Welcome to the Generation YES Express
Things are finally settling down around here after three Generation Dids (veteran Gen Y students) and I spent much of September working with students and staff in many Virgin Island schools. Many years ago, when I was a professor at the University of the Virgin Islands, my graduate students and I created the seeds of what is now the Gen Y program. Since then, many V.I. schools have embraced the Gen Y model not only for the message of student empowerment, but also as a way to ensure the viability of their educational system in a technological world. You can see a photo essay of the schools here:
https://genyes.org/programs/supplemental/privatevi
Forward,
Dennis Harper
What's New at Generation YES
Generation YES Wins EdNet Rookie of the Year Award
Generation YES was recognized as the company "most likely to have an impact on education and the education technology industry in the future" by the Heller Reports EdNET Industry Awards. This is indeed an honor and recognition that the "Student as Change Agent" model can truly affect how technology is used in schools.
https://genyes.org/news/
New Generation YES Schools in October
Generation Y
Generation TECH
Come By and Say Hi!
T + L2, October 22-24. Anaheim California - Generation YES founder Dennis Harper and senior vice president Sylvia Martinez will be at NSBA's T+L2 this week. Visit us at booth #629 - we'll also be doing a session, "Student Tech Support - Best Practices and Success Stories" on Thursday, October 23, at 3:30.
https://www.nsba.org/t+l/
National Middle School Conference, November 5-7. Atlanta Georgia -
Gen Y is a very popular program for middle schools and Generation YES will be exhibiting at NMSA for the first time! If you are attending this important conference, or know someone who is, make sure to attend our session on Generation Y in the middle school years at 2:15 on Thursday, November 6.
https://www.nmsa.org/annualconf2003/atlanta.html
Mark Your Calendar
Student Speak Up Project
On October 29, students from districts across the country will be asked to share opinions about education technology in an online format. Schools can register to participate in Speak Up Day at https://www.netday.org. NetDay provides lesson guides and discussion facilitation tips to help teachers and students prepare for their online entries on Speak Up Day. Generation Y students ought to have a lot to say on this subject!
Student Showcase
Rube Goldberg Generation Y project
Every year, Rose Hill Junior High School science teacher Bruce Bishop teaches a unit on Rube Goldberg, bringing the principles of simple machines to life with the fanciful contraptions of Rube Goldberg, culminating with the students building their own devices. This year, Mr. Bishop and his Gen Y student, Ibar Yung, worked together to create a Rube Goldberg website to support the unit. Mr. Bishop says, ".. it's really made a big improvement on what [my students] have been able to do this year over previous years."
This exemplary project and many others are showcased on the annual "Generation Y Student Project CD-ROM". If you would like a free copy of this CD, please click here:
https://genyes.org/scripts/cd_request.php
Students Post Their Generation Y Project Resources
Many Generation Y classes link their projects to their school web site. Delmar Elementary School in Delmar, Maryland went a step further. Each Generation Y student posted links to all the resources they used when creating their technology-infused lessons with their partner teachers.
https://www.globalclassroom.org/2003/urls.html
Tech Tips Plus
MIT PDA Participatory Simulations Site
PDA Participatory Simulations use Palm handheld computers to embed people inside of simulations. Interactions between players in the game are mediated by peer to peer beaming. These simulations have been used with students (from fourth grade through graduate school), teachers (in science, math, technology, and social sciences), and many other training contexts.
https://education.mit.edu/pda/
New Book - Totally Tasteless Photoshop Elements
By appealing to the middle-schooler in all of us, stand-up comedian and author Wally Wang has put together a terrific, engaging book containing 19 in-depth lessons on using Photoshop Elements to manipulate digital images. The lessons, such as, "Rearranging Faces, Body Parts, and Other Objects" are funny and easy to follow. By the way, if you haven't discovered Photoshop Elements, it's a great low-cost ($49) alternative to Photoshop.
Book: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0072228849/
Photoshop Elements: https://www.adobe.com/education/ed_products/photoshop_elements.html)
Thousands of Images and Movies
SURWEB allows people to create multimedia presentations in minutes using images, sounds & movies provided by SURWEB or other digital sources. Like Generation Y, SURWEB is a former Technology Innovation Challenge Grant.
https://www.surweb.org/
News You Can Use
Young Organizers Mobilize to Change Their World, Starting with School
"I shouldn't have to go to school wearing a hard hat, with things falling from the ceiling." - Fernando, 17
This feature story is one of many on the site "What Kids Can Do - Powerful Learning with Public Purpose." What Kids Can Do believes in expanding current views of what constitutes challenging learning and achievement, particularly for adolescents.
https://www.whatkidscando.org/featurestories/youthorganizing.html
Macromedia 2003 Back-to-School Contest
Here's your chance to show off how you see the future of the web. Use the
new Macromedia Studio MX 2004 to build digital experiences that inspire,
provoke, educate, entertain, and more. You may qualify to win an Apple iPod
and special recognition on Macromedia.com. Contest rules and previous
winning entries at:
https://www.macromedia.com/resources/student/bts/student/
Tech Firms Keep Tabs on Teen Tech Trends
Technology firms pay close attention to global social trends and what this means for shopping, playing, and working in the future.
https://stacks.msnbc.com/news/953516.asp
Mega-Site for Student Involvement in School Change
SoundOut.org gives students and adults the tools they need to work together to transform schools. This site has success stories, publications, discussion forums, and links related to youth empowerment issues.
https://www.soundout.org/
