YouthLearn
Newsletter, Issue 91 - June 20, 2006

The YouthLearn Newsletter compiles the latest entries to the
YouthLearn News Blog. This innovative service to the YouthLearn
community highlights youth, education, and technology news, tools,
and resources. We hope this assists you in your important work.
Please feel free to share this resource with friends and colleagues,
and visit the News Blog often! http://news.youthlearn.org

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YouthLearn Updates

Strategies for implementing summer programs
For those who are busy with planning for summer program activities,
YouthLearn staff strongly recommend two relevant resources: "Lessons
Learned in Summer Programs" and "Summer Programs Tips & Tricks," which
were produced in 2004 and 2005 by the YouthLearn team for the ITEST
Learning Resource Center at EDC. In these publications, you will find ITEST
projects' insights about innovative technology use and teaching methods in
summer program activities that can inform program design and practices of
informal science education programs.
URL: http://news.youthlearn.org/archives/000367.html

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News

'Safe' social networking sites emerge
"Amid rising concerns over popular social networking sites, a new crop of
'safe' sites is currently emerging. These 'safe' sites hope to limit the
dangers associated with other sites, such as talking to predators and revealing
too much personal information. In addition, these safer sites aim to develop
in users a proper online skill set--one that incorporates elements of online
safety as well as proper behavior in virtual communities..."
URL: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=6348&page=1
Referred by: eSchool News

Blog Boom Goes Global
"Although the term 'blog' only came about in the late 1990s, today blogs are
a phenomenon spanning the globe: a new blog is reportedly launched every
second! This explosive growth has led to a backlash against bloggers from a
variety of governments and institutions wary of the communicative power of
this simple web-based publishing format. This interesting piece examines the
state of the global blogosphere."
URL: http://www.worldpress.org/2373.cfm
Referred by: Idealist

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Funding

$70,000 to improve child welfare
"The American Legion Child Welfare Foundation accept proposals from
nonprofit organizations for projects that meet one of the foundation's two
basic purposes: to contribute to the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual
welfare of children through the dissemination of knowledge about new and
innovative organizations and/or their programs designed to benefit youth;
and to contribute to the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual welfare of
children through the dissemination of knowledge already possessed by
well-established organizations, to the end that such information can be more
adequately used by society." Deadline: July 15, 2006
URL: http://www.cwf-inc.org/docs/?section=grantseekers
Referred by: eSchool News

Schools and Community Groups Invited to Apply for SeaWorld/Busch
Gardens/Fujifilm Environmental Excellence Awards
"The 2007 SeaWorld/Busch Gardens/Fujifilm Environmental Excellence Awards
will recognize the outstanding efforts of students, teachers, and community
groups across the United States who are working at the grassroots level to
protect and preserve the environment." Deadline: November 30, 2006
URL: http://www.swbg-animals.org/conservation-matters/eea
Referred by: Philanthropy News Digest

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Resources

Using Thematic Units to Improve Your Summer Program
The mission of the Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University is
"to create opportunities for high quality summer learning for all young people."
This workshop material, including handouts, explains why and how to
effectively use thematic activities in a learning program, and provides an
example suitable for younger children. For more information about research
and issues around summer learning, see the numerous Center Publications
and Presentations.
URL: http://www.summerlearning.org/resourcesresearch/docs/FoundationsDallas2006Feb2.pdf

What's the Fuss about FOSS, Part 2: A Chat with David Thornburg
From Andy Carvin: "I've just posted the second part of my two-part essay,
'What's the Fuss About FOSS?,' which explores the role of free and open
source software (FOSS) in K-12 education. In the second installment, I
interview author and edtech expert David Thornburg, who's just released a
new book about FOSS and education."
URL: http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/learning.now/2006/06/whats_the_fuss_about_fosspart_1.html
Referred by: DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list

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Research

Critical Literacy: Using Media to Engage Youth in Inquiry, Production,
Reflection, and Change
"Over the past ten years, youth media has emerged in the United States as
a powerful movement of practitioners and youth dedicated to using media to
support young people's creative expression and vocal presence in the public
sphere... Why is such growth important? Every day, young people experience
the world around them through media—movies, comic books, video games,
iPods, blogs, television, cell phones, even billboards."
URL: http://www.robertbownefoundation.org/ezine/vol3no4/wire.php
Referred by: MEDIA-L Listserv

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Activities

YouthLearn's "Our Neighborhood" Project
As you start your summer programs, the "Our Neighborhood" project
introduces kids to structured ways of thinking and expressing ideas about
the people, places and things that matter most to them. The lessons build on
the information and experiences that the children and the instructors already
have about the culture around them. Children who participate in "Our
Neighborhood" should be organized into groups with no more than a
three-year age span. The activities require beginning reading skills, the ability
to work independently for short periods of time and the ability to work in a
group and with a partner.
URL: http://youthlearn.org/learning/activities/inter/neighborhood/overview.html



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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