[YL] YouthLearn Newsletter, Issue 146

Wed Dec 17 11:48:50 EST 2008

YouthLearn
Newsletter, Issue 146 - December 17, 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 

Best Wishes from YouthLearn Team for the New Year!
Our team has much planned for 2009, which we'll be excited to share with the YouthLearn community when the time comes. We wish you the best in your endeavors for the coming year. And, as always, please be in touch to let us know how things are going in your corner of the youth, education, and technology world.
URL: http://www.youthlearn.org <http://www.youthlearn.org/> 

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Funding 

Inspired Visual Learning Awards
"Inspiration Software, Inc. offers an annual educator awards program. Totaling more than $22,000 in cash and technology prizes, the 2008-2009 Inspired Visual Learning Awards will recognize 15 K-12 educators and their students who are creatively using visual learning in their classrooms. Applications are being accepted until February 27, winners will be announced March 31, 2009. To win an award for their classrooms, educators must submit student-created examples using Inspiration Software's visual learning software tools: Inspiration®, Kidspiration® and InspireData®. Winners will receive technology and funds for professional development and/or new technology purchases that support visual learning in their classrooms."
URL: http://cf.inspiration.com/vlawards/ <http://cf.inspiration.com/vlawards/> 

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Resources 

National Afterschool Association 2009 Convention
Jazzing It Up Afterschool Style: Leadership, Learning and Creativity in New Orleans - NAA's 21st Annual Convention - is being held April 2 - 4, 2009, at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Over 3,000 afterschool professionals and stakeholders are expected to attend. It's one of the largest conventions for the afterschool field, and, this year, takes place as a joint conference overlapping with the annual convention of the National Association of Elementary School Principals.
URL: http://www.naaconvention.org/index.html <http://www.naaconvention.org/index.html> 

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Research 

Study finds poverty dramatically affects children's brains
"Certain brain functions in some low-income nine- and ten-year-olds show patterns equivalent to the damage from a stroke, according to a new study to be published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, USA TODAY reports. The study adds to a growing body of evidence that poverty afflicts children's brains through malnutrition, stress, illiteracy, and toxic environments. Research shows that the neural systems of poor children develop differently from those of middle-class children, affecting language development and 'executive function,' or the ability to plan, remember details, and pay attention in school. . . Research also suggests that these effects are reversible through intensive intervention such as focused lessons and games that encourage children to think out loud or use executive function."
URL: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-12-07-childrens-brains_N.htm <http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-12-07-childrens-brains_N.htm> 
Referred by: PEN Weekly NewsBlast

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Activities 

Alice - Programming in 3-D
This educational software, named Alice, teaches users computer programming in a 3-D environment. It is one of the resources highlighted in the Technology Curriculum Database launched earlier this year, which was developed by YouthLearn for the U.S. Department of Education-funded National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning at SEDL. Young people can easily create animations to tell a story, produce an interactive game, or make videos to share on the web. A free teaching tool, Alice introduces fundamental programming concepts in the context of making media. Alice was developed to engage young people in computer science and, especially, to demonstrate the relevance and applicability of computer science concepts to addressing real-world problems. The software and supporting materials grow out of a collaboration of faculty, staff, and students across several universities. 
URL: http://www.sedl.org/cgi-bin/mysql/afterschool/technology.cgi?resource=21 <http://www.sedl.org/cgi-bin/mysql/afterschool/technology.cgi?resource=21> 

Name NASA's Next Rover - Essay Contest
Learn about the Mars Rover and come up with a name for it ahead of its next mission! To enter the essay contest, students must be in grades K-12 in the United States, including U.S. possessions and schools operated by the U.S. for children of American personnel overseas. There are Disney/Pixar WALL-E prizes for finalists and a trip to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the winner. Submit essays between November 18, 2008 - January 25, 2009. 
URL: http://marsrovername.jpl.nasa.gov/ <http://marsrovername.jpl.nasa.gov/> 

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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