Outdoor Games

"Got kids who need to run off a little bit of pent-up energy? Barbara J. Feldman offers a collection of favorite outdoor games resources at her Surfing the Net with Kids website. You'll find 'hundreds of games to play by yourself, with just a few friends, or with your entire scout troop or classroom. Whether you are looking for rules to a game you vaguely remember from your childhood, or want to find something entirely new, these sites have it all.' AND, speaking of "student movement," check out the Brain Gym website developed by the Educational Kinesiology Foundation, where you can explore research about the impact of movement on learning."

Big Read Accepting Applications for Community-Wide Reading Programs

"The Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, aims to revitalize the role of literature in American popular culture and introduce its transformative power into the lives of ordinary Americans. Created by the NEA in cooperation with Arts Midwest, the program will engage libraries and other community and school partners across the United States to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment... Grants will generally range from $10,000 to $20,000 and require a match of at least one-to-one with non-federal funds. Deadline: September 12, 2006"

Project tackles credibility of online info

"New 'Credibility Commons' aims to help users assess the reliability of information they find in web searches"
By Laura Ascione, Assistant Editor, eSchool News

"For students, and even for many educators, judging the reliability of information they find online can present a challenge. Now, a new project launched by two university researchers aims to change that. The project seeks to provide users with tools to more easily gauge the credibility of information they find through web searches."

Summit focuses on encouraging girls in math, science

"Low participation in math and science activities by girls is keeping them from achieving their full potential and is weakening the nation's ability to compete, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said May 15 at the first annual National Summit on the Advancement of Girls in Math and Science. 'We need definitive insights into what goes wrong, when, and why,' Spellings said. She asked her department's Institute of Education Sciences to review existing research and determine why girls are not as well represented in the sciences as boys."

Students Tune In through Film

By Patrick Gavin, USA TODAY

"Who says young people are apathetic when it comes to current events? A recent C-SPAN-sponsored contest, StudentCam, encouraged young people to create and submit 10-minute documentaries on issues as diverse as video-game violence and wiretapping. The response from grade-school and high school students across the country was remarkable and enlightening, says Joanne Wheeler, vice president of education relations at C-SPAN."

Use Google Maps Mashups in K-12 Education

"Combining Google Maps features with other resources can provide educators with some handy classroom tools."

"Mashup? What's a mashup? Well, Wikipedia defines the term mashup as "a Web site or Web application that combines content from more than one source." When people combine Google Maps with other content, the result is a "Google Maps Mashup" — a combination of map and other relevant information."

STUDY PROVIDES INSIGHT ON MOTIVATING YOUNG PEOPLE TO VOLUNTEER MTV

"STUDY PROVIDES INSIGHT ON MOTIVATING YOUNG PEOPLE TO VOLUNTEER MTV released the results of "Just Cause," a research study that deconstructs how youth perceive "activism" and explores the motivating factors and barriers in their decision to become involved in social causes. The study includes more than 1200 young people, including expert interviews, ethnographies and a national poll of a representative sample with participants ages 12 to 24."

Sites to See: Online Games

"Education World reviews some of the best K-12 games for classroom use. Included: Our suggested first stop for educational games arranged by grade level..."

Integrating Mentoring and After-School

This spring, the Forum for Youth Investment published "Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary #11: People, Places and Possibilities: Integrating Mentoring and After-School" (8-page PDF) and followed up with an audio conference, the transcript of which is now available.

Open Meadows Grants for Projects

Grants of up to $2,000 will be awarded by the Open Meadows Foundation to fund new or ongoing projects "designed and implemented by women and girls," projects that promote the empowerment of women and girls, and other social change projects. Special funding is available for programs that involve indigenous women or young women activists. Deadline: August 15.

Ed tech tops agenda at Intel gathering

"At the fifth annual Intel Visionary Conference in Washington, D.C., speakers touted the value of educational technology in helping to give students the skills to succeed in future jobs that 'are not even on our radar right now'..."

Seeking Applications for Youth Partnership Team

"The America's Promise Alliance's Youth Partnership Team is currently accepting applications for new members. The Youth Partnership Team is a select group of young leaders chosen to help support and lead the America's Promise Alliance's campaign for children and youth. Members of the YPT are often called upon to speak on behalf of the America's Promise Alliance, give presentations and workshops at conferences, and help manage and facilitate a national, web-based youth leadership program for other young people. Eligibility: youth ages 14-22. Deadline: June 2, 2006."

ITEST LRC Newsletter Highlights Learnings and Success Stories

We're pleased to share Issue 2 of the ITEST LRC Newsletter, which YouthLearn staff were integrally involved in producing as part of our work on the ITEST LRC team. In this issue: learn more about the many educators and young people who are using cutting-edge technology to advance academic learning in both formal and non-formal settings; view highlights of our third annual summit, a gathering of ITEST project leaders to network, share lessons learned, and explore how best to interest young people in STEM learning and careers; read recent success stories; and learn about upcoming events and publications.

STUDENT MEDIA MAKEOVER

"At schools nationwide, multimedia projects are coming on strong as the student newspaper fades out. What's the trade-off?...

Experts say that nationwide, student media is being transformed by multimedia as the traditional newspaper is fading out. So far media production, a critical part of media literacy, is turning out to be far more democratic than traditional school newspapers—engaging a more diverse range of students than just those enrolled in journalism class. But ... these projects may not give students the same opportunity that papers have historically done: a voice to discuss the issues most relevant to them."

Healthy Computing

"...a site with tips on setting up computer workstations to provide teachers and students with a "healthy" environment for computer work; (a student booklet and lesson plan I put together may be found here: http://nausetschools.org/pdf/ergo.pdf"

UK Media literacy report

A new report on the state of media literacy among children in the UK was issued today and is available at http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/media_literacy/medlitpub/medlitpubrss/children

"This report focuses on children aged 8-15 across the UK. Its purpose is to provide stakeholders with a source of information about children’s levels of media literacy..."