Staff receive green education

Schools' IT staff can now take courses in reducing the carbon footprint of operations, thanks to government technology education body Becta, reports Computing.co.uk.

Becta has developed the Framework for ICT Technical Support to improve the knowledge of schools' IT staff on environmental issues.

The initiative includes the distribution of tools that help schools monitor their use of computing power, including a carbon footprint comparison tool that compares the electricity used by different IT products.

Major textbook publishers Houghton Mifflin, Kaplan Publishing, McGraw-Hill Education, and Pearson are turning to software company ScrollMotion to bring their textbooks to Apple's recently unveiled iPad, states VatorNews.

ScrollMotion plans to take full advantage of the iPad's touch capabilities in order to provide an immersive and interactive experience that combines traditional educational materials with the latest technology.

Not only will students be able to colour-categorise while highlighting words on the page, but they will also be able to write text notes or record audio notes directly onto the device.

Whether it's the high school girl who hates computer programming or the senior who loathes technology, there's a digital divide in the computing world between those lacking computer skills and access and those who have them, writes NewsOK.

A team of investigators at Oklahoma State University hopes to help bridge such divides by designing computer-game creation curriculum that can be taught to all generations and taken to developing countries.

Their research, published in the International Journal of Social and Humanistic Computing, suggests creating computer games - rather than just playing them - could boost students' critical and creative thinking skills, as well as broaden their participation in computing today.