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News

Experts to students: Watch what you post
"With the rise in social networking sites such as MySpace.com, experts are
warning that students need to exercise more discretion in what they post
about themselves online. Besides the obvious danger of posting personally
identifying information, they say, the potential exists for embarrassing
information to come back to bite students later in life when they apply for
college or a job... Much has been made of the danger of posting too much
personal information on web sites such as MySpace.com, where millions of
people--including online child predators--can, in seconds, find out where
site users go to school, learn their interests, download their pictures, and
instantly send them messages.... "
URL: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstoryts.cfm?Articleid=6104
Referred by: eSchool News

TECH TEACHES
By Grace Rubenstein - "Once thought to corrode reading skills, computers are
a key tool in improving them... Technology promises to play a crucial role in
helping adolescents cope with reading and writing deficits, while at the same
time teaching digital literacy - an essential skill in the world beyond school."
URL: http://www.edutopia.org/1449
Referred by: Edutopia News

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Funding

HP Technology for Community Grant Initiative
"The HP Technology for Community Grant Initiative is designed to provide
technology tools to nonprofit organizations to enhance their effectiveness
and to support the innovative use of mobile technology. In 2006, HP will
award up to 100 organizations in the United States and Puerto Rico an HP
wireless technology package valued at approximately $17,000." Application
available: Feb. 27, 2006. Deadline: March 22, 2006.
URL: http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/grants/us/programs/tech_community/

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Resources

Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Youth Action Guide
TakingITGlobal, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): "We are the first
generation that can end poverty - we're glad you're here to learn how.
No matter what your level of understanding, this site offers you many ways
to get involved through action. Now get started! Play the MDG card game,
send MDG e-cards, submit artwork and writing, discuss the MDGs in our
discussion boards, or tell us about what you are contributing to end
worldwide poverty. Plus, find useful resources to download like an action
guide and a youth-written policy paper. We can change the world - but only
with your voice!"
URL: http://www.takingitglobal.org/themes/mdg/campaign_kit.html
Referred by: Young People's Media Network

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Research

Study: 'Power Users' drive pedagogy - Research suggests tech-savvy
students are having an impact in the classroom
"A new survey of teachers and instructors at the high school and post-
secondary levels has found that students who excel in the use of information
and communications technology (ICT) are driving change in classroom
instruction... Dubbed 'Power Users,' these ultra tech-savvy students have a
growing influence over what--and how--teachers now teach, the survey said...
Power Users, as defined by EDC, are the savviest of the 'digital natives,' a
demographic of 10- to 15-year-old students who have grown up with digital
technology as a part of their everyday lives."
URL: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=6087
Referred by: eSchool News

Eye on Research: Media Literacy & Core Curriculum
"Recently published in Threshold, Cable in the Classroom's quarterly journal for
education leaders, this article by Nellie Gregorian of the Michael Cohen Group
details initial results of the evaluation of AMLA's pilot project, funded by the
U.S. Department of Education. Called 'Media Literacy & Core Curriculum,' the
article discusses early findings about teachers' successful integration of media
literacy and the arts into core curriculum areas."
URL: http://www.amlainfo.org/home/doe-media-arts/evaluation
Referred by: The AMLA Update

"Where the Girls Aren't" is in Kids' Films
"The 'G' in family movie ratings clearly doesn't stand for 'girl-power.'
Researchers at the Annenberg School for Communications at the University
of Southern California studied 101 kids' flicks and found that they
predominantly feature males in key, supporting and even 'crowd' roles:
three of four characters are male, and fewer than one in three of speaking
roles overall belongs to a female."
URL: http://www.dadsanddaughters.org
Referred by: Connect for Kids Newsletter

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Activities

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
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