LA students breach school iPads' security

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It took just a week for nearly 300 students who got iPads from their Los Angeles high school to figure out how to alter the security settings so they could surf the Web and access social media sites.

The breach at Roosevelt High and two other LA schools has prompted Los Angeles Unified School District officials to halt a $1 billion program aimed at putting the devices in the hands of every student in the nation's second-largest school system, the Los Angeles Times reported. The district also has banned home use of the iPads until further notice as officials look for ways to make sure students use the devices for school work only.

The actions come as school officials nationwide grapple with security measures for iPads and other devices as they introduce them to tech-savvy students.

"I'm guessing this is just a sample of what will likely occur on other campuses once this hits Twitter, YouTube or other social media sites explaining to our students how to breach or compromise the security of these devices," School District Police Chief Steven Zipperman wrote in a confidential memo to senior staff obtained by the Times. "I want to prevent a 'runaway train' scenario when we may have the ability to put a hold on the rollout."

Roosevelt was among the first schools to distribute iPads as part of the district rollout. Its students initially were allowed to take home the Apple tablets, and they learned they could easily delete their personal profile information, giving them greater access to the iPads' capabilities.

Westchester High and the Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences in Granada Hills also reported the problem, though in smaller numbers.

Roosevelt students began to tinker with the security software on the devices after "they took them home and they can't do anything with them," Alfredo Garcia, a senior at the school, told the Times.

Before long, students were on the Internet, sending tweets, socializing on Facebook and streaming music through Pandora, students told the newspaper.

The district said in a statement Wednesday that steps have been taken "to ensure it has 100 percent control over what is accessible" on the devices.

Potential precautions include permanently barring home use of the tablets and strengthening the security software that limits how the devices are used.

Zipperman suggested in the memo to senior staff that the district might want to delay distribution of the iPads.

When the technology breaches came to light Tuesday, Superintendent John Deasy "ordered a moratorium on allowing tablets to leave campus until the problem has been resolved," the district statement said.

Via Yahoo News!

Thousands of students demonstrate in Burkina Faso (AP)

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso – Thousands of students took to the streets of Burkina Faso's capital burning tires and chanting in support of teachers who are demanding better conditions.

Ministry spokesman Boubacar Sy said Monday that angry students also entered the education ministry and turned everything "upside down." Firefighters rushed to the building after smoke was seen rising from it.

Some demonstrators seized buses and forced drivers to drive around gathering more students. Students had demonstrated in the capital and across the country last week for the same cause.

These protests come more than a month after a mutiny had threatened President Blaise Compaore's 24-year rule. The president dissolved the government and removed the country's security chiefs but kept himself in power.

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Princeton professor's suicide abgers friends, students

Princeton professor's suicide draws ire from friends, students By Vivienne Foley, CNN STORY HIGHLIGHTSAntonio Calvo took his own life last weekA small group within his department at Princeton had asked for his removal, friend saysPrinceton declines to comment on the circumstances surrounding Calvo's death New York (CNN) -- A professor at Princeton University took his life last week after a small group in his department demanded he be removed from his position, a longtime friend of Dr. Antonio Calvo said Friday.

"It was a mounted campaign against him," said Marco Aponte-Moreno, who last spoke to his friend in March.

Calvo was director of the Spanish Language Program and had worked at Princeton for 10 years.

Sophomore student James Williams called his professor "witty" and "sassy," "even controversial," but said that it was always in good taste.

"He was one of the best professors I've ever had. He was like one of us," Williams said.

Calvo had been under duress due to a review process that had dragged on since last year, according to Aponte-Moreno. The Spanish Department had recommended his reappointment, Aponte-Moreno said, but a small group within the department wrote a letter to the dean alleging misconduct which led to his abrupt suspension two weeks ago.

"They wanted him out no matter what," said Aponte-Moreno, adding that Calvo didn't know exactly what the accusations were in the letter, so he didn't have a chance to defend himself.

The university issued a statement on its website earlier this week announcing plans for a memorial for Calvo. The statement said that he was "on leave from Princeton at the time of his death."

Princeton University spokeswoman Cass Cliatt declined to comment further on the details surrounding Calvo's death, saying that it is the school's policy not to "speak to matters of personnel, which are not public."

"We are heartfelt in extending our condolences to his family, and we continue to offer sympathy and provide support to the many students and faculty who knew him and admired him. We, like they, are very saddened by his death," Cliatt wrote in an emailed statement.

Calvo died April 12 of multiple, self-inflicted "stab and incised wounds of the neck and left upper extremities of his arm," said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the New York City Medical Examiner's Office.

Students of Calvo's are planning to hold a closed forum Saturday at Princeton called "Justice for Calvo: Forming a Student Response."

"Everything happened so fast, this was his home," said Williams. "If he was treated unethically and unfairly, we need to address that issue and see that proper action is taken."

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High school students earn more credits than those in the past

By Sally Holland, CNN Producer STORY HIGHLIGHTSStudy finds teens take harder courses than in 199013% took rigorous classes in 2009, up from 5%Only 25% completed less than the standard curriculum in 2009, down from 60% in 1990 Washington (CNN) -- A new report on high school course work indicates that students are completing more challenging courses and taking more credits than they did in the past.

The High School Transcript Study looked at the curriculum choices for the 2009 graduating class at more than 700 public and private schools representing 37,700 students from across the U.S.

According to the study, graduates in 2009 earned three more credits than their counterparts in 1990, amounting to an additional 420 hours of instruction over four years of high school per student. They also took more challenging courses.

The study divided the students into three curriculum levels: standard, midlevel and rigorous. A rigorous designation indicated the student completed four credits of English, three credits in social studies, four credits in mathematics that included geometry, algebra and precalculus or higher, three credits in science that included biology, chemistry and physics and at least three foreign language credits.

Thirteen percent of the high school graduates in 2009 took the courses required to rank in the rigorous category. This is up from 5% in 1990.

Students who took Algebra I before high school were much more likely to reach the rigorous level according to the study.

"There is a correlation, but not causation," said Henry Kranendonk, who is a member of the National Assessment Governing Board. "The correlation is clearly strong that students who are taking algebra prior to high school are setting themselves up for a more rigorous curriculum."

The mathematics requirements to reach the rigorous benchmark are hard to reach in four years of high school so a head start helps, he added.

Just adding algebra to a middle school curriculum is not necessarily the answer.

"The current certification for teachers in the middle school level, by and large, is not adequate for them to be teaching the kinds of courses we are talking about, like algebra and geometry," Kranendonk said.

Back in 1990, 60% of students completed less than the standard curriculum requirements. That number dropped to 25% in 2009.

For the study, a standard designation meant that the student completed four credit hours in English and three each in social studies, mathematics and science.

The lack of a science course was generally the reason students did not make a higher designation.

"Many graduates lacked only the required science courses to reach the next higher curriculum level," according to Janis Brown, a statistician for the Department of Education. "For example, of the 25% of graduates who did not complete a standard curriculum, 39% lacked only the required three credits in science to attain a standard curriculum."

The High School Transcript Study is done every four or five years by the National Assessment of Educational Progress to look at trends in coursework, credits and grades of U.S. high school graduates.

The full report can be found at http://www.nagb.org/high-school-transcript/.

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