A (snark-free) version of this round-up appears on MindShift
The VOIP service Skype announced the launch of "Skype in the Classroom," a directory to help connect educators with others who are using the service. Skype has recognized that teachers are already using the service to connect their classrooms, and so it wanted to make it easier for teachers to find others and to share Skype lessons and resources. I broke this story over a month ago on ReadWriteWeb, but go ahead, retweet the Mashable version. See if I care.
Google Summer of Code is now open for student applications. The program gives college students the opportunity to spend the summer doing real-world, open-source programming with mentor organizations. These organizations include Wikipedia, Moodle, and many, many others. Applications are due April 8.
The computational knowledge engine WolframAlpha has launched two more of its Course Assistant apps: one for Astronomy and one for Multivariable Calculus. The apps are available for iPhone, cost $4.99, and beg the question: why on earth would you bring a calculator to class when you can bring WolframAlpha.
The ACLU has started a campaign, reports eSchoolNews, demanding that high schools remove filters that block access to websites that support LGBT communities.
ePals, which describes itself as "the largest K-12 learning network in the world," unveiled its Learning Pages partner program. Learning Pages lets school communities have access to various media like educational games, podcasts, and online exhibits, as well as guided classroom activities, discussion forums, and links for teachers to collaborate on projects with other classrooms around the world. Partners as part of the launch include National Geographic, SnagFilms, and Microsoft Partners in Learning.
Sesame Street has launched an iPad e-book reader. The app itself is free, and books are available for subscription. GeekDad's Daniel Donahoo points out, however, that there aren't any free copies for you to sample before you buy, but he does not that the quality of the content there is high.
Online test-prep company PrepMe has launched a new service called Coursification, TechCrunch reports. Man, I hate that name. Coursification, that is. I also hate that story in TechCrunch. Read and see if you can figure out why.
Professor Dan Cohen has just released a database of over one million course syllabi, gathered from the Internet between 2002 and 2009. The data is available for people to download, and via analysis and visualization, I'm guessing this data could give us some very interesting insights into changes in college instruction. Cohen is the director for the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.
Geeky gadget-seller ThinkGeek wants to give away its damaged goods to schools and hackerspaces. Visit the site to sign up.