[YL] YouthLearn Newsletter, Issue 154

Tue Apr 28 10:28:48 EDT 2009

YouthLearn
Newsletter, Issue 154 - April 28, 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 

Speak Up 2008 Selected National Findings
"Since 2003, the Speak Up National Research Project has collected and shared the ideas and views of more than 1.5 million K-12 students, teachers, parents and administrators on education and technology.... Speak Up 2008 represents the voices of more than 281,000 K-12 students from schools and communities in all 50 states; their ideas provide unique insights into how we invest these historic stimulus funds in our schools to create our next generation of innovators, leaders and engaged citizens." Among the findings, "students consistently report they are inhibited from effectively using computers or the Internet at school." On a separate topic, "only 17 percent of middle school students and 21 percent of high school students say they are very interested in pursuing a career in a STEM field. However, an additional cohort of middle and high school students say they might be interested in a STEM career if they knew more about it."
URL: http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/pdfs/SU08_findings_final_mar24.pdf <http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/pdfs/SU08_findings_final_mar24.pdf> 

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Resources 

NECC 2009-Celebrating 30 Years of Ed Tech Vision
"Join us as ISTE looks back on 30 amazing years of change and innovation in Ed Tech-and more importantly, as we look forward to the years ahead. ISTE members, friends and colleagues in education, are the catalysts who take the knowledge and creativity from all who converge at NECC back to your classrooms, libraries, offices or labs, and continue to build on the energy that is the NECC conference.... Registration for NECC provides you with access to nearly 600 sessions and informal learning environments, exciting keynote presentations, admission to one of the largest exhibit halls in the world, and much more." Early Bird registration deadline is May 1.
URL: http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2009/ <http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2009/> 

An Educator's Journey Toward Multiple Intelligences
"I had been assigned four classes of rambunctious freshmen, and several of my most squirrelly students were football players. I hoped that demonstrating my interest in their gridiron pursuits might make them a bit easier to manage in the classroom. My presence at their games unquestionably helped on the management front, but a second, unexpected benefit emerged as well. A couple of those freshmen -- kids in my class who struggled mightily with subject-verb agreement and the function of a thesis statement -- had clearly committed several dozen complex plays to memory. During one particularly impressive series of plays, I remember thinking, 'These guys are really smart! I'm underestimating what they're capable of!' And over the course of my first year in the classroom, that same thought emerged several more times -- at the school musical, visiting the graphic design class, and even just watching a couple of students do their math homework during study hall. Without my realizing it, my relationship with multiple-intelligences (MI) theory had begun."
URL: http://www.edutopia.org/multiple-intelligences-theory-teacher <http://www.edutopia.org/multiple-intelligences-theory-teacher> 

After School Grows Up: Helping Teens Prepare for the Future
"This commentary takes readers on a cross-country tour of after-school innovation - from northern and southern California to Chicago, New York and New Hampshire. In On the Ground we describe two very different school-based models in California. In Research Update we summarize lessons from recent evaluations of After School Matters in Chicago and the OST Initiative in New York City and identify studies to watch for. In Voices from the Field we talk with leaders from New Hampshire where an ambitious high school redesign effort is building upon successful high school after-school programs."
URL: http://www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/content/out-school-time-policy-commentary-14-after-school-grows-helping-teens-prepare-future <http://www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/content/out-school-time-policy-commentary-14-after-school-grows-helping-teens-prepare-future> 

Enhancing Activity & Nutrition - Resources for Communities
"We Can!(tm) stands for Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition. We Can! is a national education program designed for parents and caregivers to help children 8-13 years old stay at a healthy weight. Parents and caregivers are the primary influencers for this age group. We Can! offers parents and families tips and fun activities to encourage healthy eating, increase physical activity and reduce sedentary or screen time. It also offers community groups and health professionals resources to implement programs and fun activities for parents and youth in communities around the country. Four of the National Institutes of Health have come together to bring you We Can!"
URL: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/whats-we-can/resources_communities.htm <http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/whats-we-can/resources_communities.htm> 

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Research 

Exploring the Links between Family Strengths and Adolescent Outcomes
"Child Trends finds that while poverty has real consequences for children, good parenting and family strengths -- caring parents, parental supervision and monitoring and positive role modeling can make a difference for adolescent outcomes."
URL: http://www.childtrends.org/_docdisp_page.cfm?LID=04695D16-B3F5-44DF-99F52C6DB2CAFFFD <http://www.childtrends.org/_docdisp_page.cfm?LID=04695D16-B3F5-44DF-99F52C6DB2CAFFFD> 
Referred by: Connect for Kids

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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