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YouthLearn Updates

Announcing the new Afterschool Academies, limited opportunity!
With the support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the
YouthLearn team has been working with other key partners in the field
of afterschool to design an exciting new professional development
offering for launch in the new year. This offering, the Afterschool
Teaching Institute (ASTI), will be a three-day intensive training in
developing content-rich afterschool curriculum. YouthLearn has been
integrally involved in creating the materials, and we'll also be on the
training team leading the sessions. These will run concurrently with the
Beyond School Hours Conference put on by Foundations, Inc. in Atlanta,
Georgia from February 16-19, 2005. Please see the links for more detailed
information. This intensive training is free to Beyond School Hours
attendees, but there are only 60 spaces--so sign up asap! If you have
any questions about the ASTI or our other work on the Afterschool
Academies, please send an email to info@youthlearn.org. We're hoping
that the YouthLearn community will be well-represented at this event!
URL: http://www.youthlearn.org/ASTI-Enroll.pdf

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Funding

Hasbro Children's Foundation Announces Funding Guidelines
"In making funding decisions, the foundation is guided by three values:
Caring, programs that work to ensure that all children have safe and
caring environments where they can grow and thrive; Opportunity,
programs that provide healthcare, education, and social services that
give young children the help they need to join their peers in learning and
achieving; and Joy, opportunities for the most vulnerable children to
experience joyful moments as part of their everyday life.... Local grants
for model community programs typically range from $500 to $35,000. For
multi-site expansions, awards are from $35,000 up, and are granted over
a period of one to three years. The largest grants are awarded to
programs that are national in potential impact and scope.... Requests for
funding are reviewed on a rolling basis."
URL: http://www.hasbro.org/pl/page.how_to_apply/dn/hcf/default.cfm
Referred by: The Foundation Center

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Resources

ACC Evaluation Tools and Resources Database
"ACC conducted a search and review of existing resources - via existing
reviews, related sites (technical assistance organizations, governmental
departments, foundations, and universities), recommended tools and
resources, and a broad internet search - during the summer of 2004.
This database allows you to easily search these tools and resources for
use in your programs."
URL: http://www.americaconnects.net/search/search.asp

TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: PRIMER FOR PARENTS &
COMMUNITY MEMBERS
"Teachers today are under growing pressure to perform. But most new
teachers are not adequately prepared to meet the needs of their
students, and many experienced teachers have yet to adapt to new
standards. Just like practitioners in other professions, teachers need to
deepen their knowledge and improve their skills over the course of their
careers. Unfortunately, the need for quality professional development for
those in the teaching profession all too often goes unmet. This
publication suggests why this is so, proposes ways to rectify the
situation, and offers resources for those who want to learn more. This
new publication is a collaborative effort of The Finance Project and Public
Education Network (PEN)."
URL: http://www.publiceducation.org/Teacher_Prof_Dev/home.asp
Referred by: PEN Weekly NewsBlast

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Research

Report brief on Community Programs
"THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES has published a new 8-page report brief
based on the Academy report, "Community Programs to Promote Youth
Development." The brief summarizes the 300+ page book that was
published in 2002 by the National Academy of Science."
URL: http://www.bocyf.org/youth_development_brief.pdf
Referred by: Promising Practices in Afterschool

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Activities

Creating a WebQuest: It's Easier than You Think!
"WebQuests are probably the most talked-about and widely used
Web-based activities in today's classrooms. What are WebQuests? What
accounts for their popularity? And how can you use -- and create --
WebQuests in your own classroom?"
URL: http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech011.shtml
Referred by: Education World Newsletter

Free Educational Games: Play Kids Games.com
"Play Kids Games.com is a site designed by parents of young kids."
"Our intention is to provide a web site that parents and kids can use to
learn basic skills while having fun."
URL: http://www.playkidsgames.com/

A Techtorial: Hyperfiction How-To's
Hyperfiction How-To's By Lorrie Jackso
"You will learn how to use hyperlinks to create hyperfiction for grades 3
and up."
"Hyperfiction, like fiction, is a non-factual body of text; hyperfiction,
however, contains hyperlinks that allow readers to choose where to go
next and what to explore further."
URL: http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techtorial/techtorial045.shtml
Referred by: Education World Newsletter

We welcome your feedback!

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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 2005 Education Development Center, Inc. All rights reserved.
YouthLearn was created by the Morino Institute.