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YouthLearn Updates

Adapting Tools, Methods, Terminology to Cultural Context
As part of an EDC discussion about providing professional development around
technology integration, YouthLearn associate Wendy Rivenburgh reflected on
some of our recent work, especially on the DotEDU project in the Democratic
Republic of Congo: The YouthLearn team works both domestically and
internationally to help educators integrate technology and project-based
learning into their programs. We've developed training and resources that
promote the use of technology as a tool for learning, not an end in itself....
URL: http://news.youthlearn.org/archives/000120.html

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News

$500M ed-tech grant slated for elimination
"President Bush on Feb. 7 released his 2006 budget proposal, asking Congress
to cut more than $1 billion in total education spending and eliminate entirely
the $500 million Enhancing Education Through Technology state block-grant
program, the primary source of federal funding for school technology."
URL: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=5502
Referred by: eSchool News This Week

Shortchanging Black History
"Black History Month is upon us, and some black educators question whether
the well-meaning designation lets schools off the hook for the rest of the
year. "Black history needs to be taught every day, not just during the
shortest month of the year," says Vance Hopkins, head of a junior high
academy in Duluth, Minnesota. "It is better to have a full month to have a
larger focus so the students can see how things fit together," counters Ken
Mularski, curriculum coordinator at Walter Payton College Prep High School,
in Chicago. Read two stories on Black History Month: "Hopkins: Teach Black
History Every Day," in the Budgeteer News and "Black History: Best Taught
in February or All Year Long?" in the Christian Science Monitor."
URLs: http://www.duluth.com/placed/index.php?story_id=193131 and
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0201/p12s01-legn.html
Referred by: Edutopia News

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Resources

The Whole Child: A Framework for Education in the 21st Century
ASCD Infobrief: "Education leaders have long argued that education is about
more than just academic learning -- it should also provide students with the
skills to make moral and ethical decisions, help prepare them for active
participation in a democracy, allow them to fully access and engage in the
economy and live as responsible citizens within a community."
URL: http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.bfaa683e7841320fb85516f762108a0c/

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Research

Developing Communities of Instructional Practice
"Over the past several years, education reformers have increasingly
invested in the development of communities within schools as a central
strategy to improve teaching and student learning. These communities
come in various guises, including small schools, small learning communities,
and teacher teams. Two assumptions about how these communities will
enhance the quality of instruction underlie the push for these more intimate
learning environments.... This issue of CPRE Policy Briefs, which draws on
major research studies in Philadelphia and Cincinnati, examines the merit of
these assumptions and the conditions under which communities of teachers
can improve their instructional practices and bring about enhanced student
learning."
URL: http://www.cpre.org/Publications/rb39.pdf
Referred by: PEN Weekly NewsBlast

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.