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Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Express Edition is a free, compact version of the popular enterprise database server. The Express Edition is ideal for database professionals seeking a desktop testing environment or for those learning about databases or SQL Server for the first time who need a platform they can install on a personal computer to create a learning environment.

Read the full story: Installing SQL Server 2012 Express Edition

They’re inexpensive, they last for decades, and they’re incredibly versatile: indeed, a cast iron pan is one of the best investments you can make in your kitchen. Learning how to properly use and care for cast iron cookware will make you appreciate it even more, and will help you keep it in the best condition so that you might even be able to pass it along to future generations of cooks. Check out Cast Iron Cooking Tips to ensure that you’re using and maintaining your cast iron properly.

This week begins our family Oz fest. No, this has nothing to do with the Osbournes — I’m talking witches, flying monkeys and the yellow brick road. We have been reading the Oz book series in anticipation of the upcoming Disney film Oz the Great and Powerful. My daughter wants to have an Oz-themed birthday party in a couple of months. And, for Christmas we got the kids tickets to see Wicked, the musical which provides a thought-provoking and fun take on how the Wicked Witch became who she is. So, we are immersed in Oz beginning this week, with my trip to L.A. to see the red carpet premiere of the much anticipated Oz the Great and Powerful, which opens in theaters on March 8, 2013. I’ll also get to interview the stars of the movie, so email me if you have any burning questions about the movie!

Oz the Great and Powerful is a risky endeavor. The original Wizard of Oz movie is one of the most iconic classics of all time. As far as characters of Oz go, no one is ever going to be able to upstage Judy Garland as Dorothy. No one. But Oz the Great and Powerful is about the Wizard. This origins story also has to live up to the beloved musical Wicked, a clever, whimsical, funny, and very beloved musical which provides a possible back story for Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch. Can Oz the Great and Powerful, which provides us with a back story for the mysterious wizard and the witches of Oz, deliver a compelling tale worthy of Oz? I can’t wait to find out! I love the the idea of learning about how the wizard came into his enigmatic position of power, and of course we’ve always been curious about the Wicked Witch’s sister and what she was like before the unfortunate incident with the house.

Oz the Great and Powerful has been given a PG rating, for sequences of action and scary images, and brief mild language. This is a family film, though I will have specific age recommendations soon as well as more information about the characters and the storyline. If you get the chance, the Oz book series is a great one to read aloud as a family, and while this movie doesn’t follow the books, reading the series is a great way to introduce kids to the world of Oz and get them excited about reading.

(Photo © TWC)

It doesn’t cover everything about behavioral economics, but this list of TED talks is a good place to get your feet wet if you’re interested in learning.

It was fun watching the Crunchies Awards ceremony livestreamed from San Fransciso this week.

The geekfest is a far cry from The Oscars, low on glitz but high on intellectual curiosity. After all, the awards typically honor technology startups that have had — or hold the potential to have – impact on people’s lives.

Reddit, the online social forum, won for “biggest social impact,” while Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg was named “Best CEO” and Instagram founder Kevin Systrom went on stage to get a Crunchie as “founder of the year.”

It was no surprise to anyone familiar with the American education system to see online learning startups in the tech limelight. Coursera, an online education company founded by two Stanford University professors, was named “best new startup of 2012.” There was also a special category called “best education startup,” which went to Codecademy, a company that teaches people to code online.

It’s good that the Crunchies have a “new startup” category (isn’t that an oxymoron?) because several notable winners actually have been around for several years. GitHub, the open-code-hosting site and social network for developers, won “best overall startup,” despite the fact that it started back in 2008.

Pinterest, named best content discovery app, launched in 2010–three years ago. Fab.com, a social commerce service, went online in 2010 and won a Crunchie this year for best e-commerce application. Collaborative music platform Soundcloud, which won best international startup, has been around even longer–for more than five years.

A recent study, reported in the Journal of Adolescent Research, caught my eye. It was a term in the title of the article that I had never heard before: “Relationship Churning in Emerging Adulthood: On/Off Relationships and Sex With an Ex.”

Relationship churning? What could that mean? I had, literally, a gut response, remembering all those times when I couldn’t figure out if was still in, or completely out, of a relationship. Did that slammed door denote the end of something or was it like a starter pistol, a bang that signified the hard work was about to begin, and I better get moving?

As it turns out, this is more or less what the authors meant when they coined the term. The study, which relied on data taken from a longitudinal study of 7th, 9th, and 11th graders in Lucas County, Ohio between 2001 and 2007, examines how often people reconcile (for any length of time) with someone they were formerly dating and how often they have sex with their ex. This middle space, where you may be broken up but not really, or really broken up but still having sex, is what they call relationship churning.

I was surprised by their findings. Not by how frequently people reported it, but that they didn’t report it more. Forty four percent of those surveyed reported getting back together with a romantic partner they had dated in the past two years. And of those 53% said they had sex with their exes. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem as if they asked about having sex with an ex that you didn’t reconcile with.

But still, it’s one of those statistics that makes me wonder how non-representative the people in my life are. Way more than half the people I know have, at one time, had sex with an ex. Most agree it was a bad decision in the long run. Almost all agree that in the moment it was either comforting, hot, or just inevitable. The researchers note that their numbers may be low because they only asked people about their present or most recent experience and not lifetime experience of reconciling or having sex with an ex.

Other than the terminology what struck me most about the paper was how different it would be if we let people produce research on themselves. In this case we have adults describing young people. Only they aren’t young people, they are “emerging adults” and the context of the study is the idea that during this time, adolescence and early adulthood, “learning how to form, maintain, and gracefully end romantic and sexual relationships with others is arguably one of the critical developmental tasks.”

As an adult, it’s hard not to read that without laughing. Does anyone really emerge from their youth knowing how to do this well? I mean some probably can do it better than others, but outside of movies and television shows, when do romantic and sexual relationships end gracefully? I think I’d like to argue that the idea of relationship churning is less a discrete period of time between other kinds of relationships and more of a parallel experience, that is tied to opportunity and context.

But that might just be me. I have a very weak stomach.

If you’re interested in reading more, the paper is available for free download for a limited time. You can access it here:

Journal of Adolescent Research: Relationship Churning in Emerging Adulthood: On/Off Relationships and Sex With an Ex

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Forty public universities will offer free online courses this spring through a recent initiative between private business and public schools known as MOOC2Degree (Massive Open Online Course). Free online courses have been around for a while, but these courses will be for credit.

Here’s why distance learning typically relies on office software, and how students, instructors, and administrators can find academic versions.

When I taught online courses, student work was created in an office software word processor, spreadsheet, or presentation program. My feedback was placed as comments in the actual document the student had created.

The actual online course is typically set up in a learning management system (LMS)–a portal students and instructors login to with a discussion board and written or video lectures. Assignments are attached as office software documents through the portal.

Online or offline students can save money by investigating academic versions of office software suites and apps.

Also, sign up for my newsletter (upper right of this page) to get notice of deals and trends in the office software tools that directly affect your education. For example, last week, I highlighted this Roundup of Student Software Deals from Microsoft.

Already a student using office software? Please Nominate Your Favorite Academic Office Software for About.com’s Readers’ Choice 2013!

(c) Image Courtesy of Microsoft

It’s astounding that after 12 years, Dora the Explorer is still one of the most popular preschoolers’ show on television — and there are a lot of really great new shows for preschoolers out there. Many have come and gone during the time Dora has reigned as the Queen of preschooler TV. According to Nickelodeon, Dora the Explorer currently reaches more preschoolers than any other show on television (12.4 million). Why is Dora still so popular after all these years? Well, because she rocks!

Dora is a pioneer in interactive preschool TV. Her adventures are simple, yet still exciting for preschoolers, and parents love the show because of the educational content. It also helps that she is a role model for young Hispanic viewers, and she teaches fun Spanish words to viewing children of all nationalities (what kid isn’t thrilled by learning how to say real words in a foreign language?). The show also features catchy music young kids love to sing along with Dora and her friends.

On Monday (Jan. 14), Dora shines again in a brand-new half-hour primetime special, “Dora Rocks!” premiering at 7:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Music takes center stage as the curricular focus of the new special, and kids and parents can even go online to www.nickjr.com to learn more about the special and print out activities like a musical learning pack (awesome!), make your own microphone, puppet theatre, and more. You can also get the “Dora Rocks!” CD and other merchandise at Target stores. Rock on, Dora!

(Photo © Viacom)

It’s astounding that after 12 years, Dora the Explorer is still one of the most popular preschoolers’ show on television — and there are a lot of really great new shows for preschoolers out there. Many have come and gone during the time Dora has reigned as the Queen of preschooler TV. According to Nickelodeon, Dora the Explorer currently reaches more preschoolers than any other show on television (12.4 million). Why is Dora still so popular after all these years? Well, because she rocks!

Dora is a pioneer in interactive preschool TV. Her adventures are simple, yet still exciting for preschoolers, and parents love the show because of the educational content. It also helps that she is a role model for young Hispanic viewers, and she teaches fun Spanish words to viewing children of all nationalities (what kid isn’t thrilled by learning how to say real words in a foreign language?). The show also features catchy music young kids love to sing along with Dora and her friends.

On Monday (Jan. 14), Dora shines again in a brand-new half-hour primetime special, “Dora Rocks!” premiering at 7:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Music takes center stage as the curricular focus of the new special, and kids and parents can even go online to www.nickjr.com to learn more about the special and print out activities like a musical learning pack (awesome!), make your own microphone, puppet theatre, and more. You can also get the “Dora Rocks!” CD and other merchandise at Target stores. Rock on, Dora!

(Photo © Viacom)