Resources to support the use of Technology in Youth Nonformal Educational Programming

Technology In Youth Programming: Interactive Centra Training, 6/10/04

Presentation by CYFERnet Technology Youth Programs Team:
Trudy Dunham, Univ of MN | Bill Pabst, Univ of MO | Jay Staker, IA State Univ | Barbara Chamberlin, NM State Univ
To contact the presenters, send email to KIDSPACE AT EXTENSION DOT UMN DOT EDU

Presentation Slides

• Tech in Youth Programming slides (total)
• Rocketry Section Slides: Overview and Launcher
• Digital Photography section slides

Related Online Resources

General:
• Chapter 9: Technology to Support Learning from the online book: How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School, edited by John Bransford, Ann Brown and Rodney Cocking, copyright 1999. Their 4 points (real world curriculum, scaffolding and tools, feedback & reflection, and building community) were used to organize the session.
• What You Need to Integrate Computers Into Non-Formal Education: a little dated but excellent resource to help you add educational games and other software, as well as websites into your youth program. Advocates a strong mix of computer-based and non-computer-based activities, with the tech well integrated to support the overall content goals. The Sample Activities include specific software examples, for example the Fripples Thinkin Things in You Make the Decision.
• Just For Kids: Extension's web-based youth programming.
• Access the CYFERnet ChatRoom by clicking on the word "Chat", as well as get instructions to use it, on this page.
• If you want to explore Chat in your program, check out the recent discussion on WWWEDU about Can Chat be educational? This link takes you to their archive; just search on the word chat. In 4-H, a number of states and groups use it to hold virtual meetings. Other groups have found an "online community" application which incorporates a chatroom to be a better alternative since it allows the posting of related documents and resources, calendar and other features to support the group. The ChatRoom listed in the 4-H Computer curriculum Computer Mysteries, is no longer available. The ChatRoom was run by the National 4-H Technology Leadership Team as a service to the 4-H community for a number of years, keeping it a safe place for youth on a 24/7 basis became too much ongoing work for the youth to consistently maintain. So a decision was made to eliminate it. As you know, one of the problems with printed curriculum materials is that they cannot be updated as easily as a weblink.
• National 4-H Technology Conference: a great place to be at the end of July to learn what is happening with technology programs in 4-H, from BioTechnology to Creating Online Games, eGovernment to Computer Systems, Robotics to GIS/GPS.
• Navigating the Children's Media Landscape: a good resource for parents and youth workers to understand how youth are interacting with media; see especially their "Using Media to Support Child Development Chart" for ages 2 - 11.
• Being Fluent with Information Technology: addresses distinction between tech literate and tech fluent, and importance for fluency for success in 21st century. Defined as know a starter set of information technology skills, understand the basic concepts on which information technology is founded, and have engaged in the higher-level thinking embodied in the intellectual capabilities, to use information technology confidently and ready to learn new systems quickly and use them effectively, able to apply information technology to personally relevant problems, and able to adapt to the inevitable change as information technology evolves over their lifetime.
• Learning for the 21st Century paper and Mile Guide: note especially that in 21st century, the integration of learning skills/strategies and learning tools.
• The Writings of Marc Prensky: the Madison WI 2003 Distance Education Conference keynote includes a discussion of the digital native / digital immigrant, and an overview of his work.
• Toward Digital Inclusion for Underserved Youth: report published by the Benton Foundation of roundtable discussion and associated white papers that looks at information and communication technology as means to improve the lives of underrepresented youth; good "what works" and suggestions for future research and evaluation outcomes to look for.
• Missouri After-School Computer Lab Project
• Keyboarding or typing programs you may want to consider include: Adventures in Typing and The Typing of the Dead It is PC only, and fairly 'bloody'... but an absolute blast.
• Playing to Learn: An Evaluation of the Participation of Upper Elementary and Middle School Students in Recreational Computer Lab Programs
• Four Models for Educational Computing in Out-of-School Programs
• Missouri 4-H Software-Based Projects
• 4-H Information Technology Contests and Competitions
• Books and articles about computer learning in recreational and non-formal settings
• The Instructional Use of Learning Objects: see the online book and explore reusability and developing 'learning objects' or modules and other strategies to deal with the "teacher bandwidth" issue.
• The Jan-Mar/03 issue of TechKnowLogia, (free but requires registration) especially Fletcher's Does this stuff work? A Review of Technology Used to Teach Figure 2 and related discussion on instructional effectiveness; and Thompson's Using Technology to Promote Critical Thinking Through the Natural Sciences.
• Look for the February 2003 issue of MIT's Technology Review for Ten Emerging Technologies That Will Change the World: Technologies predicted to have a major influence on our lives in the near future -- just to get you thinking about more change and innovation!
• The 4-H Cooperative Curriculum Website: get a copy of their curriculum catalog or click to learn more about the project areas and specific curriculum; and you can order curriculum online.

Rocketry:

• Rockets Away http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~rockets/
• Extension - Science, Engineering & Technology (E-SET) http://www.extension.iastate.edu/e-set/
• Aerospace Adventures, a CCS 4-H Curriculum

Digital Photography:

• Photography Curriculum available through National 4-H Council http://www.4hmall.org
• Software for editing and organizing photo includes Ph0toshop Elements & Photoshop Album, among others http://www.adobe.com/digitalimag/main.html
• Funding ideas for your project can be found at www.apte.com/dp/ff/fundraising.cfm
• Learning digital photography www.cahe.nmsu.edu/employee/agcom/services/software_tutorials.html
• The May 2004 issue of online journal: Learning and Leading with Technology is all about digital photography http://www.iste.org/LL
• Your ideas for Photography Projects: Pamela M. suggests "Have the student make a classroom newspaper - makes it very personal and includes the photography, editing, and writing skills"; Lisa C. says "We post our digital photos to share on webshots in the community section - its free!". Rene L. adds: "There is a program that promotes digital photography while increasing literacy skills called "Webbe Books" : templates to use your own photos and text to produce personal "mini" books. An excellent program! at www.realebooks.com"

Integrating Technology into Your Youth Program

Presentation from the National 4-H AfterSchool Rollout Conference held in St. Louis in April, 2003.

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