[YL] YouthLearn Newsletter, Issue 152

Tue Mar 31 12:28:35 EDT 2009

YouthLearn
Newsletter, Issue 152 - March 31, 2009

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 

Six technologies soon to affect education
"Collaborative environments, cloud computing, and 'smart' objects are among the technologies that a group of experts believes will have a profound impact on K-12 education within the next five years or sooner. The group, called the New Media Consortium (NMC), has come out with an annual report on emerging technologies in higher education for the last several years. This year, for the first time, NMC has issued a K-12 version of its 'Horizon Report' as well.... The six technologies detailed in the report are... - One year or less: collaborative environments and online communication tools - Two to three years: mobile devices and cloud computing - Four to five years: smart objects and the personal web"
URL: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=57910 <http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=57910> 

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Funding 

ESA Foundation Offers Funding for Youth Programs
"The ESA (Entertainment Software Association) Foundation is dedicated to supporting positive programs and opportunities that make a difference in the quality of life, health, and welfare of America's youth. The foundation seeks to harness the collective power of the interactive entertainment industry to create positive social impact in our communities. The foundation supports geographically diverse projects and programs that benefit American youth of all races and denominations and both genders. Applicant organizations must have tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status and must be seeking funding for a specific project or program that is or will be conducted in two or more states in the United States and serves youths between the ages of 7 and 18. Applicant organizations must provide youth programs in one or more of the following areas: skills and personal development, general health and welfare, risk behavior prevention, education, or multimedia arts/technology."
URL: http://www.theesa.com/foundation/application.asp <http://www.theesa.com/foundation/application.asp> 
Referred by: Foundation Center

Open Society Institute Seeks Proposals for Documentary Photography Distribution Grants
"The Open Society Institute Documentary Photography Project is offering a grant to documentary photographers who have already completed a significant body of work on issues of social justice, to collaborate with a partner organization and propose new ways of using photography as a tool for positive social change. All applicant photographers must work with another entity (such as a nonprofit, NGO, or community-based organization) to design an innovative distribution strategy that targets specific communities and advocates for social change. The program will award grants of $5,000 to $30,000 each. For further information, see the Distribution Grant guidelines at the OSI Web site."
URL: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/photography/news/distribution2009_20081125 <http://www.soros.org/initiatives/photography/news/distribution2009_20081125> 
Referred by: Foundation Center

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Resources 

Music Videos Help Educators and Students Conquer Copyright Confusion
"Can an animated little bird and a skater girl help young people learn about the concept of intellectual property? Can a 'Schoolhouse Rock' style music video help people appreciate their social responsibilities and rights under copyright law? Researchers at Temple University's Media Education Lab have created two animated music videos to clarify the purpose of copyright and the doctrine of fair use. Catchy lyrics and clever visuals help people understand how 'context and situation determine how fair use applies' to the use of copyrighted materials. A solid understanding of copyright and fair use is especially important for the use of remix practices that are now common on You Tube, MySpace and other social networking sites. That's why they've posted their music videos to You Tube."
URL: http://www.mediaeducationlab.com/news/music-videos-help-educators-and-students-conquer-copyright-confusion <http://www.mediaeducationlab.com/news/music-videos-help-educators-and-students-conquer-copyright-confusion> 

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Research 

Social Skills, Extracurricular Activities In High School Pay Off
"It turns out that being voted 'Most likely to succeed' in high school might actually be a good predictor of one's financial and educational success later in life. According to a University of Illinois professor who studies the sociology of education, high school sophomores who were rated by their teachers as having good social skills and work habits, and who participated in extracurricular activities in high school, made more money and completed higher levels of education 10 years later than their classmates who had similar standardized test scores but were less socially adroit and participated in fewer extracurricular activities. Christy Lleras, a professor of human and community development, says that soft skills' such as sociability, punctuality, conscientiousness and an ability to get along well with others, along with participation in extracurricular activities, are better predictors of earnings and higher educational achievement later in life than having good grades and high standardized test scores."
URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090325132536.htm <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090325132536.htm> 

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Activities 

In Which Direction Is My Collection? - A YouthLearn Photo Editing and Web Design Project
A collection is more than simply a set of objects; the relationships among the objects tell a story. A story about a collection could be about things in your room, people in your community, hip-hop slang or ways to give directions. Because almost anything can fit into a collection, projects focusing on collections give you the flexibility to reinforce curriculum goals ranging from vocabulary, math, and science to art and technology. In this project, kids decide on a topic, create or assemble a collection of information or items related to that topic, and build a Web page to show off the collection. This example incorporates digital photography and photo editing to create a collection of imaginary road signs to reinforce vocabulary building and synonyms. Don't limit yourself to our topic, however. You can do the project with text alone, replace the photography module with one on computer drawing, or create a multimedia presentation as the end product instead of a Web page.
URL: http://www.youthlearn.org/learning/activities/multimedia/collection.asp <http://www.youthlearn.org/learning/activities/multimedia/collection.asp> 

Playful Pinwheels
In honor of the long-awaited arrival of spring and Earth Day, coming up on April 22, try this arts and crafts activity with your group. Making your own pinwheels is a fun way to inspire discussion around wind energy and renewable resources.
URL: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp305-01.shtml <http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp305-01.shtml> 

We welcome your feedback!

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YouthLearn
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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.

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