Ypulse Essentials: Classroom Technology Could Be Better, 'Hunger Games' Guys' Roles, Nick Announces eBooks

The cast of ‘Jersey Shore’ (is banding together to demand more money for their fourth season, set to start filming in just a few weeks in Italy. Among the contested points in their contracts: limited personal appearances. Snooki has been taking advantage of those deals, raking in $32,000 for a speech at Rutgers university, much to the horror of students’ parents, but of no consequence to Toni Morrison, who earned $2,000 less than the guidette for her recent speech at the university. Snooki who? If things don’t work out with “Jersey Shore,” Snooki might have a backup career as a wrestler based on her performance on Wrestlemania) (TMZ) (Fox News) (Gawker) (New York Magazine)

- Students, parents, and teachers (think technology has a place in the classroom, though they are not in total agreement as to how it should benefit students. Most interestingly, parents and teachers overwhelmingly think they’re doing a great job connecting students with instructional technology, but fewer than 50% of students think so) (ReadWriteWeb)

- You can stop guessing about ‘Hunger Games’ (roles now that casting is complete for the leads. Josh Hutcherson [of The Kids Are Alright] scores the role of Peeta, and Liam Hemsworth [of The Last Song] lands the role of Gale. How’s the movie going to turn out, in your opinion?) (Entertainment Weekly)

- Nickelodeon announced its first (collection of children’s ebooks, which are available exclusively on the Nook Color and NookKids. The new books include titles featuring Dora The Explorer and Spongebob Squarepants. In YA book news, fans have been posting about their excitement over the next installment of “Monster High” for a while now, and the wait is almost over; book 2, “The Ghoul Next Door,” arrives tomorrow) (eBook Newser) (Facebook)

- China is getting an outpost (of the Magic Kingdom. Disney has finally broken through the governmental red tape and secured permission to build a small [in comparison to Florida’s Disney World] resort and theme park in Shanghai) (Wall Street Journal, reg required)

- Will LeBron James’s 10-part, animated web series (take off? “The LeBrons” follows the basketball star’s four personas [Kid, Athlete, Suit, and Wise] as they learn life’s lessons in Akron, OH. With LeBron promoting the show to his 4.8 million Facebook fans and 1.5 million Twitter followers, it’s sure to get a few views) (Mashable)

- McDonald’s hopes to revise it’s image (as a source of dead-end jobs for bored teenagers. It plans to add 50,000 employees — teens and adults — to all levels of its workforce) (AdAge, reg required)