The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Training has been asked to inquire into and report on the role, adequacy and resourcing of school libraries and teacher librarians in Australia's public and private schools. The committee invites interested organisations and individuals to make written submissions to the inquiry, addressing the terms of reference, by 16 April 2010. Parliament of Australia, 18 March 2010.

Educators have found that Twitter is an effective way to broaden participation in lecture. Additionally, the ubiquity of laptops and smartphones have made the integration of Twitter a virtually bureaucracy-free endeavour. Mashable, 1 March 2010.

Australia's higher education sector has the potential to be the most diverse and therefore among the most effective in the world, according to a leading international expert. Speaking for the LH Martin Institute's executive seminar series at the University of Melbourne's Graduate School of Education, Professor Frans Van Vught praised new policy initiatives being introduced to the sector. The Melbourne Newsroom, 10 March 2010.

Education Services Australia Limited was the recipient of two awards at the recent !DEA 2010 Conference, held in Melbourne in March. Education Services Australia's product, FusED, a social networking software, was first runner up and also the winner of the People's Choice Award which was voted by the conference delegates. FusED is the software underpinning a number of social networking services, with the flagship service being me.edu.au. Education.au, 18 March 2010.

To prepare for the future, young Australians need an education that is holistic, flexible and encompasses a commitment to both work and life, a 2009 review of research has concluded. The review suggests a move away from an education system characterised by age requirements, minimum attendance levels and set start times of the year, to a flexible approach that fits with the complexity of young people's lives. Australian Flexible Learning Framework, 18 March 2010.

Peter Hill offers leadership during a time of significant change in the learning landscape for Australian education. In this article, he outlines the development, conceptualisation and structure, use and accessibility, and support for an Australian curriculum in preparation.

A new U.S. survey focuses on American teens and twenty-somethings who are making the passage into adulthood at the start of a new millennium. These young people have begun to forge their generational personality: confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and open to change. They embrace multiple modes of selfexpression. Three-quarters have created a profile on a social networking site. One-in-five have posted a video of themselves online. Pew Research Center, 24 February 2010.

Australians are sharing more content online than ever before as their engagement with social networking sites continues to grow, according to a survey. We are also becoming increasingly engaged with brands, companies and government organisations through social media, according to the Nielsen 2010 Social Media Report. The Age, 17 March 2010.

The NSW Government is considering relaxing its block on government high school students using social networking sites. A series of stakeholder round tables had been held involving parents, students and school P&C representatives to discuss the current blocking policy. iTWire, 15 March 2010.

More than 1600 Victorian schools are about to get the Ultranet - an online portal and 'virtual classroom' that promises to transform the way students learn. Parents will be able to use the Ultranet to check their child's attendance records, monitor academic progress and give teachers immediate feedback. The Age, 16 March 2010.