[YL] YouthLearn Newsletter, Issue 160

Tue Aug 4 22:12:23 EDT 2009

YouthLearn
Newsletter, Issue 160 - August 4, 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

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Resources

Afterschool Matters - Spring 2009 Issue
If you haven't already seen it, check out the current issue of Afterschool Matters, a journal published by the National Institute on Out-of-School Time with support from the Robert Bowne Foundation. Articles include: "Preparing Youth for the 21st Century Knowledge Economy: Youth Programs and Workforce Preparation" by Graham R. Cochran and Theresa M. Ferrari; "The Girl Game Company: Engaging Latina Girls in Information Technology" by Jill Denner, Steve Bean, and Jacob Martinez; and "Making the Most of the Middle: A Strategic Model for Middle School Afterschool Programs" by Holly Morehouse.
URL: http://www.niost.org/pdf/afterschoolmatters/ASM%20spring2009_final2.pdf

TechSoup Resources for Nonprofits
"TechSoup provides a range of technology services for nonprofits, including articles, a blog, discussion forums, Webinars, and discounted and donated technology products." To get involved and obtain benefits: "Join TechSoup and Create a member profile. Once you have a member profile, you will able to post and reply to our discussion forums and you have taken the first step to becoming an authorized buyer of donated products for your organization. Get a product donation. After you have created a member profile, register your organization to get donated products with TechSoup Stock. If your organization is already registered, you can apply to become an authorized agent. Subscribe to our free e-newsletters. By the Cup brings you highlights from across TechSoup each week, while the monthly New Product Alert delivers announcements from TechSoup Stock for the latest donations... Learn how your nonprofit can get the most out of technology. Whether you're trying to choose between TechSoup Stock products or need support for a technology you already have, TechSoup can help guide you through every stage of the decision-making process... Check out our Global Network."
URL: https://www.techsoup.org/tools/howtousetechsoup/

Bringing Boys And Girls To Computer Science With 'Alice'
"Duke University computer scientist Susan Rodger is hoping ice skaters, cute animals and fearsome dragons will bring new talent to her field. With support from the National Science Foundation, she and collaborators nationwide are using the power of storytelling to draw younger students into programming. An animation program called 'Alice,' invented by the late Randy Pausch of Carnegie Mellon University, allows student programmers of all ages to create their own worlds without realizing they're actually writing code." Incidentally, this software is among the resources the YouthLearn team included in the Technology Curriculum Guide we developed for SEDL's National Center for Quality Afterschool. "Rodger recalled the rush of introducing fourth-to-sixth graders to Alice during an annual event that brings elementary school girls to the Duke campus to meet with female professors. 'They learned Alice for half an hour, and then they got to create a world with it,' Rodger said... They were creating little stories with Alice, and in the process they were programming. They didn't know they were doing programming, but they were.'"
URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090623112115.htm

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Research

The Benefits of and Barriers to Out-of-School Programs for Youth
"Research suggests that participation in out-of-school time programs and activities can lessen the likelihood that youth will engage in negative behaviors, such as using drugs and alcohol, dropping out of school, and practicing unhealthy eating habits. Despite these benefits, millions of youth still do not participate in these programs. Three new Child Trends briefs explore the various reasons for non-participation. 1. Program Participation Can Lower Risk of Youth Disconnection From School or Work 2. Child, Family, and Neighborhood Factors Influence Youth Non-Participation in Programs 3. Youth Perspective on Why Teens Don't Participate in Programs"
URL: http://www.childtrends.org/_docdisp_page.cfm?LID=2B8878C8-9C5A-4805-AE22D48DA6AF5502

Video Game Minority Report: Lots Of Players, Few Characters
"The first comprehensive survey of video game characters... shows that the video game industry does no better than television in representing American society. In some cases, video games do worse, said study leader Dmitri Williams, a social psychologist and assistant professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication.... fewer than 3 percent of video game characters were recognizably Hispanic, and all of them were non-playable, background characters. Imagine if no Latino on television had a speaking part. 'Latino children play more video games than white children. And they're really not able to play themselves,' Williams said. 'For identity formation, that's a problem. And for generating interest in technology, it may place underrepresented groups behind the curve.' 'Ironically, they may even be less likely to become game makers themselves, helping to perpetuate the cycle. Many have suggested that games function as crucial gatekeepers for interest in science, technology, engineering and math.' Women, Native Americans, children and the elderly also were underrepresented."
URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090729140931.htm

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Activities

25 Activities to Keep Kids' Brains Active in The Hot Summer Sun
Running low on things to do with the kids? Here's a list of various online and offline activities from Education World. Among the ideas: "Read aloud The Paper Crane by Molly Bang. Then introduce the art of paper folding by printing and following the instructions for How to Make an Origami Crane." "Go on a Light Walk, an outing designed to teach kids the properties of light and facts about the sun. Bob Miller of the Exploratorium explains it all. Can't take an online tour? Do your own image walk by printing the directions and template found at the site." "Cool down by making Ice Cream in a Bag. The simple technique produces delicious ice cream in about 5 minutes. What ice cream varieties will you and your child concoct?" "Staple together pieces of plain paper or use a notebook to help your child make a cartoon flip book. Kids draw a sequence of cartoons and simulate motion as they 'flip' through the pages."
URL: http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/profdev073.shtml

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.

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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