Youthlearn News Archive 2008

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.

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.

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®.

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.

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.

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.

MTV Switch, MTV Networks International's global climate change campaign, and Ashoka GenV are inviting young people to submit their creative ideas for improving the environment through the "Dream It. Do It" challenge.

Applicants will be eligible for seed funding awards of up to $1,000 each to make their ideas a reality. Up to twenty-five grants will be awarded through the challenge. The best projects may also be featured in a half-hour MTV documentary scheduled for Earth Day 2009.

Urging policy makers and school leaders 'to take bold steps ... to improve education for America's 21st-century leaders,' the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) has issued new guidance for reforming the nation's schools with the help of technology.
Hoping to reach the attention of a new administration and Congress, SETDA's 'Class of 2020: Action Plan for Education' notes that every child entering kindergarten this year deserves a high-quality, 21st-century education.

Kids don't stop learning when they come home from school. The after-school activities for kids on these pages are entertaining, educational ways to engage kids and keep their curious minds working when they're not in the classroom.
From physically active hula-hoop games that teach cooperation to kite-making projects good for blustery fall afternoons, these after-school activities will provide hours of learning and laughs for your kids and their friends."

The site also links to afterschool games, crafts, and more activities for young people.

I Was Wondering is an engaging online space comprised of interactive activities, such as games, comics, forums, and a timeline, that highlight scientific explorations and celebrate women scientists. 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.