Informative Reading: Rethinking Education Management Information Systems: Lessons from and Options for Less Developed Countries

Rethinking Education Management Information Systems: Lessons from and Options for Less Developed Countries. Infodev. Online February 2010. Donors have often tended to assume that EMIS outputs would play an important role in helping managers to administer their education system in a more efficient and effective manner, while, governments have assumed that EMIS output would help them identify priority areas for targeting resources and helping them monitoring progress of strategies towards defined objectives. A review of four country cases reveals that this does not always occur and significant problems are often experienced with the operation of EMIS at all levels of the education system, and in the vast majority of instances systems are unsustainable without a considerable amount of donor support. ...

(Ginny notes: Although this report was published in 2006 and thus is a bit dated, it continues to be informative and contain wise advice for anyone working in projects that include creating or supporting educational MIS systems.)

URL for BBC Report

 Technology impacts on education. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8508040.stm

Informative Video:Technology impacts on education

Technology impacts on education. BBC. Online February 2010.  BBC World Service programme Digital Planet, explored three of the many unique initiatives in education technology. 

Non-ICT Reading:Community Schools: Reform's Lesser-Known Frontier

Community Schools: Reform's Lesser-Known Frontier. Sarah M. Fine. Edweek.com. Online February 2010. ... The Obama administration has taken up the task of settling the debate over whether America’s schools should be reformed by raising standards or by expanding community-based supports. The verdict? A resounding yes to both sides. …

Informative Reading:Consumer Password Worst Practices

Consumer Password Worst Practices. Imperva.com. Online February 2010. In December 2009, a major password breach occurred that led to the release of 32 million passwords in the Internet. The Imperva Application Defense Center (ADC) analyzed the strength of the passwords. The data provides a unique glimpse into the way that users select passwords and an opportunity to evaluate the true strength of these as a security mechanism. …