As part of its efforts to develop a National Broadband Plan, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking comments about how the e-Rate program can be improved to meet the broadband needs of schools and libraries -- and how it might play a role in delivering or stimulating the adoption of broadband service within communities. Key words: FCC, broadband internet, erate, school internet, education technology

Day two of the annual EDUCAUSE higher-education technology conference in Denver, Nov. 3 through 6, saw at least two presenters speak out about the unfair application of strict copyright protections to scholarly journals -- a practice, they said, that hinders academic endeavors. Key words: educause, higher education technology, copyright law, Lawrence Lessig

School and college IT departments have until the end of the calendar year to take advantage of a new offer from automated systems management software provider Kaseya, which is providing its IT inventory software to educational institutions free of charge for a limited time. Key words: school IT management, university IT management, educational technology, IT inventory software, Kaseya

The 11th annual EDUCAUSE conference opened in Denver Nov. 4 with advice from best-selling author Jim Collins on how to take higher-education technology departments from good to great -- as well as lessons from Pepperdine University on how officials there saved nearly $18,000 with the help of virtualized computing. Key words: Educause, technology conference, Pepperdine university, Jim Collins, cost savings, education technology, virtualization technology

Thanks to broadening internet access, advances in multimedia, and the market potential of millions of historically underserved learners, a revolution in education is occurring, reports the New York Times -- one that is transforming education from a seller's to a buyer's market.

Is cloud computing inevitable? Maybe, Computerworld reports, but IT still has a lot of questions to ask before floating away on its promises, according to Melissa Woo, director of cyber infrastructure and network and operations services at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Purdue University is testing a custom-developed application called "Hotseat" that allows for students to comment and ask questions during their classes in real time via Twitter, Facebook, text messaging, and a web interface, Switched reports.

Representatives of five would-be virtual charter schools will file into the Georgia Department of Education today to pitch their brand of public education, which lets students study from home online. Some state officials, however, aren't ready to OK more cyber schools without first doing more homework on the subject, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

When report cards went out for students in the Clarksville-Montgomery County school district in Tennessee last month, most of the 29,000-plus students did not have a printed version for their parents to sign. That's because the district went largely paperless with its report cards for the first time, making grades available to parents with secure accounts online, USA Today reports.