A Pennsylvania district takes on cyber charters

http://hechingerreport.org/pennsylvania-district-takes-cyber-charters

Sarah Garland

The Hechinger Report

13 May 2014

Text / 800-1500 Words

The small rural school district of Quakertown in Bucks County has become a national model for how to use technology to transform the public school experience. The majority of students in the district take at least one class online and all ninth graders are given laptops they can take to college when they graduate.

Can high-poverty urban districts like Philadelphia close the digital divide?

http://hechingerreport.org/can-high-poverty-urban-districts-like-philadelphia-close-digital-divide-2

Sarah Garland

The Hechinger Report

17 June 2014

Text / 1500-3000 Words

The digital divide in America is the disparity in students' access to the internet and technology. In Philadelphia, the introduction of high-speed internet aims to address that divide.

The Rise of ‘Studyblrs'

https://medium.com/bright/the-rise-of-studyblrs-8916998179f9

Kaite Welsh

Bright Magazine

2 April 2015

Text / Under 800 Words

Students in today's technical world are now using blogging and other forms of social media, known as studyblrs, in order to help each other improve achievement through online homework help, communication, and encouragement.

The Next Wireless Revolution, in Electricity

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/the-next-wireless-revolution-in-light

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

11 September 2013

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Phone lines in Africa and South Asia would never have gotten to the poor - but these places have leapfrogged over last-century technology and gone straight to mobile phones. Now the same thing is happening with off-grid solar power: the fastest -- perhaps the only – way to power the poor.

The Benefits of Mobile Health, on Hold

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/the-benefits-of-mobile-health-on-hold

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

13 March 2013

Text / 1500-3000 Words

The mobile phone is doing more than revolutionizing communication. It has the potential to improve many aspects of life in poor countries: commerce, health, agriculture, education - public health, especially, is being revolutionized by governments taking advantage of the mobile revolution by texting advice or sending voice messages to pregnant women, texting reminders to AIDS patients to take their meds, tracking the spread of diseases, allowing community health workers to keep records electronically and variations on all these themes.

Crisis Text Line has counseled teens through nearly 2 million problems. Here's how this idea got its start.

http://blog.ted.com/crisis-text-line-nears-2-million-messages-answered

Kate Torgovnick May

TED Blog

6 May 2014

Text / 1500-3000 Words

Crisis Text Line provides counseling services via text, a medium with which teens are sometimes more comfortable. The approach complements the work of counselors and collects data for research purposes.

Five Cheap Ways Tech Is Transforming Classrooms

https://medium.com/bright/five-cheap-ways-tech-is-transforming-classrooms-3f0530f0c1b0

Alex Madison

Bright Magazine

6 May 2015

Text / 1500-3000 Words

Low budget schools across the U.S. are having students use their smartphones as learning tools inside and outside the classroom. At no extra cost they can incorporate technology into the curriculum through a myriad of applications, from homework reminder apps to free cloud document platforms like Google Docs.

Will co-teaching with computers improve student learning?

http://hechingerreport.org/will-co-teaching-with-computers-improve-student-learning

Margaret Ramirez

The Hechinger Report

10 January 2014

Text / 1500-3000 Words

School in various states in the United States are incorporating online learning into the curriculum to track student comprehension, adapt to students' learning levels, and decrease the digital divide.

Mothers-to-Be Are Getting the Message

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/pregnant-mothers-are-getting-the-message

David Bornstein

The New York Times

7 February 2011

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An average of 28,000 children born in the U.S. each year die before their first birthday – and many more face disabilities and serious life-long health problems, often because they are born prematurely or at low birth weights. A free service, text4baby, delivers crucial health advice via text message to pregnant women and new mothers.

In Aleppo, cell phones are helping some desperate Syrians find clean water

http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-08-26/aleppo-cell-phones-are-helping-some-desperate-syrians-find-clean-water

Joyce Hackel

Public Radio International (PRI)

26 August 2015

Radio / 5-15 Minutes

In war zones, people have a difficult time finding clean water and safe areas to inhabit. Social media, smart phones, and technology applications are aiding in people’s survival. In Aleppo, Syria, the International Committee of the Red Cross posted a map on Facebook to show alternative sources of clean drinking water that reached approximately 140,000 people.