From The YouthLearn Guide

Acknowledgments

The YouthLearn Guide represents the work of many dedicated and talented people who have contributed to the Morino Institute's YouthLearn Initiative. A critical component of the initiative was the Youth Development Collaborative (YDC) Pilot. Through this effort, the Institute worked directly with four diverse community-based organizations to help them plan and apply technology to strengthen their organizations and programs:

• Calvary Bilingual Multicultural Learning Center
  
• Community Preservation and Development Corporation
  
• Friendship House Association
  
• Perry School Community Services Center
  

And our heartfelt thanks go to their staff, who demonstrated their deep commitment to creating innovative learning experiences for the children and youth they serve: Steven Berry, Marion Brown, Albert J. Browne, Louis Davis Jr., Jorge Frederick, Kelly Gainer, Tomeka Gibbs, Jomo K. Graham, Marta Jiménez, Daryl Johnson, Nancy Morales, Rafiki Morris, Andrea Neville, Elaine Richardson-Dalzell, Eric Rowe, Rosa Shelton, Marta Urquilla, PJ Urquilla, Troy Wolfe, and Kendra Wymes.

The primary writers of this guide, Janis Cromer and Lorin Driggs, brought rich experience to their task—Janis from her educational reform efforts with the DC public schools and Lorin from her work with the New York Times Learning Network and Bank Street College. Together they did an outstanding job of turning volumes of documents, transcripts, lesson plans, ideas, and concepts created during the YDC Pilot into this user-friendly manual. A special note of thanks goes to our patient and diligent editors, Katarina Rice and Caroline Polk, who were vigilant in their pursuit of order and consistency throughout the manuscript.

Under the wise leadership of Kit Collins, the staff of the Center for Educational Design and Communication (CEDC)—Angela Marney, Barbara Moreau, Beth Ponticello, and Andrew Tischler—provided invaluable contributions to the pilot and the YouthLearn Initiative, including the inspiring photographs that help bring this guide to life. In her capacity as a senior advisor to the Morino Institute, Kit offered steady direction, guidance, and focus during all phases of the planning and implementation of the pilot and this guide.

Additional thanks go to three expert consultants—Robert Price, Eileen Wasow, and Cornelia Brunner, Ph.D.—who provided imaginative and informative training sessions during the pilot on a wide range of topics, from child development to using interactive media with children and youth.

Finally, our sincere gratitude to the Morino Institute associates whose commitment to excellence and willingness to provide their expertise and support has ensured the quality and integrity of the YouthLearn Initiative. In particular, special recognition goes to Tracy Gray, who provided tireless leadership, direction, and vision throughout this initiative. She was joined by the indomitable Richard McDonnell, who contributed his management skills and humor, and an exceptionally talented team of professionals—Kit Collins, Andrea Schorr, and Candy Taaffe. This team established an innovative, hands-on working relationship with the leaders and staff of the partner organizations to create state-of-the-art learning centers and outstanding out-of-school programs for children. Special recognition goes to Lara Suziedelis Bogle and Lowell Weiss, who were relentless in their determination to ensure the quality and integrity of this guide and its usefulness for a broad audience. Thanks go to Cheryl Collins, who was patient and deliberate about capturing knowledge at each stage of the pilot; Neil Oatley, who took that knowledge and turned it into prose; Victoria Vrana, who led the development of the YouthLearn website and online community; Pam McKeta, who added her expertise to expand these online efforts; and Bob Templin, who provided valuable insight and guidance throughout the initiative. It is worth noting that the networked learning centers would not have been set up without the dedication of two remarkable people, Kim Deane and Connell Jones, who gave real meaning to the term "24/7." In addition, many others at the Institute deserve recognition and thanks for their collective efforts: Peter Bostrom, Don Britton, Bill Coquelin, Leslie Crutchfield, Natalie McPherson, Rick Reeder, and Liz Wainger.

And, of course, our thanks go to the young people who let us into their lives to share in their joy at the discovery of learning in technology-enriched environments.