The dreaded norovirus, which many people refer to it as “the stomach flu,” is actually an RNA virus that causes acute vomiting and diarrhea and is responsible for about 90% of all epidemic non-bacterial outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness in the world. It’s highly contagious, and spreads from person to person through touching contaminated surfaces or through ingesting contaminated food or water. The virus sweeps through the school system faster than cranky postings on Formspring.

Technology & Learning Magazine interviewed education leaders at the recent international IMS Global Learning Consortium Workshop. The leaders interviewed included John Wilson the Executive Director of the NEA, Steve Midgley – Deputy Director, US Department of Education, Rob Abel- CEO, IMS Global Learning Consortium, and Diny Golder- Executive Director, JES & Co.

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March 2 is Read Across America Day, the annual tribute to the pleasures and importance of reading founded in 1998 by the National Education Association.

Fractals are geometric shapes that repeat themselves, each part of which is a smaller copy of the original shape. The mathematical term applied to this notion is called self-similarity, but to a non-mathematician like me, fractals are like little halls of mirrors, where the shape decreases in size with each reiteration. They are found in abundance in nature, in the patterns of clouds, fern fronds, coastlines, and so forth. They are, in a word, cool.

The Russian Revolution is often viewed as a sudden, climactic event, culminating with the brutal assassination of Czar Nicholas II and his family. In reality, the revolution occurred in stages, with long periods of civil unrest, repression, and public protests. Ultimately acknowledged as a kind and religious man by those who knew him, Czar Nicholas was nonetheless an ineffectual leader and uninspired politician. His country in shambles, he retreated to his palaces and a life of unimagined luxury. To critics of the czar, the famous jeweled Easter eggs created for the Romanov family by Fabergé came to symbolize the monarchy in their opulence, privilege, and utter uselessness. Forced to abdicate his throne during the first part of the Revolution in February of 1917, Czar Nicholas and his family were gunned down later that year by Bolsheviks, thus definitively ending the imperial era in Russia and casting the country into civil war. Preferring style over substance, and completely out of step with the needs of their country, the Romanov story is ultimately a tragic one.

The NEED Project promotes energy consciousness and education

Educating students about energy teaches them about the idea of transformation and change, as energy intrinsically changes from one form to another. But the theme of change by way of energy can be expanded externally as well, as kids explore and brainstorm ways that energy can enact social change in the form of newer, more efficient energy technologies. New types of technology and new ways of applying existing energy technologies are always fun to explore in the classroom, and some products in development may surprise you. For example, there is a current project to develop roads implanted with solar panels in order to melt snow. This type of idea may initially sound far-fetched, but it and other nascent energy technologies are actual products in development with exciting possibilities.