Students finds ways to thwart school iPad security

GREENWOOD, Ind. (AP) — A day after Center Grove handed out more than 2,000 iPads to high school students, hundreds of the teens found a way to get around the devices' locks.

Teachers and administrators had programmed the iPads so that they were the only ones who controlled what was on them. But hours after getting them, between 300 and 400 students found ways to reprogram the iPads so they could download games and apps for social media sites, technology director Julie Bohnenkamp said.

As soon as the school learned what students were doing, teachers inspected each student's iPad, and the technology department had to reset the hundreds of tablets that had been altered by the students, Bohnenkamp told the...

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Scholarships open to students who overcome drugs

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Going to college has just gotten easier for high school seniors who have...

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Alabama AG says blocking law won't help students

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's attorney general is telling a federal judge that blocking the new Alabama Accountability Act won't help students...

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Agreement reached for students at Polk County jail

BARTOW, Fla. (AP) — The Southern Poverty Law Center and a central Florida school district have agreed to ensure that children held at a county jail receive five hours of daily classroom instruction...

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RI town OKs breathalyzer tests for students

PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (AP) — The school committee in one Rhode Island town has approved a policy permitting officials to administer blood-alcohol tests to random students at school dances...

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How International Students Can Cope With Difficult Classes

Don’t get discouraged by classroom challenges you may face as a new international student.

International students often face more challenges than their American classmates because of language and cultural barriers. Don't be distressed when you have a hard time in a particular class – just remember, if the school admitted you, you are smart enough to handle all courses offered. Chances are others are struggling as well.

The following are some steps international students can take to either prevent this situation or to improve both their learning experience and grades.

1. Pick classes wisely: Take your English proficiency and cultural experience into account when choosing courses. If you are a freshman who started learning English a year ago, taking a high-level reading- and writing-based humanities class, such as History of Philosophy, might not be a good idea.

[Explore ways to prepare for the TOEFL.]

Most colleges have course prerequisites and many have a ranking system to help students understand the difficulty level of each course. As an international student, you should pay attention to this information, as well as the level of English proficiency that is required for each class.

Save classes that require a strong vocabulary for later years. When you start college, it is best to take entry-level classes that fulfill the general interdisciplinary requirements. For example, your first class could be calculus, which would satisfy a mathematics requirement and doesn't require the level of English proficiency a political science course would.

Don't let this stop you from pursuing your interests. If you want to major in Comparative Literature, you should definitely take classes in the English department. However, it might be best to start with a class on short stories your freshman year and wait until you're a senior to take literary theory or dive into a course that requires you to read "War and Peace."

Throughout your time at school, your English will naturally progress. Trying to take classes that require a sophisticated understanding of the English language too early might not only make it harder for you to earn good grades, but could suppress your interest in a certain subject.

[Take courses that add to the international student experience.]

2. Get help if you're struggling: Most college professors are very understanding about the challenges that international students face in the classroom, and will try to help you as much as possible if they are aware of your problems.

When I took American history in college, I had a very difficult time because I didn't have the high school history knowledge that my American classmates did. When I expressed concern to my professor, he gave me a few books that had a lot of background information and found me a tutor within the department.

Many colleges also have a writing center whose staff will help you edit your papers. These centers frequently have reference books and sample essays, and are excellent resources for international students.

[Learn to connect with professors at your U.S. college.]

3. Take English as a Second Language classes: Many colleges offer supplementary ESL courses, which I think are a great way to improve your English and lower the language barrier. A friend of mine took an ESL course throughout her freshman year, and by her sophomore year, was ready to sign up for high-level humanities courses.

Many college ESL teachers make it their goal to improve your class participation and extend your vocabulary. Spending a small portion of your week taking those classes can be very beneficial for your college career.

4. Study hard and be patient: A challenging class can be a great source of stress and frustration, but remember that hard work pays off.

You may have to spend more time studying than other students because there are words that you don't know, or because you can't read as quickly in English, but it could also mean that you will remember information longer than your classmates will.

Also, when you find class difficult, other students probably do as well. Be patient and kind to yourself and your efforts will be recognized.

Tra Ho, from Vietnam, received full financial aid to attend Colorado College in 2004. She graduated magna cum laude in 2008 with a degree in mathematics and is currently working as an actuary for a consulting company Washington, D.C.

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10 National Universities Where Most Students Live On Campus

The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College and The Short List: Grad School to find data that matters to you in your college or grad school search.

The challenge of getting into school, paying for it and earning good grades is hard enough for some students. But today, some face an added obstacle: finding on-campus housing.

The country is facing a shortage of on-campus student housing at public and private schools, according to a 2012 report by the National Multi Housing Council that analyzed data between 2000 and 2010. The last decade saw a 38.7 percent increase in student enrollment, fueled partly by the size of Generation Y and economic uncertainty, the group found.

As enrollment surged, most states have seen a smaller percentage of students living in dorms. Areas with the highest campus housing shortages include Arizona, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota and West Virginia.

Despite the shortage, some universities are still housing most of their students on campus.

[Learn how to get along with your roommate.]

Harvard University tops the list of National Universities with the highest percentage of undergraduate students living on campus in fall 2011, according to data reported to U.S. News in an annual survey. The Ivy League school has 98 percent of its undergraduates living on campus.

Harvard also has the number one spot in the U.S. News Best National Universities rankings, tying with Princeton, which is also on the housing list. Six other schools on the housing list fall within the top 10 of the U.S. News Best National Universities rankings: California Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University and Dartmouth College. The lowest-ranked school on the list was St. Mary's University of Minnesota, which placed 174.

Of the 247 ranked National Universities that provided data to U.S. News about campus housing, an average of 38 percent of the undergraduate population lives on campus.

Schools that were designated by U.S. News as Unranked were not considered for this report. U.S. News did not calculate a numerical ranking for Unranked programs, because the program did not meet certain criteria that U.S. News requires to be numerically ranked.

[Explore how theme dorms promote diversity.]

The table below highlights 10 National Universities with the highest percentage of undergraduates living in campus housing in fall 2011.

Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find the percentages of students living on campus, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.

U.S. News surveyed more than 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2012 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported a myriad of data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News's data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News's rankings of Best Colleges or Best Graduate Schools. The on-campus data above are correct as of June 18, 2013.

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Lessons for Parents of International Grad Students

Parents of prospective international students should involve their children in the graduate school selection process.

During my years serving in graduate enrollment and student services, I held office hours for students. There, I met with countless international students. Many were stressed, frightened and upset – a few to the point that they needed professional or medical assistance.

Academic struggles were the primary cause of their angst. Further questioning revealed that if word of their situation reached their parents, they would be in a great deal of trouble.

I've met with thousands of parents of prospective graduate students around the world during my career. What always amazed me was the consistently strong desire these parents had to see their children succeed. In many cases parents were making huge sacrifices so that their children could study abroad.

[Learn what to consider when applying to U.S. graduate schools.]

It was heartwarming to observe this, and to witness the strong ties between family members. But sometimes I found myself communicating with parents of applicants rather than the applicants themselves.

Parents often asked about the curriculum, admission requirements, career placement information and scholarship opportunities – questions typically asked by applicants. In some cases, they would even ask for an application fee waiver or reduced tuition for their son or daughter.

It is quite an adjustment for parents to have a son or daughter travel not only far away for graduate study, but also to another country – in some cases, without returning home for two years. This cannot be easy, yet many parents support and encourage their children to pursue their educational and career goals.

[Learn how graduate schools evaluate international applicants.]

But many international students have told me that their parents do not respond well to any sort of failure. Remember that any successful person has some detours along the way, and does not do everything perfectly.

Yet at times, some parents place overwhelming pressure on their children. While you want your child to succeed, placing too much pressure on him or her to do so could actually make things worse. Focus on success, not on perfection. Let your child be human.

Remember that sometimes the greatest learning opportunities come from mistakes and errors. If we are afraid of or forbid failure, we actually create a culture where it is more likely that failure will occur.

[Allay some common international grad school applicant concerns.]

Parents can help their students by encouraging them to find the best institution or program for them.

As a dean of admissions, it was frequently evident to me that students' parents had selected the institutions to which an international student was applying. The student had no input whatsoever.

When we would inquire, either through an essay or during an interview about why the applicant had chosen our program, students would often say that their parents had chosen their list of schools.

Some of these same students came to my office hours, indicating that they did not want to be enrolled at my institution in the first place.

In some of those situations where parents had selected the programs for their children, they almost always chose the highest ranking institutions in a particular field. Long-term success in life is rarely dependent on where one attended college or graduate school.

Work with your children, not apart from them. Give them the opportunity to be involved in the selection of the graduate program they believe would be the best match and where they would like to apply. Do not encourage an unhealthy and obsessive emphasis on rankings and prestige.

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What the Stafford Loan Interest Rate Hike Means for Students

Interest rates on new Stafford loans jumped Monday after lawmakers failed to reach a deal.

Student loan interest rates doubled on Monday, jumping from 3.4 to 6.8 percent, but it will be at least a year before borrowers feel the impact.

That's because the rate hike only applies to new loans – specifically new subsidized Stafford loans – taken out by undergraduates on or after July 1.

Incoming college freshmen borrowing for the fall semester will not be repaying those loans until six months after they leave school. For those who don't drop out, that is another four, five or even six years down the road. Seniors graduating in December won't feel the pinch until this time next year.

"It's not really a big deal. It's not the end of the world," says financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Edvisors.com.

[Discover loan repayment tips for college dropouts.]

While doubling the interest rate sounds dramatic, the increase will amount to less than $20 per month for the average borrower, he says.

A state-by-state breakdown from the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning nonprofit think tank in Washington, D.C., shows what borrowers would save if Congress had extended the lower rates another year.

In California, where an estimated 550,900 students borrow Stafford loans, maintaining the 3.4 percent would save the average borrower $987 per year. That per-borrower savings is just shy of $900 in Texas, which has roughly 464,100 Stafford loan borrowers, according to the reports.

Not everyone is convinced that the higher rates will have minimal impact.

Danielle Beers, a student at the University of North Carolina—Wilmington, vented via Twitter.

As if my student loans were not causing me enough stress, I know have to pay DOUBLE the interest rate...THANK YOU CONGRESS..SO MUCH LOVE

— Danielle Beers (@daniellebeers) July 2, 2013

Beers was one of many students airing frustrations over the student loan interest rate increase on Twitter.

"It is appalling that Congress let rates double for student loans. You should be ashamed of yourselves for letting it happen" @IllyKay, who describes himself as "Just another 20-something with a bachelor's degree, in debt and underpaid," tweeted at his senator, Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

[Find tips and tools to help navigate financial aid.]

David Grow, chief financial officer at Western Governors University, estimates as many as 40,000 students at his university could feel the hit of this rate increase.

"I don't think they quite understand what the impact will be," he says, adding that incoming freshmen are particularly vulnerable. "I think it will weigh heavy on them as they're just beginning their education."

Despite the outrage, the new 6.8 percent rate is still a good deal for students, especially since holding rates at 3.4 percent for another year cost the government roughly $6 billion, says Kantrowitz, from Edvisors.com.

"That would be $6 billion less for Pell Grants or for some other priority," he says.

This is not the first time student borrowers have paid nearly 7 percent interest on Stafford loans. Rates fluctuated between 3.37 and 8.25 percent, with the latter being the cap, from 1994 until 2007. Those interest rates varied for students in school versus in repayment.

View the original article here

5 Reasons International Students Should Consider MOOCs

Increasingly, MOOCs are being offered in languages other than English.

At 15, it seems unlikely Priya Prabhakar would know much about college.

But the rising high school sophomore has already taken six college courses from some of America's best universities, earning high marks in everything from poetry to computer programming.

Prabhakar, from Chennai, India, is one of thousands of students across the globe taking massive open online courses. And she can't get enough of them.

"I'm a curious person," says Prabhakar, who has already signed up for at least four more courses. "I have interests in many different fields and subjects." As a student contemplating her future career, she says MOOCs are great at fulfilling her curiosity about a variety of topics.

[Learn the basics of MOOCs.]

For decades, American-style higher education was out of reach for millions of international students. But now, thanks to MOOCs, students no longer have to hop on a plane and pay thousands of dollars in tuition to get a taste of the U.S. college experience.

Acing a MOOC won't help you earn a U.S. degree – yet. Most American universities won't accept transfer credit for the courses.

But that doesn't mean the classes aren't worthwhile. MOOCs can still inspire people, lead to additional job skills and impress future employers or admissions deans, experts say. Below are several reasons why international students might consider taking a MOOC.

1. The courses are free. To take a course from a world-renowned Harvard professor in the past, students likely would have had to shell out thousands of dollars. These days, students can watch that same professor lecture and follow his syllabus without spending a dime.

Students should note, though, that some MOOC providers charge fees to students who want to earn a certificate showing they successfully completed the course or to take a test proving their mastery.

2. The courses may be in your native language. Most MOOCs are offered by American professors and taught in English. But that is quickly changing.

"MOOCs are increasingly an international phenomenon," says Andrew Ng, cofounder of Coursera, the largest of the MOOC providers.

About 60 percent of Coursera's students are from outside of the United States. To keep that figure high and growing, Ng says the company is always looking to expand its offerings.

In the last few months, Coursera has added a limited number of courses taught in Italian, German, Chinese, French and Spanish.

Leaders of edX, another one of the major MOOC providers, have said they plan to offer more classes in different languages in the future, though English is the sole language now. Udacity, the third major player, states on its website that its courses offer subtitles in many different languages, including Spanish, Chinese, French and Portuguese.

3. MOOCs can inspire. Some international students take MOOCs simply for the joy of learning.

[Discover tips for studying in the United States.]

Tamara Duli, a Serbian undergraduate student at the International University of Novi Pazar studying English language and literature, says she's taken four Coursera classes on poetry, Greek and Roman mythology and other topics – just for her own enrichment.

Although the course work can be a bit much to handle on top of her regular school assignments, she says the classes are worth it in terms of the knowledge and inspiration she's gained.

"I have already enrolled in nine other courses," she wrote in an email. "I became utterly addicted. I just hope I'll manage them all."

Students such as Duli who are stirred by MOOCs may go on to do great things for their countries and communities, says Paul Corey, president of science, business and technology at Pearson, an education services company.

View the original article here

Find Health Care Opportunities for B-School Students

The Affordable Care Act may lead to more health care jobs for MBAs.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has some bad news for those on the job hunt. The May unemployment rate was 7.6 percent – a slight growth compared to April.

The job market for many may be growing more competitive, but at least one industry will be welcoming a surge of MBA graduates: health care.

Of employers in health care worldwide, 89 percent plan to hire MBA graduates this year, according to the 2013 Corporate Recruiters Survey. In 2012, only 77 percent of health care employers were expected to do this.

[Get a boost in b-school from extracurriculars.]

For potential MBA candidates looking to establish a career in health care, the job options are many, says June Kinney, associate director of the health care management program at the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania.

"They could be consultants. They could be investors. They could be operations managers. Or they can be entrepreneurs," she says.

The part-time MBA health care management program at the Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University Chicago caters to students who already work in the field but want to advance.

"They may be looking at a director position within the hospital that may be over a clinical area, or maybe even an administrative area. But they also may be in a pharmaceutical firm or medical device firm," says Pamela McCoy, an assistant dean at Quinlan.

[Start a business in business school.]

Many of these jobs have been around for years, experts say. But laws by the federal government have certainly created new opportunities.

"It's really driven by all of the Affordable Care Act provisions and impact on the field," Kinney says, referencing the health care reform movement known as Obamacare.

"There's a lot of people going into, obviously, consulting because all of the major providers and players in the field are looking for advice about how to change their operations, how to change their strategies."

Technology has also expanded the number of jobs.

Entrepreneurs are building new apps to connect health care providers to patients and business investors are needed to support this growth, Kinney says. Innovations in health care technology have also paved the way for more health care data to be collected. MBA graduates skilled in analyzing data can better understand patterns of behavior among specific health care populations, Kinney says.

[Make money in social enterprise as a b-school graduate.]

More physicians are also going into large, group practices, which create openings for MBAs, says James Henderson, academic director of the MBA health care program at the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University.

"A physician who was a solo practitioner before couldn't afford to hire an office manager, a trained administrator," he says. "But if you've got a physicians' group that has 75 physicians, they probably have a couple of MBA or graduate trained people that are actually running their operation."

Business students interested in health care usually take standard MBA classes such as accounting, finance and marketing. Through specialized programs, they also take courses specific to the field, such as health care economics, health care financing and health policy. They can use internships to get hands-on experience, or attend a school that provides residency options.

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Technology to Keep International Students Connected

Apps and services such as Viber and WhatsApp offer affordable ways for international students to stay connected with family.

If homesickness is setting in, international students can let virtual communication ease the disconnect from loved ones back home or close friends who have traveled elsewhere to pursue higher education.

When I first moved to the U.S. on my own, using WhatsApp to shoot short text messages to determine "What detergent did my mom use?" helped me make simple decisions. Whenever I had a tough day, talking to my best friend – who lives in Australia – was made possible through Viber, as she listened to my tearful mumbles and consoled me.

The following are several options that can still give your mom the power to check in on what her baby is up to and help international students keep in touch.

[Take these steps to adjust to life at a U.S. college.]

• Skype: Schedule a Skype date with your family members or your best friends from high school. Seeing their faces and hearing their voices through this video and voice calling service will be comforting even if they're not in reach.

Talk about anything and everything. Talk about school, your new friends, your memories with this person, and most importantly, about the way that you're feeling. These are the people in your life who already know your personality, care for you and appreciate you for who you are. They are your greatest source of comfort and stability.

During finals season, my friends in Australia and I often Skype each other to have study sessions. This way we feel like we're still in high school at the library together, keeping each other focused.

• Google Hangouts: A Hangout is a great way to connect with several people via webcam at once. This will let you speak to both your grandma and mom at the same time or a couple of your friends in different locations for free – unlike Skype, which has many free features but charges for group video calls.

In addition, Google Hangouts allow you to share your screen so, for example, you can show your parents when you are booking your flight home. There are apps to play games together and Google effects so you can add masks and sounds to your Hangout, making it more interactive and personal.

[Learn the keys to understanding your American classmates.]

• Viber: This smartphone application allows you to make free calls over a Wi-Fi or data connection. However, the receiver must also have Viber in order for a call to be received.

Although there is a messaging platform within Viber, I've found that it is not as reliable as WhatsApp. But this app will surely benefit you by lowering the monthly phone bill.

• WhatsApp: This application, offered for smartphones to download, is a free texting application that uses Wi-Fi or cellular data so you can be in contact 24/7. Like Viber, it requires that both parties have the application on their phones.

Use WhatsApp to text pictures of what you are doing and eating to your mom so she knows that you're getting the proper nutrients. Have group chats with your friends and exchange voice recordings.

I use WhatsApp every day to keep in touch with my mom. Although the use of this technology may be a blessing for her because she can easily keep tabs on me, there's also a hidden downside to it.

She often complains about me texting her at 3 a.m. in her time zone to ask how to pick out certain grocery items. But since she loves me so much, she still replies.

[Get ready to have an American roommate.]

• Snapchat: Send quick and quirky periodic updates through your phone to show little snapshots of your day. The app only lets you and your Snapchat buddy see the photo for a few seconds, allowing your responses to be original and unique.

• Snail mail: In spite of all of these electronic and instant options to keep in touch, sometimes it's nice to scale things back and refer to more personal methods for communication. For special occasions like birthdays, the birth of a new family member or just to send a warm greeting, sit down with a card or paper and write a personal letter.

When loved ones receive this they'll often feel the heartfelt message and cherish your words even more. If you are lucky, they might even send one back – which will be a perfect memento to look at when days are a little rough from being far away.

Every year, my best friend and I have a birthday tradition of sending a humorous birthday card to each other along with a heartfelt letter. Sending your loved ones reminders of what they mean to you by doing something a little more special makes it worth the effort of stopping by the post office.

Nisa Taib, from Brunei, is a senior at the University of Washington, studying business administration with a concentration in marketing.

View the original article here

10 Highest-Priced Public Colleges for Out-of-State Students

The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College and The Short List: Grad School to find data that matters to you in your college or grad school search.

The University of Michigan and University of Virginia are two of the best public universities in the country. Students living in those states can get a first-rate education at a bargain, but undergrads crossing state lines to attend should expect to fork over some cash.

Sticker price for nonresident students at Michigan topped $39,000 for the 2012-2013 school year, making it the most expensive public school for out-of-state students. Virginia came in a close second with tuition and fees of more than $38,000 for nonresident students, according to data reported to U.S. News in an annual survey.

[Learn how to get in-state tuition at out-of-state colleges.]

The University of California—Davis, College of William and Mary, UC—Santa Barbara and UC—Los Angeles are also among the 10 priciest public schools for nonresidents. Each school also landed among the top 10 public schools in the 2013 Best Colleges rankings.

Out-of-state tuition and fees at these 10 schools averaged nearly $36,500 for 2012-2013, up about $1,000 from the previous year. By comparison, nonresident tuition averaged roughly $19,100 nationwide, according to data reported by 331 ranked public colleges. The University of California—Berkeley, UC—Irvine and UC—San Diego, which appeared on this list in 2011 and 2012, did not report 2012-2013 tuition and fees to U.S. News.

[Discover the least expensive colleges for out-of-state students.]

Prospective students don't seem to be deterred by the steep price tag. The number of nonresident applicants to the University of Michigan has exploded in recent years, according to local news site AnnArbor.com.

The influx of capital from out-of-state students can be good news for local applicants – if they can secure admission, that is. Public schools often rely on tuition dollars from nonresident students, both domestic and international, to fill budget gaps and ease public pressure over in-state tuition rates.

The University of California school system bumped international undergraduate enrollment to roughly 13 percent last fall, up from a historical average of 3 to 5 percent, according to the East Bay Express in Oakland, Calif.

"This has been a big boost for the UC's coffers, as international students pay nearly three times as much in tuition as Californians," the paper reports.

[Find advice and resources on paying for college.]

Michigan's governing board recently approved a tuition hike of 3.2 percent for nonresident students, allowing the university to cap the increase for resident students at 1.1 percent – the lowest increase in three decades, AnnArbor.com notes.

Below are the 10 most expensive public schools for out-of-state students. These figures do not include room and board, books, transportation or other costs. Schools designated by U.S. News as Unranked were excluded from this list. U.S. News did not calculate a numerical ranking for Unranked programs because the program did not meet certain criteria that U.S. News requires to be numerically ranked.

School name (state)Tuition and fees (2012-2013)U.S. News rank and category70, National Liberal Arts Colleges

Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find tuition data, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.

U.S. News surveyed more than 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2012 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported a myriad of data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News's data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News's rankings of Best Colleges or Best Graduate Schools. The tuition and fees data above are correct as of July 2, 2013.

View the original article here

For Homebound Students, a Robot Proxy in the Classroom

All without leaving her living room.

Born with a chronic heart disorder that weakened her immune system and made attending school risky, Lexie, 9, was tutored at her home in Sumter for years. But this spring, her family began experimenting with an alternative — a camera-and-Internet-enabled robot that swivels around the classroom and streams two-way video between her school and house.

“She immediately loved the robot,” her mother, Cristi Kinder, said, of the device, called a VGo, which Lexie controls from her home computer. Lexie dressed up the robot, which is about the height of her third-grade classmates, in pink ribbons and a tutu, and she renamed it Princess VGo.

A small but quickly growing number of chronically ill students — at least 50 across the country — now attend school virtually with what are called “remote presence robots.” The technology is still expensive (a VGo costs $6,000, in addition to $1,200 a year for maintenance and other costs) and imperfect (when the robot loses its Internet connection, it goes lifeless and must be pushed).

And despite the fantasies of Lexie’s classmates — “I want a robot so I can stay in bed all day,” one 8-year-old said — such robots are mostly last resorts for children restricted to their houses or hospital rooms.

As Web-based video becomes more prominent as a teaching tool, special education advocates say these robots are valuable alternatives to tutoring. About 23,000 students across the country are homebound or hospitalized each school year. They might not otherwise interact with classmates or could fall farther behind academically, advocates say.

“Soon, these robots should be the price of an inexpensive laptop,” said Maja Mataric, a computer science professor at the University of Southern California, who studies how robots help children with learning disabilities. “They should make access to education much easier for students who are convalescing.”

Dr. Mataric’s research focuses on using robots to teach social cues to children with autism. Children adapt far more quickly to the technology than adults and treat the machine like another classmate, she says. During a fire drill at one Texas school, students were so worried about the VGo that they insisted on escorting it out of the building to safety.

The VGo is four feet tall, weighs 18 pounds and is shaped like a white chess pawn, with a video screen on its face. Lexie controls its movement with her computer mouse. Video of the classroom at Alice Drive Elementary School appears on her computer screen, and video of her face appears on the robot’s display screen. The robot and Lexie’s computer support two-way voice communication, and Lexie can flash her VGo’s lights to get the teacher’s attention.

Since 2007, VGo, based in Nashua, N.H., has been selling the robots to company executives who want to keep an eye on employees while traveling and to doctors, who use it to “visit” patients at different hospitals. Two years ago, it realized schools might be a new market. The first classroom model was sold to a school in Knox City, Tex., to be used by a child with an immune deficiency.

The company’s big break came during this year’s Super Bowl. Verizon, which provides the LTE wireless connection for the robot, ran a commercial about a student using VGo. Before the ad, VGo had sold about 10 robots to schools. Since then, they have sold about 40.

Most robots are bought with state or local money marked for disabled students, but at some schools, parents have held fund-raising events or bought the robot themselves. In Huntsville, Tex., education officials bought five VGos last year and are planning for five more next year. They named the program Morgan’s Angels after a student with cancer who missed school for six months but was able to attend remotely with the robot’s help.

For students like Connor Flanagan, 14, of Tyngsborough, Mass., the main benefit has been social interaction. He does not go to school because of a rare lung condition, but he has stayed in touch with friends while awaiting a transplant.

“He walks down the hallway kind of like everybody else,” said his mother, Jennifer Flanagan. “The kids — aside the fact that it was a robot — they treated him like Connor. He’d roll through the room, and you’d hear ‘Hey, Connor. Hi, Connor.’ ”

Parents have raised privacy concerns about children using cameras in class. But Ned Semonite, the company’s vice president for marketing and product management, said it was no different from a smartphone or Web camera.

The greatest logistical challenge is maintaining an Internet connection. Lori Gearhart, of Colesburg, Iowa, said her grandson, Aidan Bailey, 9, was able to use the robot after his lung collapsed last year. His science class was studying insects, and Aidan kept a cocoon in his hospital room. He would show classmates videos of its transformation into a butterfly.

But other times, she said, the robot, which was bought through a community fund-raising effort for Aidan, could not receive enough of a wireless signal. “It ends up where the classmates have to carry the robot down the hall,” she said.

In Sumter, Shawn Hagerty, the director of special education programs for the school district, bought a robot after seeing Verizon’s commercial. The teachers set aside a day when students could meet and play with the robot.

Lexie’s robot has its own desk and charging station against a wall. Ivey Smith, her teacher, said the children had embraced the idea of having a robot in the class and screamed with excitement every time it turned on.

“I was concerned they would be distracted,” she said. “But within a couple days, they acted like it had always been here. They feel special that there’s a robot in their class.”

On a recent day, Ms. Smith’s class was learning about synonyms. She asked every student to think of a word with the same meaning as the word “glassy.” A moment later, the robot’s pink and green lights blinked, and the class shouted, “Lexie!”

“My word is ‘shiny,’ ” she said through the video screen.

“Yes, very good,” the teacher replied. “Good answer.”

Between classes, Lexie guides the robot down the hallway. At day’s end, she rolls it to a charging station. On the way out of class, one child, Hazel Grace Kolb, waved goodbye to the machine.

“See you tomorrow, robot,” she said.

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