[YL] YouthLearn Newsletter, Issue 139

Tue Sep 2 21:57:44 EDT 2008

YouthLearn
Newsletter, Issue 139 - September 2, 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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YouthLearn Updates 

YouthLearn Team Seeking Your Feedback
We're redesigning the YouthLearn website! We need you, our YouthLearn subscribers, to tell us what you think about our site, content, and newsletter. Specifically, we hope that your feedback will help us make the site more user-friendly. We want to present the content, information, and resources in ways that work best for you. Additionally, we are exploring what we can add to support afterschool educators in pursuit of professional development, resources, activities, and community. The survey will only take a few minutes to complete. Please follow the link below. We greatly appreciate your feedback and will keep you posted on new developments. Thank you, The YouthLearn Team 
URL: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=KuZOiwMArNevmB7c3isJVg_3d_3d <http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=KuZOiwMArNevmB7c3isJVg_3d_3d> 

Youth Media Fellowship 2008/09 - Call for Applications
The Youth Media Learning Network seeks applicants from the greater New York City area to participate in the second annual cohort of the Youth Media Fellowship, a nine-month-long professional development opportunity for youth media educators. The Fellowship offers participants a rich and unique opportunity to examine closely their work and the work of young people within a diverse and dynamic community of peer practitioners. Fellows come together in a supported, sustained, and facilitated setting intended to engage them as experts from the field, to promote collaborative learning, and to inspire emerging leadership. The application deadline for the Youth Media Fellowship is September 22, 2008.
URL: http://www.youthlearn.org/YouthMediaFellowshipApp.pdf <http://www.youthlearn.org/YouthMediaFellowshipApp.pdf> 

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News 

National Learn & Serve Challenge Week
"The National Learn & Serve Challenge, October 6-12, 2008, is a concentrated week of special events and activities designed to spotlight service-learning successes around the country. It is also designed to show support for Learn and Serve America and inspire other schools and communities to launch their own service-learning initiatives." Suggestions for events include hosting a "service-learning t-shirt or button day at your school or organization" or presenting to your local school board and/or community groups. The Learn & Serve Challenge is a signature event of the National Service-Learning Partnership, made possible with support from State Farm® Companies Foundation. 
URL: http://www.learnandservechallenge.org/index.php <http://www.learnandservechallenge.org/index.php> 

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Funding 

Knight News Challenge and Garage Announced!
The Knight News Challenge is "giving away around $5 million in 2009 for the development and distribution of neighborhood and community-focused projects, services, and programs." Additionally, they are launching the brand-new News Challenge Garage, which is a coaching and mentoring site for prospective applicants to talk with mentors and peers, check out previous winners' applications and improve your application before you submit. Applications for the 2008-09 cycle will be taken starting September 2, 2008 and close on November 1, 2008.
URL: http://www.newschallenge.org <http://www.newschallenge.org/> 

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Resources 

At School, Technology Starts to Turn a Corner
This New York Times essay lays out a vision for school reform through technology integration and project-based learning: "In the classroom, the emphasis can shift to project-based learning, a real break with the textbook-and-lecture model of education. In a high school class, a project might begin with a hypothetical letter from the White House that says oil prices are spiking, the economy is faltering and the president's poll numbers are falling. The assignment would be to devise a new energy policy in two weeks. The shared Web space for the project, for example, would include the White House letter, the sources the students must consult, their work plan and timetable, assignments for each student, the assessment criteria for their grades and, eventually, the paper the team delivers. Oral presentations would be required. . . .The project-based approach, some educators say, encourages active learning and produces better performance in class and on standardized tests." 
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/technology/17essay.html?_r=1&oref=slogin <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/technology/17essay.html?_r=1&oref=slogin> 

Blueprint for 21st Century Civic Engagement
The Media Education Lab at Temple University announces the release of its "latest multimedia curriculum, developed in partnership with PBS Teachers, just in time for Election 2008: ACCESS, ANALYZE, ACT: A Blueprint for 21st Century Civic Engagement. This curriculum is designed to help develop students' understanding of the Presidential campaign process by harnessing the power of Web 2.0 for teaching media and information literacy, critical thinking, communication, collaboration and technology skills. There are more than a dozen social media tools showcased in this curriculum that can engage young learners in the political process. Teachers will gain confidence in using social media for student learning when viewing these videos and using these lesson plans." 
URL: http://www.pbs.org/teachers/vote2008/blueprint/ <http://www.pbs.org/teachers/vote2008/blueprint/> 

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Activities 

SAM Animation - Freeware to Make your Own Animated Movies
SAM Animation software enables young people to easily create stop-action movies that express their ideas and understanding of the world around them. 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. Designed at Tufts University, SAM Animation is freeware that's both PC and Mac (with Windows XP or OSX) compatible. The technology is accessible and engaging, and has multiple applications for both in school and afterschool. The developers offer support in the form of podcast tutorials on key features of the software. They also share tips, tricks, and activities in the Community section of the Web site. Users need only register with SAM Animation to download the software; plus, they will need a webcam to begin their work.
URL: http://www.sedl.org/cgi-bin/mysql/afterschool/technology.cgi?resource=5 

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/> 
Designed for youth development professionals, teachers, educators, and other
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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