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News

National Endowment for the Arts Releases Study on The Arts and
Civic Engagement
"People who participate in the arts are people who help make communities
thrive, according to a study released today by the National Endowment for the
Arts. The study, The Arts and Civic Engagement: Involved in Arts, Involved in
Life, reveals that people who participate in the arts also engage in positive civic
and individual activities -- such as volunteering, going to sporting events, and
outdoor activities -- at significantly higher rates than non-arts participants.
The report shatters the stereotype that art is an escapist or passive activity,
showing instead that it is associated with a range of positive behaviors. The
study also reveals that young adults (18-34) show a declining rate of arts
participation and civic activities."
URL: http://www.nea.gov/news/news06/CivicEngagement.html

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Funding

Tech Savvy Award
"National Center for Family Literacy Verizon Tech Savvy Awards recognizes
exemplary programs that demystify technology for parents and enable them to
better guide their children in the use of new media. Maximum Award: $25,000.
Eligibility: 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, including community-based
nonprofits, libraries and schools. Deadline: January 12, 2007."
URL: http://www.famlit.org/site/c.gtJWJdMQIsE/b.2180327/k.5E33/Verizon_Tech_Savvy_Awards.htm
Referred by: PEN Weekly NewsBlast

Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams Grants for High School Invention Projects
"Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams is a national grants initiative of the Lemelson-MIT
Program that works to foster inventiveness among high school students.
InvenTeams composed of high school students, teachers, and mentors are
asked to collaboratively identify a problem that they want to solve, research
the problem, and then develop a prototype invention as an in-class or
extracurricular project. Up to twenty-three grants of up to $10,000 each will
be awarded to selected teams. Applying for an InvenTeams grant is a two-tiered
process: the initial application is available online" now and due April 27, 2007.
URL: http://web.mit.edu/inventeams/apply.html
Referred by: Foundation Center

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Research

New Study Shows Students Lack Tech Literacy
"A report released by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) finds that high
school and college students do not have many basic information literacy skills,
including the ability to solve information problems using technology. Researchers
observed 6,300 students who were asked to perform a variety of information-
related tasks, such as locate reliable information online, and communicate
information effectively. Over half of participants were unable to evaluate the
quality of a Web site, and students demonstrated especially poor skills in being
able to narrow search engine results. Experts hope the study will raise awareness
about the importance of young people's mastering these skills. Alexius Macklin,
Associate Professor of Library Science at Purdue University, said, 'It's important
to help our students better evaluate, manage and communicate information so
that they can succeed in school, at work and in life.'"
URL: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/11/15/infolit
Referred by: The Children's Partnership's Newblast

Pew Report: The Internet as a Resource for News and Information
about Science
A new report finds that "fully 87% of online users have at one time used
the internet to carry out research on a scientific topic or concept and 40 million
adults use the internet as their primary source of news and information about
science." This "national survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life
Project in collaboration with the Exploratorium benchmarks how the internet fits
into people's habits for gathering news and information about science."
According to the report, "Use of online science resources is linked to better
attitudes about science." See the press release or full report for the details.
URL: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/191/report_display.asp

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Activities

A Safe Place for Students to Collaborate Online
"More and more schools are eager to engage their students in online learning
opportunities, but they worry about Internet safety. This site, developed by
the Oracle Education Foundation, offers a free learning community environment
to accredited elementary and secondary schools. Think.com is password-
protected and provides a way for students to write and interact with a protected
national and global audience. Check out the features at this site and compare
them to IMBEE, another free and secure social networking service developed
with classrooms in mind."
URL: http://www.think.com/en_us/ and http://www.imbee.com/
Referred by: MiddleWeb

YouthLearn's Resources for Blog and Website Projects
The Web offers youth an array of publishing opportunities, many of which are
continually emerging and evolving. The Youth & Media section of the YouthLearn
website includes a list of organizations and youth media project examples as well
as resources for supporting online collaboration and publishing by young people.
Among the resources are a workshop for teens on creating a Blog and a toolkit
by the Plugged In technology center with sample curricula. Browse through the
rest of the Youth & Media section for additional curriculum, toolkits, and project
examples and other resources around facilitating media making.
URL: http://www.youthlearn.org/youthmedia/resources/blog_website.asp

We welcome your feedback!

_______________

YouthLearn
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, 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.
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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Copyright 2006 Education Development Center, Inc. All rights reserved.
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