[YL] YouthLearn Newsletter, Issue 137

Tue Jul 22 23:42:50 EDT 2008

YouthLearn
Newsletter, Issue 137 - July 22, 2008

The YouthLearn Newsletter compiles the latest entries to the YouthLearn News Blog. This innovative service to the YouthLearn community highlights youth, education, and technology news, tools, and resources. We hope this assists you in your important work. Please feel free to share this resource with friends and colleagues, and visit the News Blog often! http://news.youthlearn.org <http://news.youthlearn.org/> 

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News 

NECC highlights tech's 'transformative' power
"Transformation and collaboration were the central ideas of the 2008 National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in San Antonio, which kicked off June 29 with a call to fundamentally change education and continued with several other sessions that repeated this theme. Hosted by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), NECC is the largest educational technology conference in North America. Now in its 29th year, the conference brought together more than 12,000 educators and school administrators from around the world to network, share successful ed-tech strategies, and learn from their colleagues. And in keeping with the theme of this year's event--'Convene, Connect, and Transform'--ISTE President Trina J. Davis opened the conference by challenging attendees to really transform education through the use of technology, not just layer technology onto traditional instructional practices." 
URL: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=54581;_hbguid=b4e2efc2-e290-485c-96d9-a2a370905df6 <http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=54581;_hbguid=b4e2efc2-e290-485c-96d9-a2a370905df6> 

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Funding 

Best Buy Awards for Interactive te at ch Program
"The Best Buy te at ch program rewards schools for successful interactive programs they have launched with available technology. Winning te at ch programs focus on kids using technology to learn a standards-based curriculum, rather than on teaching students to use technology or educators using technology that children aren't able to use hands-on. Maximum Award: $5,000. Eligibility: Accredited K-12 public, private, parochial, and nonprofit charter schools in the United States. Deadline: October 12, 2008."
URL: https://bestbuyteach.scholarshipamerica.org <https://bestbuyteach.scholarshipamerica.org/> 
Referred by: Promising Practices in Afterschool

"Increase Your Green" - Do Something 2008 School Competition
"Participants must make concrete efforts towards reducing the environmental impact of their school during the eight week competition. All initiatives must be youth designed and led. A representative from each group must submit an online report of the school or club's actions to save energy, reduce waste and raise awareness during the competition." Open to middle and high schools, this competition begins October 13 and closes December 8. Winners receive cash awards and other prizes. Register your club or school by October 13 in order to participate.
URL: http://www.dosomething.org/increaseyourgreen <http://www.dosomething.org/increaseyourgreen> 
Referred by: eSchool News

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Resources 

Model Projects: Maker Faire Inspires Learning and Creativity
At an event called Maker Faire Education Day, "the first of its kind, two dozen inventors shared their ideas and creations -- from electronic gadgets to homemade instruments -- and discussed the scientific principles that make their work possible. Dale Dougherty, founder of Maker Faire -- the larger, weekend-long public event on which the Maker Faire Education Day is based -- says traditional vocational-arts courses are disappearing from school curricula, but many professions still require hands-on skills. This event is one way to keep interest in manual efforts alive."
URL: http://www.edutopia.org/maker-faire-DIY-projects <http://www.edutopia.org/maker-faire-DIY-projects> 

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Activities 

Windward: Outsmart the Weather - Free Online Game
Windward: Outsmart the Weather is a fun, free online game in which players learn how to read weather maps and identify and predict weather patterns. It is one of the resources highlighted in the recently launched Technology Curriculum Database, developed by YouthLearn for the U.S. Department of Education-funded National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning at SEDL. In this game, players must negotiate the wind and weather and determine what tools and resources to use as they sail a boat in a virtual round-the-world race. Created by Cable in the Classroom with project partners Discovery Education and The Weather Channel, and in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Windward brings broadband technology and interactive digital content together in a way that enriches the teaching and learning of science concepts related to weather. Extensive teacher and parent sections offer ideas and link to numerous resources for using Windward in or out of school. 
URL: http://www.sedl.org/cgi-bin/mysql/afterschool/technology.cgi?resource=3 <http://www.sedl.org/cgi-bin/mysql/afterschool/technology.cgi?resource=3> 

We welcome your feedback!

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YouthLearn
http://www.youthlearn.org <http://www.youthlearn.org/> 

This newsletter is produced by the YouthLearn Initiative at EDC especially for
members of the YouthLearn discussion group. Every two weeks, the newsletter is
compiled from the entries in the YouthLearn News Blog <http://news.youthlearn.org/> , including summaries
from various sources that YouthLearn staff periodically review.

Past newsletters are archived at http://www.youthlearn.org/resources/newsletter/index.html <http://www.youthlearn.org/resources/newsletter/index.html> . 

YouthLearn is a project of the nonprofit Education Development Center, Inc. <http://www.edc.org/> 
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caring adults, YouthLearn provides resources and tools for developing effective
learning programs enhanced with technology, particularly in out-of-school settings.

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