Meanwhile, we need to watch for where innovations occur. That’s largely going to be Web 2.0, a hub of invention so busy that it’s difficult to keep up.

The White House declined several requests for interviews or to say whether Mr. Obama as a matter of policy supports or opposes the use of American cyberweapons.

A wave of cyberattacks aimed at 27 American and South Korean government agencies and commercial Web sites temporarily jammed more than a third of them over the past five days, and several sites in South Korea came under renewed attack on Thursday.

It's the latest chapter in an evolving debate about the place of innovation in higher education. Is outsourcing teaching -- especially for huge and often poorly run introductory courses -- a way for colleges to catch up with other industries and rein in out-of-control costs? Or does it mean gutting what makes universities special?