college

Listen up, college-hoops fans: I have good news and bad news about this year's version of the CBS Sports NCAA March Madness On Demand app.

The good: Unlike last year's version, it doesn't require a Wi-Fi connection to stream live games. Now you can watch over 3G or even EDGE.

The bad: CBS hiked the price from $4.99 to $9.99. But let's face it: For any hard-core NCAA fan, that's peanuts for the privilege of watching every game in the tournament on demand.

On the other hand, if you can live without the … Read more

In the early 1980s, each arcade video game kept a list of that game's top players. Three decades later, thanks to a prestigious college-prep service, we now have a list of the top academic players in video game design.

The Princeton Review recently surveyed 50 game design programs at U.S. colleges in order to handpick the eight top schools to attend if you're interested in game development. It based its selections on a variety of criteria including: curriculum quality, school staff and infrastructure, scholarships and financial aid, and career opportunities.

The top eight undergraduate game design programs: … Read more

A new sugar-based polymer could be used to make common food containers compostable at home right alongside your potato peels and egg shells.

A team of engineers and scientists at the Imperial College London led by Charlotte Williams in partnership with BioCeramic Therapeutics have created a degradable material from sugars derived from the breakdown of lignocellulosic biomass.

Williams noted in the group's announcement that while they're not the first to come up with a "biorenewable plastic," many of those have previously been made from sugar beet- or corn-based biomass.

It's a fairly accurate estimate.

In … Read more

Long-time energy efficiency professional Rob Pratt created a company to tap into the energy on college campuses around the environment.

Energy Climate Solutions, which formally launched on Thursday, was set up to offer energy efficiency and clean-energy services to colleges and universities, organizations typically well suited to invest in efficiency.

"College presidents are the ones who have the mission of figuring out a sustainability story and what to do about green," Pratt said. "They are being pushed--one president told me, 'This is my Vietnam. Not all the students are pushing (to lower carbon emissions), but the ones … Read more

If the student in your life has an iPhone, they're probably text messaging, surfing the Web, checking e-mail, and using apps. And although the phone can be a distraction in the classroom, it can also be a viable companion for students.

There are several great iPhone applications designed specifically for students. These apps all aim to make the student in your life just a little more productive in their educational endeavors.

BlackBoard Learn Since many college students use BlackBoard to access class information, BlackBoard Learn seems like an ideal choice for those students.

BlackBoard Learn, a free app, allows students to access all the information they normally would find on their unique online account. They need only to download the app, input their username, and they will be able to access all their class information. Everything from teacher announcements to new assignments are available. They can even check their grades. It's a free app, so as long as the student's institution uses BlackBoard, it's worth trying out.

Cram Cram is designed specifically to help students study for a big test. The app allows them to create multiple-choice quizzes and study guides with a flash-card-like system. The app even randomizes the answers to ensure students aren't memorizing a particular option.

Perhaps the best value from Cram comes from the many places students can access those tests. Since creating a quiz can take quite awhile on the iPhone, Cram has an online site where students can create their study tests. They can then sync their Cram account with the iPhone app. Cram users can also share their tests with friends to help the whole class do a little better. But before you get too excited about Cram, beware that it costs $4.99. That's a little steep for an app that requires so much work to make it useful.… Read more

Perhaps no one should be surprised that there are Web sites that appear to encourage those who have anorexia and bulimia and even give supposedly helpful tips on how to pursue those conditions.

Now the U.K.'s Royal College of Psychiatrists has called for urgent governmental action to halt the proliferation of such sites.

"Pro-ana and pro-mia websites advocate anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa as a lifestyle choice, rather than as serious mental disorders," said professor Ulrike Schmidt, chair of the college's eating disorders section. "Research shows that, even for healthy young women, viewing such … Read more

Streaming video continues to be largely MIA on the iPhone, but streaming audio? Ho, boy--it's an embarrassment of riches. Pandora, Slacker, Rhapsody. NPR News, Public Radio Player. The only thing missing? A killer sports app.

It's missing no more. ESPN Radio streams ESPN shows, podcasts, and even live college football games from stations around the country.

This is sports radio done right.… Read more

When March Madness rolls around for college basketball fans, you can be the first person with a pool bracket ready to use thanks to this nicely designed app.

Turbo Tourney launches a colorful but functional window with a complete tournament ready to fill in. Adding schools to the pairings is a snap, although the method isn't initially intuitive--instead of entering names directly into the main display, you must first click an icon on the toolbar to pop up a box with all the pairings. The box includes drop-down lists with all the regions and school names, so entering is … Read more

It's almost time for college students to head back to class. It's an exciting time for both the students and those who want to see their loved ones succeed. But doing it alone with no help from the Web doesn't make much sense nowadays.

That's why I've compiled a list of resources for students to use when they head back to college. Whether it's finding textbooks or getting help with tough subjects, every student should use at least some of these sites.

BuddySchool BuddySchool helps you find tutors that can assist you with some of your difficult class subjects.

When you get to the site, you'll need to find the class topic you're having trouble with. Once you find what you're looking for, BuddySchool lists several tutors on each subject. Those listings include a brief synopsis of the tutor's expertise, how they can help, and how much they charge for their time. If you like what you see, you can set up a time to be tutored. All payments are sent through the site to ensure the tutor is getting paid before they help. The site also features a review listing, so you can determine if other users' experiences were positive or not.

CollegeClassifieds If you're looking to find some on-campus merchandise, CollegeClassifieds is for you.

As the name suggests, CollegeClassifieds provides classified listings from college students on your campus. Simply find your school, choose the listing topic you're looking for, and you're all set. You can even subscribe to each listing's RSS feed, so you don't miss when new products are added. It's a great idea, but unfortunately, not too many colleges are listing products. That said, larger schools tend to have more listings. Your mileage may vary.… Read more