Handheld computers are just beginning to be introduced in schools. Before adopting the latest innovation, administrators must ask careful questions about issues and implications regarding leadership, teaching and learning, staff development, technology support, planning, infrastructure, safety and security, ethics, evaluation, curriculum, change,…

The typical approach to creating an examination disk for exercises and projects in a course on computer forensics is for the instructor to populate a piece of media with evidence to be retrieved. While such an approach supports the simple use of forensic tools, in many cases the use of an instructor-developed examination disk avoids utilizing some…

Providing quality technical support in K-12 environments can be challenging. Unlike the business world, there is generally a less-than-ideal ratio of technical staff to computers, numerous software titles from dozens of vendors, and of course--a much smaller budget. The Victor Central School District in Victor, New York, has employed a number of…

Most educators have little experience or expertise in cybersecurity. Yet, it is one of the most pressing vulnerabilities in today's society. Beyond simply being aware of this vulnerability, educational leaders must ask themselves: What is an effective strategy for managing cybersecurity concerns? Whom do you trust to give you the best information?…

Can computers help with one of the most persistent challenges of large classes: the accurate and efficient measurement of student learning?

The EDUCAUSE Current Issues Committee, whose members review and recommend the set of IT issues to be presented each year, conducted a Web-based survey in December 2005 to identify the five of thirty-one IT issues in each of four areas: (1) issues that are critical for strategic success; (2) issues that are expected to increase in significance; (3)…

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 (PL. 104-191) is a multitiered, comprehensive, convoluted, and controversial federal law for sweeping health care reform. Although HIPAA is dramatically broader in scope than privacy protections for health care information, a provision for privacy in the form of a Privacy Rule…

School nurses and health office employees are the creators and caretakers of legal documentation. School nurses have an ethical and legal obligation to protect the integrity of electronic student health records. Although there are many threats to data integrity, from inadequate hardware to electrical surges, one of the most pervasive threats to…

Due to the now widespread use of the Internet, most companies now require computer aided design (CAD) tools that support distributed collaborative design on the Internet. Such CAD tools should enable designers to share product models, as well as related data, from geographically distant locations. However, integrated collaborative design…

The worlds of security and technology have been on an intersecting course since the first published account of the use of fingerprint identification made news in 1880 (although unpublished reports suggest its use as early as 1858). In the three and one half years since the September 11 attacks, technological advances across the security field have…

The Internet is a remarkable tool and change agent that has been successfully leveraged by colleges and universities to support, enhance, and extend the teaching/learning process; the creation of new knowledge through research; and the increasingly complex business of managing and administrating institutions. Although it supports and even creates…

In academic settings, battling Internet threats and coming out unscathed is uncommon. Unfortunately, on many college campuses cyber-security concerns rarely extend beyond the IT staff and are addressed in a disparate, ad-hoc fashion. Yet, while many universities and large corporations were hit hard by the recent NetSky and Sasser worms, fewer than…

The Internet has experienced phenomenal growth in higher education. In addition to many pedagogical benefits, there are potential risks to the student users, including identity theft. This study examined the extent to which selected online practices that could minimize the risk of financial identity theft are used by college students. Data were…

E-learning on the Internet is constituted by the options that this global technology gives the user. This article explores these options in terms of the lifestyle choices and decisions that the learner will make about the virtual worlds, textual meanings and cultural groupings that they will find as they learn online. This is a non-linear process…

This 30-minute videotape takes an in-depth look at World Wide Web business transactions, potential risks, client privacy and security issues by asking businesses and consumers how they do business on the Internet. Also featured in the program is advice about choosing a secure password, the use of credit cards for Web purchasing and a review of…