Welcome to the Generation YES Express
November 2005 - 7,794 subscribers
The holiday season and New Year are here once again. This is a time to reflect on the past and plan for the future. This past year, for the first time, a majority of the thousands of students in Generation YES programs were from minority and underserved populations. We have placed much effort on bridging the digital divide and promoting technology to better the human condition. Recently, I have been helping some of my former students establish a high-tech school in Liberia, a country with few schools due to many years of civil war.
As we look toward next year, we will continue this trend. First will be a venture with MCI to provide 10,000 high-need students in California's Central Valley an opportunity to create high tech projects in a variety of languages. We always strive to help youth understand WHY and HOW to use computers in ways that are inspired, compassionate and personally meaningful. This is the biggest gift we can give to the future.
Forward -
Dennis Harper
What's New at Generation YES
MCI Funds California TechYES Project for 10,000 Students
The non-profit Generation Y Foundation has received funding from MCI to provide 10,000 seventh grade students in California's Central Valley with the opportunity to become nationally certified in technology literacy using the TechYES program. Any public Title 1 school in this area that serves seventh grade students is eligible to apply for these funds and resources. The deadline is January 18, 2005. More details and online application at: https://www.geny.org/mci
Adam Fletcher Joins Generation YES Staff
We are pleased to announce that Adam Fletcher has joined the Generation YES staff as head of customer support. In this role, he helps both teachers and students implement successful Generation YES programs.
Adam has over a decade of experience working with educational programs serving youth in schools and communities. Adam spent seven years working in classrooms, was the director of several youth organizations, consulted with many more, and was hired by the Washington State Office of Public Instruction as their first youth engagement specialist. Most recently, Adam has been the force behind SoundOut, a student-centered school improvement program (https://www.soundout.org) and Freechild, promoting youth voice in communities (https://www.freechild.org/).
Adam's extensive experience in youth voice organizations will help us continue and strengthen our commitment to empower and educate youth. Please feel free to welcome Adam at [email protected] or give him a call at (888) 941-4369 x101.
Maryland GenYES Project Evaluation
Dr. Stan Bennett of the University of Maryland completed an evaluation of the three-year Maryland Generation Y Partnership, reporting "very positive" results all around. You can read the results at https://genyes.com/programs/genyes/research.
Student Showcase
Students Show Their Stuff In New York School
Convincing partner-teachers that getting involved with GenYES students and their projects can be a challenge. At Louis D. Brandeis High School in New York City, first year GenYES coach and social studies teacher, Dan Roberto, had his students create multimedia PowerPoint resumes that the students presented at a faculty meeting.
The result? So many teachers responded that he had to create a competitive application process to select partner-teachers for the first year. They are now building on last year's successful model. Dan reports that the support of his principal in that first go-round was crucial to the program's success.
Veteran New York School Creates GenYES Blog
The Queensbury Middle School started GenYES six years ago. GenYES teacher Wendy Single's blog provides a peek into what an experienced model of student-teacher technology collaboration looks like. See the blog at
https://www.queensburyschool.org/blog/technology/single/index.php and see a photo of the class at: https://www.queensburyschool.org/Schools/WHBI/geny.htm
Contests and Projects
Who Loves Robots? We Love Robots!
Logo Computer Systems Inc. (LCSI) is asking students in grades 4-9 to use its MicroWorlds EX Robotics Edition software package to build a robot that solves a real-life problem. The "We Love Science" contest is open until May 31, 2006. https://www.microworlds.com/mwexrob_contest/
Join iEARN Projects - Seeking Contacts, Contributions & Collaborators
iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) is a non-profit organization made up of over 20,000 schools in more than 115 countries. iEARN empowers teachers and young people to work together. Over 1,000,000 students each day are engaged in collaborative project work worldwide. For a full listing of iEARN projects, see: https://www.iearn.org/projects/
"Doors to Diplomacy" 2006 Web Project Competition for Middle and High School Students
This educational award program recognizes the student-created Global SchoolNet Web projects that best teach others about the importance of international affairs and diplomacy. Projects must be completed by March 17, 2006. https://globalschoolhouse.org/doors/
Tech Tips Plus
Meet With Approval - It's Like Evite With Negotiation (and no ads)
This nifty little web gizmo allows you to arrange a meeting or event online without back and forth emails or phone calls. You fill out a form and your friends or colleagues are notified of the event. They visit the meeting page and help decide a good date. When you are all happy, 'Meet With Approval' confirms the arrangement and you all meet up. https://www.meetwithapproval.com/
Using Skype as a Community Media Production Tool
You've probably heard of Skype, a free "telephone" program for your computer (https://skype.com). This article discusses how to use Skype as a free media production tool with step-by-step instructions and helpful hints. https://www.digitaldivide.net/articles/view.php?ArticleID=378
Flash Drives Make Any Computer "Personal"
Students at Eastside Preparatory School in Kirkland, Wash., are getting class materials in a new way this year: on a tiny flash-memory drive that plugs into a computer's USB port. https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9614913/from/RL.5/
Grants
Besides the MCI California Technology Literacy Grant (https://www.geny.org/mci) for student tech literacy mentioned above, there are a couple other opportunities that fit nicely for schools with student-centered technology programs.
Intel and Scholastic - Schools of Distinction Grant
Schools will be recognized for having excellent programs in areas including technology, teamwork, student achievement, or other areas.
Deadline: 1/5/2006
Website: https://www.schoolsofdistinction.com/
State Farm Companies Foundation Educational Grants
This grant for K-12 public schools offers support for Service-Learning programs as one of the categories for submitting. Students working with teachers and providing tech support services for their schools should definitely apply!
Deadline: 1/15/2006
Website: https://www.statefarm.com/foundati/foundati.htm
Share Your Views on NCLB
The Public Education Network, in partnership with local education organizations, is asking citizens across the country to share their views on the landmark No Child Left Behind Act. For specific days and times for hearings, visit
https://www.publiceducation.org/nclb_hearings.asp.
To complete an online survey, go to https://www.zoomerang.com/recipient/survey.zgi?p=WEB224TLMZF53K
That's All For This Issue of the Generation YES Express
We hope you've enjoyed this email newsletter. If you have stories to share or news clips about technology in education, student empowerment, or funding for technology, please send them our way and you might see them in the next issue! https://www.genyes.org/about/contact
