they want. A website was launched today that allows students to request pretty much anything. From back rubs to textbooks, students can have it all and are even able to name their own price.The website …

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Unveiled Today: Princeton Website Caters To Students’ Every Whim…For A Price

There’s a new way for Princeton students to get whatever they want. A website was launched today that allows students to request pretty much anything. From back rubs to textbooks, students can have it all and are even able to name their own price.The website …

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How Social Media Actively Shapes U.S. Politics

They may be the oldest Congress in U.S. history, but elected officials in Washington D.C. are no slouches when it comes to technology. It’s no secret that President Obama is addicted to his Blackberry, but what about the rest of the elected officials? In this …

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Failing Grades: The 25 Worst Performing Public Schools in the U.S.A.

Neighborhood Scout used their patent-pending school rating algorithm to uncover and identify the 100 worst public schools in America. The calculations used to create this ranking involve the students’ proficiency in reading and math as determined by the ‘No Child Left Behind’ state testing for …

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$5 Million Challenge: College May Get Big Gift In High Stakes Contest

Trinity College in Hartford, CT has received a $5 million challenge — the largest conditional gift in its history. The anonymous donor has offered to endow a fund for new scholarships, if at least 55 percent of Trinity’s more than 20,000 living alumni are donors …

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Student's Facebook Update Causes Protests, Walkouts

We just stumbled across a story that shows just how powerful the social network can be. One student’s call on Facebook to oppose school budget cuts leads to statewide protests and student walkouts in New Jersey. Excerpt below is from the New York Times: The …

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Boy Scouts Awarding Video Game Badge: Why It's A Good Thing

Parents have another enemy in the battle against television and video games. The Boy Scouts of America are now essentially sanctioning video games by offering a video game badge. However, this badge is a good thing for a few reasons. Why It’s A Good Thing …

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Sen. Franken Pissed: Says Facebook Is Changing Course Mid-Stream

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke, Ap Technology Writer – Tue Apr 27, 5:52 pm ET SAN FRANCISCO – Facebook’s plan to spread its online social network to other websites could be detoured by regulators looking into privacy concerns that have raised the ire of federal lawmakers. …

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Rewriting History: Texas Textbook Massacre Pushing California To Action

Last month, the Texas Education Authority fundamentally changed how humanities subjects would be taught in schools. Now other states are taking action to prevent this from happening in their schools. The only problem is the preventive measures are happening mostly in California, a state that …

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What EduDemic’s All About

Do you ever wonder how schools, universities, colleges, and large groups in general should use social media? Students are often early adopters, frequent users, and overall lovers of technology and social media. This is a website devoted to these things with an education slant. We …

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Move Over English Lit, Zombies Are Attacking!

In case you’ve been living under a rock (likely hiding from zombies and sea monsters), you’ve heard or seen some of the astonishing book mash-ups taking over Barnes and Noble. Apparently ‘Pride and Prejudice’ was getting a bit dry and dated…so some ambitious people took …

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Class Attendance 2.0: University To Monitor Students With Proximity Sensors

In an Orwellian move, Northern Arizona University is making headlines by planning to implement a new way to monitor students’ class attendance. It’s basically an electronic monitoring system that can tell when a student’s ID card enters the classroom. It records this and notifies the …

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Every School’s Graduation Speaker: A Long List [UPDATED]

It took quite awhile to compile this list, but here goes. The list is always being updated and is in no particular order, so you might want to do the ol’ CTRL+F to find the school or speaker you’re interested in. Who is your favorite …

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Microsoft Taps Next Generation For Ideas at Imagine Cup

The always innovative Microsoft is turning to the next generation for inspiration. The company sponsored U.S. Imagine Cup 2010, a contest with the sole purpose encouraging (and rewarding) innovation with Microsoft products. The winners of the Cup are being flown to Warsaw, Poland for the …

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Supreme Court Takes On Video Game Violence

Compiled from information from the Associated Press and the New York Times: WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will decide whether free speech rights are more important than helping parents keep violent material away from children. The justices agreed Monday to consider reinstating California’s ban …

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Teachers, Don't Make PowerPoints Like This [IMAGE]

Attention students, staff, and most importantly TEACHERS. Do not, I repeat, do NOT make PowerPoint presentations like the U.S. military. If you want your class to actually learn something, you need to keep things simple, easy-to-digest, fun, and basically entertaining. The U.S. military does not …

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Best of A Cappella: Univ. of Oregon Channels Lady Gaga For Amazing Performance [VIDEO]

Who said Lady Gaga is the only one who can sing Lady Gaga songs? The University of Oregon a cappella group “On the Rocks” performed “Bad Romance” and did a tremendous job. You’ll want to watch this video. Luckily, there’s a whole lot less nudity …

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A Harvard Law 3L's Big Plans That Don't Involve Law

When you think of law school, you think of lawyers, thick books, and courtrooms, right? When Darrell Bennett thinks of law school, he thinks of it as a springboard to greatness. A 3L about to graduate Harvard Law School, Darrell is a maverick when it …

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