Call for YPulse Youth Advisory Board

Anastasia Goodstein is an award-winning blogger and expert on how American tweens, teens
and twentysomethings consume technology, new media, social networks and life on the web.

She is also the creative genius behind the Ypulse blog and Ypulse Mashup conferences. She is the author of a book about teens and technology called Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens are Really Doing Online.

In her book Anastasia explores what Gen Y is doing on the Internet and with social media and mobile technology. She also delves into issues around cyberbullying, MySpace (and other social networks), as well as how all this technology is impacting schools and educators.

Today Anastasia announced that YPulse is forming "a Ypulse Youth Advisory Board made up of 10 young people between the ages of 13 and 24 from diverse backgrounds and geographic locations."

This is an excellent opportunity for teens to share their ideas, insight and feedback on what it means to be a teen in the 21st Century. It's also a big opportunity for college-bound teens to list one of the leading youth media organizations on that college admissions form!

So if you are a teen, or know a teen who's interested in joining the YPluse Youth Advisory Board, send them here for all the details.

Related Resources

• YPulse
  
• Totally Wired
  
• Video > Anastasia Goodstein

Linkage: Web Predator Myths, Twitter & Oprah

Study DeBunks Sexual Predator Myths: Sorry Chris Hansen, but a new study reveals that much of what people "know" or report about social networks and sexual predators is, well, just wrong.

Twitter and NASA: The Mars Rover is sending live updates to Twitter.

Virtual WWII Exhibit: The online collection features items and stories selected from a collection of World War II materials housed at the Lee Library at Brigham Young University.

Constructing Modern Knowledge '08: The Constructivist Consortium is sponsoring a four-day institute focusing on "intensive computer-rich project development with peers and a world-class faculty." The conference will be held at the Radison Hotel in Manchester, New Hampshire.

O Ambassadors: Oprah Winfrey, in partnership with Free the Children & Oprah's Angel Network, have announced the launch a new social change organization for youth called O Ambassadors.

Want to Reach Teens? Think Mobile: Teens are already totally wired, so it's natural that teens will use their mobile devices as a way to connect with the brands they love. And advertisers are all too happy to oblige.

Conference: Blending With Purpose

Join the University of Illinois in downtown Chicago for this year’s workshop "Blending with Purpose" on April 6 through 8, 2008. "Blending with Purpose" examines blended learning as a platform for introducing teaching innovations,resolving resource concerns and facilitating the learning of students in the digital age.

Administrative leaders, faculty members, instructional designers and researchers will gather to network, consider effective practices and discuss assessment strategies. Break out sessions will center on three primary areas – administration, pedagogy and assessment/evaluation.

Register for this exclusive blended learning workshop, where multiple opportunities for learning, sharing and networking take place during the highly interactive workshop sessions.

Institutions are encouraged to register teams of administrative leaders, faculty members, instructional designers and researchers. Each track provides participants with strategies that can be adapted and implemented at their home institution.

Learn More: http://www.blendedworkshop.uic.edu

Innovative Thinking :: Low-Cost Multi-touch Whiteboard using the Wiimote

Scanning youtube I came across this great idea from a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon.

Johnny Chun Lee is an example of innovative thinking. In this video he shows how to make an inexpensive interactive whiteboard by using a wii remote and infared LED light pens.

And who said "youtube" isn't educational?

Get your students thinking creatively and see what they can create. Pose questions and see their innovative ideas. The world needs innovative thinkers and it is critical for us to develop innovative and creative thinking skills in our students. It's necessary for their future, and ours too.

Check out Johnny Lee's website to see more of his innovative thinking.

Thanks Johhny- keep thinking.....

Focus the Nation: Global Warming Solutions for America

Set aside January 31st. It is a national teach-in day based upon the Focus the Nation website set aside to engage millions of students and citizens with political leaders and decision makers about Global Warming Solutions.

Check out: Focus the Nation: Global Warning Solutions for America

Mount Saint Mary College will participate in the nation-wide event by offering campus-wide activities on January 30th and 31st. The Mount will join in the 2% solution, hold a panel debate, view the Inconvenient Truth in the student theater, and hold various discussions on climate change, evidence, consequences, political and social issues, and what you can do about these issues.

For a quick idea for engaging your class in the discussion about climate change add a project to your curriculum and have your students use digital technologies in their project presentation....

• Students can create a video and upload it to Teachertube or YouTube for everyone to view, not just the students in your class.
• Students can create an audio podcast. Students can write their own play or skit about climate changes and its' effect and upload the podcasts for anyone to hear online.
• Students can put together photo slideshows and upload them to Flickr or a create PowerPoint slideshows and upload the completed presentation to SlideShare or Photobucket.
• Students can create a Wiki listing all the resources available locally and online as a collaborative class project or create an individual Wiki with suggestions about global issues dealing with climate changes.

These are just a few ideas, there are many more Interdisciplinary/Multidisciplinary Resources available on the Focus the Nation website.

By using technology in your course activities students will be engaged actively - they will 'learn by doing' and remember what they learned.

Since climate change is a global issue using new digital technologies that connect the world virtually would allow the world to hear or view these projects and allow student voices to be heard wide-wide.

If you do a project using a new technology be sure to share it with your colleagues and with us. Everyone will benefit by hearing your ideas too.

Related Links:

• Slideshare
• Photobucket
• Youtube
• PW Wiki
• Flickr

2008 HP Technology for Teaching Grants

2008 Technology for Teaching Grants Open: HP has opened up its 2008 Technology for Teaching Grant program, offering $6 million to K-12 and higher education institutions in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

For this year's program, the Technology for Teaching Grant will award $3 million to K-12 schools and $3 million to two- and four-year colleges and universities. On the K-12 side, proposals will be accepted for programs covering any subject area, although, according to HP, the grant awards will favor science and math proposals.

The initiative is aimed at efforts to improve education through the use of innovative uses of technology in the classroom, increase the number of underrepresented students on a path toward high-tech careers, and enhance student success in math, science and engineering.

Get the Pulse on Totally Wired Teens

Anastasia Goodstein is an award-winning blogger and expert on how American tweens, teens and twentysomethings use technology. She is also the creative genius behind the Ypulse blog and Ypulse Mashup conferences (including the Tween Mashup in NYC this month).

Most recently she is the author of a book about teens and technology called Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens are Really Doing Online.

In her book Anastasia explores what Gen Y is doing on the Internet and with social media and mobile technology. She also delves into issues around cyberbullying, MySpace (and other social networks), as well as how all this technology is impacting schools and educators.

Anasatasia, thanks to the folks over at Proctor & Gamble, is going on a fall book tour. In addition to being incredibly knowledgeable in how teens are using technology, she is also keenly aware of how technology is being (or not) integrated in the classroom to support these burgeoning digital learning styles.

From personal experience, I can tell you that Anastasia is an engaging and interesting speaker who has the ability to explain (in real English, not geek speak!) how teens use technology, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of their total immersion in technology.

If you have the opportunity to hear her speak, please do so! You'll be glad you did.

Related Resources

• Schedule > Totally Wired Book Tour
• Powell's Books > Totally Wired
• Totally Wired Blog
• Proctor & Gamble > Being A Girl
• YPulse Blog
• YPulse Tween Mashup
• YPulse Mashup '07

Web 2.0: A New Wave of Innovation for Teaching and Learning

This past year we have blogged about Web 2.0 and curriculum ideas to jump start your thinking about how to use tools like del.icio.us, YouTube, and flickr with your students.

This article from Educause “Web 2.0: A New Wave of Innovation for Teaching and Learning?” reflects the fast, growing developments of the Web 2.0 and provides ideas for using the software components in Higher Education. These ideas are also well suited for senior high school students.

The article mentions so many Web 2.0 tools your head will spin. If you haven’t read this article yet, it’s a must read to catch you up to date. Considering it seems like new social tools are emerging each week, you have a lot of catch up on.