New teaching tools are building on the familiar format of computer games, changing battlegrounds into learning grounds. On Thursday, Jan. 12, a panel of innovative educators and software creators will demonstrate and discuss some of the latest learning technologies at this month’s luncheon of the Virginia Piedmont Technology Council, “Beyond the Book: Using Technology to Enhance K-12 Learning.” Full Story.

U.Va. News Services

Surveying the devastation of “one of America’s storied cities.” Helping an elderly woman sort through the wreckage of her home – while trying to rescue a few unbroken pieces of her family china. Finding hope in the light glinting off a crystal chandelier. Twenty-four U.Va. undergraduates are in New Orleans this week as part of a January Term course examining the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Along with assisting students at a flood-damaged high school with college applications and helping local residents with ongoing clean-up efforts, the U.Va. students will be contributing their impressions of post-Katrina New Orleans all week in the University News Services’ New Orleans Journal.

U.Va. News Services/Dan Addison