Starting 'em young

Toy manufacturers are finding ways to bring technology to ever-younger children. Babies bound for Harvard or Yale won't be complete without their interactive stacking rings or voice-activated bears, which come with computer chips inside (the toys, not the babies). According to the Jan. 29, 2001, Trend Letter, 60 percent of the toys Fisher-Price makes for the under-4 set come with computer chips, as compared with just 10 percent three years ago. The toy marketers figure that introducing tots to technology at an early age will make them sophisticated users (and consumers) of technology as they grow.

Kindergarten online

Former U.S. Education secretary and outspoken conservative William J. Bennett is the first entrepreneur out of the gate to offer a complete elementary and secondary school education online. Last December, Bennett and Knowledge University Learning Group announced they had formed K12, an Internet-based, for-profit school for kindergarten through 12th grade and will begin enrolling students in fall 2001. The company says the K12 curriculum will focus on traditional, highly acclaimed educational content, and proven methods to help parents and other adults become better educators of their children. "Education is dramatically improved by the direct, ongoing involvement of at least one adult committed to a child's education," explained Bennett, helpfully.

Free software for GRE test-takers

Bowing to critics who charged that wealthier students have a performance edge in taking standardized tests, the Educational Testing Service announced it will give away software to people registering to take the Graduate Record Examination. The CD-ROM, called POWERPREP 2.0 did cost $45, an amount that may have discouraged GRE applicants, who pay $99 to take the test. ETS says that running through the CD-ROM will familiarize students with what it's like to take the test. The program includes two timed practice tests, many practice questions, an answer sheet and test-taking strategies. But Robert Schaeffer, public education director for the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, sees the give-away differently. Speaking to the Chronicle of Higher Education in February, he noted that it proves test-takers can benefit from coaching, which the ETS has always denied.