Global Kids' Online Leadership Program

The March 28th edition of the Second Life themed publication Metaverse Messenger features an article entitled Global Kids - a Non-Profit Grows in Second Life.

Global Kids - a Non-Profit Grows in Second Life
By Christien Suntzu
The Metaverse Messenger

     Given the recent attention devoted to making a living in a virtual world (Wired News, Feb. 8), it is comforting to know that the non-profit sector of "real life" society is also alive and well in the virtual realm. This week, we check in with one example of an educational non-profit organization taking root byte-by-byte in electronic soil: Global Kids.

     Global Kids is a New York-based educational organization founded in 1990 that guides and supports urban youth to become global citizens, community leaders and successful students. The Online Leadership Program run by Second Life Resident GlobalKids Bixby, a.k.a. Barry Joseph, adapts Global Kids' successful youth development model to the Internet, creating new opportunities for bringing civic engagement, global awareness and leadership development to youth around the world through online games, online dialogues, and social action.

     With a strong interest in online games and communication, it should be no surprise to find them residing in Second Life, where they built an island on the teen grid so they could work directly with roughly 100 teens. 

     The largest part of the island is currently dedicated to the Global Kids Digital Media Essay Contest, supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The contest ended March 23, and was designed to assist youth to talk about the role of digital media in their lives and promote their voices to influence public policy. The contest, built by The Magicians, was structured in the form of an adventure. Teens received a decoder ring when they arrived, to allow them to understand the talking rock, tree, and bats. The lake offered three different Earth Thrones, which, when sat upon, caused a globe to rise from the deep and quiz the residents with questions about global digital media. If answered correctly, the residents received a fire amulet and access to the volcano. Once inside the volcano, they found a cave full of stalactites, stalagmites, bats and items needed to complete the contest, such as essay instructions and a virtual envelope for submitting their essay. Over 20 submissions for the contest came from the teen grid. One submission was itself in the form of a build.

     The rest of the island contains giant books from a number of Global Kids programs, copies of Holy Meatballs of Divine Spongiform (a journal created by Barry Joseph), a Rhiannon-designed flower garden featuring photos and captions from the student photo program, and dispensers for the Save Darfur Campaign's charity wristbands (with notecards), associated with the real-world project.

     In-world, students explore the essay contest region and participate in Global Kids workshops regarding digital media to help them think in a deeper way about digital media, addressing such issues as racism online, the power of online relationships, and Second Life as an educational environment. They also explore the various Global Kids projects, like the books and flower pots. Finally, they have a build area set aside for their own experimentation.

     As with any virtual world, the embodied nature of Second Life creates a wide array of learning opportunities. Learners can experiment with their own racial or gender identity and develop leadership skills through collaborative projects. According to Barry, "places like Second Life are on the cutting edge, demonstrating the emergence of the sophisticated educational potential of digital media."

     Barry chose Second Life as an educational platform after analyzing the start up costs associated with building his own massively multiplayer online game (MMOG). He said that he and his team had spent two years developing a concept for a MMOG, "with conflict at the center, to explore abstracted social and economic inequalities, to train teenagers about public policy and how to advocate for change." While the nature of Second Life does not lend itself well to the initial vision, it does allow Global Kids to reach an audience of "tech savvy youth, to use games as a form of youth media amongst our Global Kids Youth Leaders, to bring global and social issues into virtual worlds, to explore how content-rich virtual worlds can be vehicles for experimenting with identity, learning systems thinking, and so much more," says Barry.

     Plus it is affordable, especially compared with the costs associated with developing a rich, multi-player game engine from scratch.
     Excerpts from some recent essays by Global Kids reveal what the island residents think about Second Life. According to Veroo Epsilon, "With the Internet, and with many programs and games, you can learn things you wouldn't [learn] in school, or from any other place." TheCoolLeader Boyer apparently agrees, chiming in to describe "things I have been able to do only in Second Life that I couldn't have done in real life: owning land, having a house, having a shop, building creations and scripting them to do stuff, flying, fighting in battle areas, making my own guns, causing objects to explode at random, and making a small company with some of my friends that I know only through Second Life." 

     Not only do students find that they can do things in-world that they cannot do in real life, but they also see differences in how people interact in the virtual world. Boyer finds that people are more social and open in the virtual world than they are in real life. This echoes findings by MMOG researchers such as Constance Steinkuehler, Kurt Squire and others who study the increasing amount of social interaction taking place not only in open-ended virtual worlds such as Second Life, but in more focused environments like Star Wars Galaxies and Lineage. 

     Connections abound when looking at this group. To facilitate communication with the adult Second Life community, they maintain a location at Cincta 83,106,21, which provides a link between the group's work on the teen grid and that on the main grid. Right now the main grid site contains the first two volumes of The Holy Meatballs of Divine Spongiform, and the flower pots from the student photo show. They will soon display the winners from the essay contest as well.

     Readers interested in finding more information about Global Kids have an abundance of options. There is information about a number of programs and initiatives on their website at
www.globalkids.org, including the Online Leadership Program run by Barry Joseph.  A blog is also in the works at www.holymeatballs.org, which will provide weekly updates regarding the Global Kids presence in Second Life, as well as other online projects, including an online dialog with the NewsHour on PBS, a serious gaming program focusing on poverty as an obstacle to education, and an online dialog at
www.newzcrew.org.
     Residents can also join Global Kids Allies, a main grid group, to support the group and keep in touch with their work in Second Life.
     As a non-profit based outside of Second Life, Global Kids is working to bridge the gap between those within and outside Second Life. Hopefully, this bridge is one more step toward improving our world - both the virtual and the tangible. As Lucky Sillanpaa wrote, "With racism all around us, inside and outside the Internet, there is little we can do about it. But if even one person is a bit less racist toward one another, maybe it will stop." Here's hoping Global Kids will continue to be one group working toward making that vision a reality!

Originally in: The Metaverse Messenger - A real newspaper for a virtual world
www.metaversemessenger.com

Posted by joyce at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ian, one of the members of the Magicians, posted a blog entry describing his experience building the island, specifically the essay contest portion.

He also includes some great photos, with captions. Below is my favorite.

Global Kids and the Electric Sheep Company ran a "mixed reality" event for the awards ceremony. In-world, the event happened at this stage built by Kim Anubis on Global Kids Island, where you could see the real-world awards ceremony in New York on the screen behind the stage. Similarly, a screen on the stage in New York showed the ceremony in Second Life. The guy you can see working the computer on the screen on the stage is piloting the avatar in the centre foreground. This felt a bit bizarre, even for Second Life.

A SL regular calling our work bizarre?!! There is no higher compliment.

Posted by Barry at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tony Walsh, of the blog Clickable Culture, quotes from a number of the winning essays and offers some critiques in his post Teen Tech Tales.

Posted by Barry at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While there were only 14 winning essays, the majority of the over 130 essays offered some insight into and perspective on the role of digital media amongst today's teens. The following is a collection of some of the best quotes around the topic of Isolation/connectedness.

Jacob F., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

Technology can be useful, and it can be destructive. Not just in a destroy-the-world atomic bomb and such kind of way, but in personal relationships and such. I'm a little sick and tired of looking around on my school bus and seeing everyone listening to music on CD-players or I-Pods. The girl directly beside me will be listening to music, and I’ll sigh and close my eyes to rest a little, because I know I certainly won’t be opening my mouth to hold a conversation.

Brandon Michael S., Greenbrier, Arkansas:

One game I play is Star wars X-wing vs. Tie Fighter... I belong to what is called a clan online. I am part of The Rebel Alliance (TRA). We have to fly in different battles with opposing clan members of the Tie Fighter Alliance (TFA). As a member we are in a squad and we have to report on our online activities in the game every week. We also have a message board, called a comlink, that we communicate through. We earn points based on how we do in the battles and are awarded medals. Our other job as a squad member is to recruit new members to our site.

Sabienne B., Brooklyn, New York:

Many teens use the internet to make friends both nationally and internationally. They make friends with people from other cultures, religions and races. These connections create a better understanding among different races, cultures, and communities.

Jake M., Louisville, Kentucky:

Digital media is a great way for the youth of America to become connected with the rest of the world.

Chris F., Louisville, Kentucky:

Online multi-player video games are, contrary to common belief, very social atmospheres where players get to know one another personally… No one sees what the other people look like, but they respect each other in the same. These guys could have completely different backgrounds, different ethnicities, and totally different religions, but all of these variables dissolve when you are shooting virtual enemies as a team.

Chris F., Louisville, Kentucky:

Gamers often group together in clans or guilds to play alongside each other on a regular basis… Clans and guilds are microcosms of the business world in that people must learn to work together to achieve goals systematically.

Nick F., Belpre, Ohio:

I play XBOX online and it is good ways to make a lot of friends I have met a lot of people from all over the US and some places around that world. It’s is also a good way to learn good team work because you have to have good team work in order to win.

Ryan B., Louisville, Kentucky:

I've met people on the Internet who probably would have never spoken to me if we ever met in person first… the fact that I have friends on the Internet all around the world is amazing. Having all these friends with their own separate backgrounds and opinions gives me and other people a more cosmopolitan point of view about people and the world itself. 

Robbie S., Belpre, Ohio:

I communicate with people from across the globe, almost daily… I write to native French speakers who want to either learn English or practice their written skills, and in return they help me to ameliorate my French skills… Cultural awareness is necessary to a successful world, and the internet allows for this to occur. It is interesting to know what other people think of various global issues. Fresh and innovative ideas help to bolster world unity, all of which can be derived from the use of the internet.

Veroo E., Teen Second Life:

When you play an online game you're bound to meet other people. And when you meet others, you like or dislike them. When you like them, they become your friends. These friends online are just as important as the ones offline. ... It can be a bad thing to happen. When you love someone, and they don't live near you. And you can never actually just talk to them or spend time with them, outside of the game. It can be very saddening. Loving someone, them loving you back. Not being able to be with them. Being a thousand miles apart from one another. … I don't think it's a very bad thing, truly. Just it's not entirely good. It can be, that these friends or person who is more than a friend, on the internet.. They might be the only friends someone has.

Cassie T., Kokomo, Indiana:

People only hear the bad side of meeting people from the Internet and getting scammed or killed. They don’t hear the story of the couple that met in a Christian chat room and have been married for almost 6 years. My first experience with a relationship was with a boy I met in online that lived in my town, and I feel that it was one of the most important relationships I have had in my life.

Jorge P., Brooklyn, New York:

From that game [Everquest] I have met people as close as three avenues away to as far as Japan. It brought cultures together in one world online and from it I matured very fast for my age. Playing with people ten to fifteen years older than me, I learned a very broad vocabulary which I tend to use primarily on a computer. It also helped to speed up typing…

Tanner C., Madison, Alabama:

Needless to say, the online interaction initiative is strong and will most likely continue to grow until most socialization on a day to day basis is carried out digitally.

Stephanie M., Madison, Alabama:

For a few people, look. for love on the internet works, but often one only finds a liar hiding behind a different computer screen. Relationships made online usually aren’t treated as though they’re important enough to commit to. Online relationships also have the potential to be deadly.

Patrick K., Louisville, Kentucky:

While I enjoy playing video games, I also enjoy playing outside with my friends.

Posted by joyce at 1:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While there were only 14 winning essays, the majority of the over 130 essays offered some insight into and perspective on the role of digital media amongst today's teens. The following is a collection of some of the best quotes around the topic of Generational Change.

Eric E., Belpre, Ohio:

I don’t realize how much I use digital media because I have grown up with it.

Emmanuel P., Kokomo, Indiana:

We are the first generation who has lived with all this digital media for the majority of our lives. I am not quite sure what digital devices our children will grow up with, but I am sure that we will most likely know how to operate it, unlike our parents and grandparents… When my generation is old and weary, our grandchildren will describe us as the first children who grew up with the technology that dictated how their lives were lived.

Nate K., Teen Second Life:

We have grown up with the technology being new, and we are used to using new things because we have lived that way of life.

Alisha D., Belpre, Ohio:

I think that adults should learn what kids are learning in school these days… When I have projects, like [in] Power Points, due for school my mom always watches me do them. Afterwards she always wants me to teach her how to use them.

Mike L., Belpre, Ohio:

I have often wondered how my generation will be remembered… I couldn’t think of anything… so I popped in my earphones, played a relaxing song on my IPOD and Googled the answer while I texted my friend’s cell phone asking. if he wanted to go to the new Wi-Fi coffee house to get a raspberry _mocha flavored soy latte. That’s when it hit me: my generation will be known for having an abundance of absurd latte flavors!

Rebecca H., Belpre, Ohio:

Teenagers own the present, will control the future, and have free access to the past. Digital Media has improved the possible and done the impossible… Digital Media has shaped “Generation Y” and has revolutionized me. 

Justine H., Belpre, Ohio:

If we are as educated about [digital media] at our age, can you imagine what its going to be like in the future? There will be kids in preschool working. on adobe Photoshop, not in their coloring books. The old way of living will no longer exist in the future and old traditions will be forgotten and everything will be done electronically. We will no longer have to come to school anymore and we will no longer have to read books or write on paper, computers will be our lives. Digital media will be our lives.

Kyle M., Wheatland, Wyoming:

The Internet is making. the world completely new and ever changing, creating endless possibilities for exploration. This vast world of information has proven inviting to kids, making the new generation a curious one.  

Kyle M., Wheatland, Wyoming:

Internet-based self-reliance comes from the independent nature of the computer because it is designed for use by one person. When on the Internet, people decide where to go and what to do entirely on their own, and that idea has been firmly engrained in the minds of this new generation.

Kyle M., Wheatland, Wyoming:

Certain tradeoffs occur in changing generations. I won't go so far as to say that there is nothing wrong with the changes that occur, but there are positive effects that come from them. Person to person interaction may decrease, but personal relationships through improved communication will thrive. It is with these sorts of philosophies that I have great optimism for kids and their future. Adaptation will be the key. As long as the new generation and the rest of the world can adapt to these changes and learn from them, society will be able to keep on accepting change, from each generation to the next.

Morgan B., Wheatland, Wyoming:

I think that digital media has become such a big part of my generations’ life that most people are like me. They take all of it for granted. I don’t honestly think life could go on today if, all of the sudden, every bit of digital media that is in existence disappeared. We rely too heavily upon it.

Justin H., Wheatland, Wyoming: 
My parents don’t text and if they did it would take them an eternity but they like the idea of it.

Justin H., Wheatland, Wyoming: 
Our generation is good at video games. Its almost like it comes naturally because kids can play and be good the first time while at the same time their parents are playing for the first time and have a very hard time. If I had to make a decision on who is better at video games I would definitely say our generation would win.

Michelle H., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama: 
When I was younger, when technology wasn’t as big as it is today, my parents would make me go outside and play till it was to dark to see what I was doing. Now parents don’t care what their children do and let them stay inside and play video games all day ‘till they get a headache from looking at the screen too long.

Morgan B.:

I can’t see how people in the past survived without digital media.

Mike H., Louisville, Kentucky:

My generation, those born in the early 90’s, are the first humans to be so profoundly impacted by today’s new technology.

Mike H., Louisville, Kentucky:

With all the technology I have at my disposal, I think that people my age and I will be shaped by the technology of the future more than anyone could imagine. We learn using computers. We play games using computers. We listen to music using computers. We communicate using computers. My generation will be honed to a fine edge by today’s technology.

Sylvia M., Madison, Alabama;

Teenagers really don’t realize how much technology we use, the impact it holds in our lives, and how much we could use it to learn.

Rebecca H., Belpre, Ohio:

“Generation Y” knows Digital Media.

Rebecca H., Belpre, Ohio:

Digital Media has started a revolution. It has revolutionized “Generation Y”. It is revolutionizing me. And it will continue to revolutionize the world! 

Andrew D., Madison, Alabama:

It isn’t difficult to believe that adults aren’t able to understand why and how digital media affects our lives because our generation more than any other has been influenced by the computer.

Andrew D., Madison, Alabama:

It seems that today’s teenagers were born at exactly the right time. As we grew up the computer did as well and by the time we were able to fully understand the opportunities presented by this amazing machine the computer had become one of the most amazing and useful technological devices in the history of the world.

Mike L., Belpre, Ohio:

Every generation has a distinguishing characteristic that separates them from all the rest. Beatniks, hippies and grunge rockers all define a specific generation and conjure memories, stereotypes, and images of what a group of people claimed as their own mark in history. I have often wondered how my generation will be remembered and be identified and whether people will even care in 50 years.

Mike L., Belpre, Ohio:

My generation has been blessed/cursed with the insurgence of digital media.

Pearl S., Madison, Alabama:

The future seems as though it will be heavily based on technology and digital media, and I am fortunate to be a part of the first generation that has experienced it fully.

Posted by joyce at 1:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While there were only 14 winning essays, the majority of the over 130 essays offered some insight into and perspective on the role of digital media amongst today's teens. The following is a collection of some of the best quotes around the topic of The only constant is change.

Emmanuel P., Kokomo, Indiana:

Technology has improved so much over the years.

• I remember when very few people had cell phones. Now a person is in the minority if they do not have a cell phone. The most you could ever do with your cell phone was talk to people and maybe play a game like Pong. Now a person can get on the Internet, play games, text message, instant message, write a book report, take pictures and make a video. 
• I remember the best portable music players had to offer was probably a Sony Walkman. Now it’s an iPod that holds up to 15,000 songs and is also capable at showing videos.
• I remember a time when the best portable video games had to offer was a Gameboy. A Gameboy did not even have a color screen; it was played in black and white. Today the best portable video game device is a Sony PSP. This device is able to do what a Sony PlayStation can do and is at least 3 times smaller. A person can play video games, which have graphics equal to a Sony PlayStation and are capable of getting on the Internet, playing music and video.
• There was time not too long ago when video game systems limited a person to playing only with the friends that were in the same place as they were. Now you can play a person anywhere in the world.

Chelsea F., Belpre, Ohio:

Technology is being upgrade daily… When DVD players first came out, they were so expensive to buy… With that, video cassettes are slipping through the ages... I’m sure in the future there will be a substitute to DVDs.

Cassie T., Kokomo, Indiana:

I love the fact that technology is becoming more advanced and things that were not even imaginable ten years ago are slowly becoming the norm today. Without it, our society would be a much harder place to live in, but then again, maybe it should be that way.

Ryan B., Louisville, Kentucky:

Teens these days are becoming more educated to stay up with the changing trends around them.

Taylor D., Wheatland, Wyoming:

They would have never thought when the telephone was invented the computer would be invented and then when the computer was invented no one expected that there would be a phone that could do both things at the same time.

Tabassam C., Queens, New York:

Technology will keep on going... One may never find out where it will end.

Taylor D., Wheatland, Wyoming:

Technology is alive and well in American culture and it will continue to advance through out my lifetime, and I am really excited to see what may become of it. 

Alisha D., Belpre, Ohio:

Digital media will surprise us all in the future.

Posted by joyce at 1:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While there were only 14 winning essays, the majority of the over 130 essays offered some insight into and perspective on the role of digital media amongst today's teens. The following is a collection of some of the best quotes around the topic of Things learned.

Pearl S., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

My first, and favorite, videogame console was the Nintendo. Although it would amuse me for hours, I never actually played it. Playing the games was too hard for me because I lacked the hand-eye coordination to do so. Instead, I simply became my dad's personal cheerleader. I would watch my dad play "Zelda" and "Super Mario Cart", the only two games I owned, and shriek along with sheer excitement. Whenever he played "Zelda," I would become the "back-seat driver" and command him to go left instead of right because I knew all the secrets of the game. When he played "Super Mario Cart," I would twist my body left and right, mentally urging our car to do the same. Currently, my siblings' and my favorite game is "Dance Dance Revolution.".. Because I engaged myself in videogames earlier on in life, my brain has become quicker in responding to various things. I now also have very good hand-eye coordination and play softball and tennis.

TheCoolLeader B., Teen Second Life:

Things I have been able to do only in Second Life that I couldn’t have done in real life: owning land, having a house, having a shop, building creations and scripting them to do stuff, flying,… fighting in battle areas, make. my own guns, causing objects to explode at random, … and make. a small company with some of my friends that I know only through Second Life. 

Chris F., Louisville, Kentucky:

In eighth grade, I was in charge of assembling my tight-knit class's eighth-grade video, reflecting the past nine years of forty-six people's lives. I went through the pictures and picked out the best ones, putting them together in a slideshow of our prime years of childhood. It was during the presentation on graduation day, while my classmates laughed at each other and cried like beasts, that I realized how important a role I had earned in my school. I wasn't just the boy who wasted most of his time on the computer, but the person in charge of leaving a lasting impression of our favorite times in my best friends' minds. It was the highlight of my grade-school career.

Corey M., Belpre, Ohio:

Games that have the RPG [role-playing game] concept allow me to be a character or characters and help them through problems and sort of evolve throughout the game. This effect allows me to see the importance of make. the right choices in life and the consequences of make. the wrong ones. This kind of lesson is one I think everyone should have to learn.

Ryan B., Louisville, Kentucky:

With the Internet, teens now can develop their own opinions about things and voice them to the community,

Veroo E., Teen Second Life:

With the Internet, and with many programs and games, you can learn things you wouldn't in school or from any other place.

Cassie T., Kokomo, Indiana:

When I first went to design a layout for my Xanga, I discovered just how much I didn’t know. As I began learning things about HTML and design, it occurred to me that, had I been learning this any other way, it would’ve been the most boring thing in the world. So by using tools online, teens may find it easier to learn things and not view them as boring or useless.

Veroo E., Teen Second Life:

I have noticed that the people that play games such as Doom, Resident Evil, and all of those other violent games seem to be tougher people. Not so easily scared or startled. Though it also makes you less polite. Or not as nice.

Posted by joyce at 1:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While there were only 14 winning essays, the majority of the over 130 essays offered some insight into and perspective on the role of digital media amongst today's teens. The following is a collection of some of the best quotes around the topic of Identity.

Ryan B., Louisville, Kentucky:

On my web page, I can have skate boarding pictures all over the place, and my parents wouldn't be able to do anything about it. I may even listen to a type of music my parents hate because with a computer, I have that freedom. I can be myself and not what my parents want me to be.

Stephanie M., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

I also have a Myspace. I use it almost as much as AIM. You could say I’m addicted to it. I imagine myself in an AA setting surrounded by fellow Myspace addicts. I stand up and introduce myself, everyone says “Hey,” and then I explain my addiction.

Autumn B., Wheatland, Wyoming:

Without [digital devices] I would not be the person I have grown to be today.

Cassie T., Kokomo, Indiana:

Digital Media is one of the most important tools in today’s society. For me, it’s almost the pentacle of my existence.

Scarlet S., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

Okay, so maybe a few years ago, I could’ve survived without my cell phone, but give me a break… I’d die without it now.

Chelsea F., Belpre, Ohio:

I will never stop using technology. Its not just a hobby now but a way of life.

Pearl S., Madison, Alabama:

TiVo is only second to the Bible for me.

Ryan B., Louisville, Kentucky:

As crazy as it sounds, teens feel comfortable at their own web pages. Web pages almost become a second home to some teens.

Cassie T., Kokomo, Indiana:

Without things such as MySpace, LiveJournal, Xanga and Blogger, teens might not have an outlet to voice their opinions or frustrations. … Another great thing about blogging sites is the ability to network. You might suddenly find yourself surrounded by people who have the same interests or passions as you do. … I feel network. like this helps teens that may feel like they are alone in the world find that they are not the only one who has an interest in one particular thing, or is different in some way. I know a few kids who say they feel like they can only be themselves when they are online because there is no judgment there. Let’s face it; the internet is a pretty anonymous place. You can be anyone, do anything.

Jorge P., Brooklyn, New York:

I received my first cell phone in eighth grade and ever since then, if the battery dies or I lose it someplace, I feel naked…I’m so attached to it, people tell me that I am going to eventually receive a tumor from it. Even if I do, part of me knows that after treatment I would go get a new phone. I’ve become an asthmatic who smokes, addicted to what could be my demise.

Nick C., nik385 Doesburg, Teen Second Life:

People young and old can be what or who they want to be just by the click of a mouse.

Alexandra G., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

I consider myself and my friends to be normal teenagers living in America. What defines us as normal? The answer is internet usage. … The internet is like air to us.

Alexandra G., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

My good friend Lauren goes to the library for both educational and social usage of the internet. Yes, that’s right. My friend Lauren goes to the library to use the internet for social use. Have you heard about the new craze of MySpace? … One of the opening questions of a conversation is: Do you have a MySpace? If you don’t have one, you have at least heard of it and your friends are begging you to get with it and start one.

Posted by joyce at 1:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While there were only 14 winning essays, the majority of the over 130 essays offered some insight into and perspective on the role of digital media amongst today's teens. The following is a collection of some of the best quotes around the topic of Balancing the dangers.

Stuart D., Tocharaeh Wake, Teen Second Life:

Before I started playing games I was a heavy drug addict… games are my anti-drug…

Stephanie M., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

Addiction is usually referred to when speaking about drugs and alcohol, but surprisingly enough, many people are addicted to the internet and what it has to offer. Sadly, pornography has wrecked the lives of millions, and for many, the addiction was brought about through the internet. Crude pop ups, websites embedded with nude pictures, and easy access to any type of information make stumbling across it very possible. As a result, minds are polluted everyday, and people’s self worth and image of others drastically declines, leaving people empty. 

Aneka H., Brooklyn, New York:

The internet keeps us in touch with each other, but it also keeps perverts and pedophiles in touch with us.

Aneka H., Brooklyn, New York:

We’re literally addicted. Without [digital media], we will crumble like a cracker left in the hands of a child.

Sabienne B., Brooklyn, New York:

Why does digital media help some, while negatively impacting others?

Jake M., Louisville, Kentucky:

If every school across the United States focused more on teaching internet safety to its students, there would be a drastic decrease in the number of abductions of the youth of America.

Mike L., Belpre, Ohio:

The Internet (thanks to Al Gore), can be used to communicate with grandma and send her pictures of the soccer game after you research the Incas for homework. You could also be chatting to someone who wants to exploit you sexually. You can file you taxes online and do your shopping without leaving the house as long as nobody gets your information and steals your identity. You can surf the web for interesting sites and get addicted to pornography. 

Michael M., Louisville, Kentucky:

We should devote more of our time and talents to helping all the problems in the world like third-world hunger or terrorism, not, “How can I listen to music and look stylish at the same time?” It’s so stressful to try to keep up with all these distractions…

Michael M., Louisville, Kentucky:

Peace of mind is one of the valuable things you can’t find on the Internet.

Robert L. T., Belpre, Ohio:

I am mad at today’s technology companies because of the stuff they are always putting into this world.

Robert L. T., Belpre, Ohio:

Digital media is a blessing but mostly a curse. I think the government should ban the sites that have pornography and inappropriate language, and inappropriate content. I am ashamed how the world thinks that it is invisible. If we do what the companies want then they have already won.

Andrew D., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

Do violent games cause violent behavior? How accurate is the information I receive from online sources? How careful should I be in giving out information online and how important are new online friendships anyway? These questions should be asked by everyone and the answer may not always be the same…

Taylor B., Wheatland, Wyoming:

With all of the changing technology I wouldn’t be surprised if the government is taping into our phone lines and reading our text messages. I don’t agree with our government being able to tap into our personal life. I understand that there should be actions taken since September 11 to insure our safety. But I don’t feel safe talk. on my cell phone. People shouldn’t have to worry about someone listening in on their phone calls.

Stephanie M., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

Privacy is a big issue for me. I watch all sorts of thrillers where a killer finds a beautiful young girl in her prime by look. at her online journals. He stalks her, finds her, and kills her… It makes me wonder about who all has seen my Myspace. 

Stephanie M., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

My parents thought that if I could be on the internet and not get into trouble at the age of thirteen, then my sister should be able to be on it at the age of ten. We tried this scenario and my sister played around. After a month my family started getting random letters from random companies. My parents thought it was just junk mail that was getting sent out. Then my mom gets her credit report and finds out that my ten year-old sister had been buying things from e-bay and music sites. She spent about two thousand dollars on merchandise and she put my mom’s personal credit information online. It’s been almost three years since that incident and we’re still getting junk mail from websites that she visited.

Stephanie M., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

Even though I say I’m addicted to Myspace and AIM, I’m no where near as obsessed at my nine year-old brother is with internet games. The longest he was on the computer was eighteen hours and fifty-two minutes. The only way you could get him away from the computer was to tempt him with food. He is so enticed by internet games that he wet himself because he didn’t want to waste time going to the bathroom. I was shocked when I came home from school and asked why he was cleaning the computer chair with soap and water.

Saharazon W., Wheatland, Wyoming: 
Women have to be really careful about what they say on the internet because technically, we don’t really know if we are talk. to serial killers or not and so women shouldn’t give out all of their personal characteristics or information about themselves.

Alexandra G., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

The internet is becoming such a popular and powerful tool for the young adult that learning safety of the internet should be taught right after the lesson on stranger safety.

Kristen M., Madison, Alabama:

To paraphrase a recent ad I heard on the radio, the internet is a fun place to explore, but it can also be a dangerous jungle. 

Kristen M., Madison, Alabama:

When is it safe to share personal information online? I know that I probably don’t pay enough attention to this as I should.

Robert L. T., Belpre, Ohio:

There is a problem with digital media and it is today’s companies that think they can pollute the minds of little children without facing the consequences.

Tanner C., Madison, Alabama:

In conclusion, the internet and digital media in general provide many innovative and expedient means to sell, share, learn, play, create, socialize, interact, and change the world though the freedom and versatility of online communication. Many people use it for dishonest acts, but the good far outweighs the bad. Some information may be false or bias, but to limit that freedom in any way would be to repress the very individuality of human nature and the purest form of artistic _expression. The future looks bright on the internet and its users, and that is because they are continually look. towards it… continually work. towards a better unity for humankind, online or off.

Cassie T., Kokomo, Indiana:

I have seen both the pros and cons of digital media, and I still believe that the positives highly outweigh the negatives, but I do believe there is room for changes and improvement.

Stephanie M., Madison, Alabama:

Is digital media a friend or foe? I don’t know I’ll have to get back to you on that. 

Aneka H., Brooklyn, New York:

If the issue was in front of a judge, whether or not digital media was good or bad, then we would [still] be sitting in our wooden chairs because both sides would be talk. forever.

Posted by joyce at 1:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

While there were only 14 winning essays, the majority of the over 130 essays offered some insight into and perspective on the role of digital media amongst today's teens. The following is a collection of some of the best quotes around the topic of Who makes the rules?.

Autumn B., Wheatland, Wyoming:

Every student has his or her own way of learning. Some like to listen to music, some like to watch TV. So what is the problem for having I-Pods or walkmen in classrooms if no one else can hear them? In my school they leave it up to the teachers. If the teachers find it disturbing it is forbidden. By not allowing us to have them, some students may say that the teachers are not allowing us to learn to our fullest.

Justin H., Wheatland, Wyoming: 
In most schools there is a policy against cell phones. I think this is stupid. I think if people abused the rules they should be the only ones punished. Just cause someone chose to text there answers to someone else in the class means they should have there phone taken away not everybody.

Chris F., Louisville, Kentucky:

Through my experience, I know better than to worry about the RIAA crack. down on music pirates. Why shell out fifty dollars on The Lord of the Rings Trilogy when I can leave my computer on for a week and obtain the very same for no cost? My parents should praise my frugality.

Kristen M., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

I’m sure many students have used jpegs in a PowerPoint for a speech or added a snippet of a song to a video project. What’s the line between legal and illegal? I don’t know for certain, and I think that most adults are unsure as well.

Tyler B., Madison, Alabama:

Music is the international language, and if people can learn to be open mind towards different types of music and it can help with other social issues and ideas as well. Music affects the way you feel, think, and act and its important to have it. It should not be taken advantage of and put at unaffordable prices. It needs to be issued at a cheap expense it should be at a price everyone can afford. I believe we should do away with the corrupt politics within the music industry and give it back to the artists and the listeners.

Amber S., Wheatland, Wyoming:

Technology is changing things so rapidly that the control procedures need to change with it… The only real answers would be the ones worked out by students and adults alike.

Matt M., Louisville, Kentucky:

As our world grows closer toward the future of next generation digital media devices, we should think about these items that are present in the world today. The pros and cons of these items can play a huge role in shaping the future of our government and the way we live in the world. With people work. every day to make things better, other people will still find a way to get around the barriers, for this world isn't perfect.

Posted by joyce at 1:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While there were only 14 winning essays, the majority of the over 130 essays offered some insight into and perspective on the role of digital media amongst today's teens. The following is a collection of some of the best quotes around the topic of In/tolerance.

People can meet people and share their ideas without their race, religion, or physical attractiveness becoming a factor. This optional facelessness allows true freedom and interaction without bias.

Nick C., nik385 Doesburg, Teen Second Life:

I'm going to talk about Second Life, a massive online game where you can interact with friends!...There are a lot of gay and bi people, and unlike in real life, they aren't taunted by jerks and mean people very much. Me and a few friends hold little parties for everyone usually shunned by society, like nerds, gay/bi, disabled, and just about anyone else that feels bad about themselves.

Lucky S., Teen Second Life:

With racism all around us, inside and outside the internet, there is little we can do about it. But if every one person is a bit less raciest toward one another, maybe it will stop. 

TheCoolLeader B., Teen Second Life:

From my experience people are more social and open when they are on the computer than when they are in real life.

Alisha D., Belpre, Ohio:

When you meet someone new on the computer you ask the usual: name, age, where they live. When race comes into the conversation some people won’t talk to you anymore because they don’t like what race or religion you are. This is pathetic really. Who are they to judge?

Adam S., Louisville, Kentucky:

People can be hurtful on the internet to women, calling them names and saying they have no opinion on important topics. The racist people on the internet may send mean messages... People are hurtful because they will never see the others they are being racist or sexist against… The only positive thing about gender or ethnicity on the internet is you can find a web page or chat room of people that are like you or who share the same interests as you.

Veroo E., Teen Second Life:

In real life, you're set with a certain gender, a certain skin color, and other things that you can't change. … When you're online, you are safe from prejudice. But when you leave it comes back. You might as well keep it with you when you're on an IM or in a game.

Chris F., Louisville, Kentucky:

One of the greatest aspects of these [gaming] groups is that no one sees what the other people look like, but they respect each other in the same. These guys could have completely different backgrounds, different ethnicities, and totally different religions, but all of these variables dissolve when you are shooting virtual enemies as a team. Clans and guilds are microcosms of the business world in that people must learn to work together to achieve goals systematically.

Jackson K., Jackson Widget, Teen Second Life:

…there is little discrimination in the digital world.

Posted by joyce at 1:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While there were only 14 winning essays, the majority of the over 130 essays offered some insight into and perspective on the role of digital media amongst today's teens. The following is a collection of some of the best quotes around the topic of Digital Media in Schools.

Tessa Z., Wheatland, Wyoming: 
I am take. a test and I am work. really hard and then a fellow student is texting someone else to get answers. It drives me nuts because I study for the test and I am work. hard and there is some else who doesn't have to worry about it because they cheated.

Tyler B., Wheatland, Wyoming:

Everyone assumes just because we have text messaging and are able to take pictures on our phones, we must be cheating. Sure, some people talk to their friends during class with text messaging but that’s not everyone, so why take all digital devices out of the classroom.

Morgan B.:

Now that these different types of media are available to teachers, the possibilities of assignments have expanded drastically.

Autumn B.:

Lets face it; our school doesn’t have a book for everything.

Yong C., Brooklyn, New York:

Some games I have contain foul language and violent scenes. I thought it was cool so I copied the language and said it in school. One time, it was very unlucky for me. The principal was in back of me when I said it and I got detention for a whole week.

Jacob F., Madison, Alabama:

I feel sorry for anyone being forced to read through these.

Posted by joyce at 1:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While there were only 14 winning essays, the majority of the over 130 essays offered some insight into and perspective on the role of digital media amongst today's teens. The following is a collection of some of the best quotes around the topic of Legitimacy.

Stephanie M., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

Many people use the internet as a crutch. They use it solely for all their research, not bothering to make sure their sources are accurate and reliable.

Kristen M., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

When I google my topic, I see thousands of sites containing related information pop up before me. Maybe these sites are legitimate, maybe they’re not. I’m careful not to use student papers or anything that looks “homemade.” We’re normally required to use several sources when researching, so by cross-referencing, it makes it possible to spot discrepancies. 

Andrew D., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

When given a ridiculously hard research paper it is not at all uncommon for me to do the whole paper using solely internet sources. … Though I am able to retrieve information swiftly there is still a danger of this information being incorrect. How am I to know that the information I receive via the internet is not completely made up by someone incompetent in the subject area I am researching? … Because of this I mostly use web sites that I know are being monitored such as news websites like cnn.com. Also, sometimes it is possible to understand the web site’s author’s expertise on his/her subject by reading information about him/her provided on the site itself.

Posted by joyce at 1:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While there were only 14 winning essays, the majority of the over 130 essays offered some insight into and perspective on the role of digital media amongst today's teens. The following is a collection of some of the best quotes around the topic of Empowerment.

Kyle M., Wheatland, Wyoming:

Chat rooms and other forms of online communication provide a launching pad for the great think. minds of America's youth, with little or no consequence for failure.

Rebecca H., Belpre, Ohio:

Video games give teenagers, like me, the ability to control much more than a mouse.

Ryan B., Louisville, Kentucky:

Who would ever have thought it possible for a kid to travel around the world and back with a simple click? Who would have even guessed it to even be fathomable for a person to play a game, listen to Motley Crue's greatest hits, and yet still talk to friends all at once? It's possible and done by millions of people every day sitting in front of a computer screen, and I'm proud to say I'm one of them.

Dahye H., Brooklyn, New York

We own these new digital medias, we shouldn’t be slaves to them.

 
Sarah S., Kokomo, Indiana:

Blogs are online journals… Although I do not have the Internet at home, I know an Internet blog... because I have a sister that has to know everything that goes on in my life. I feel I have no privacy and I hate the fact that I always have to hide my journal and worry about my sister reading about my personal feelings. With blogs, passwords are required to get into personal writings. Access to a blog would give me more privacy and I would feel more comfortable.

Jonathan D., Wheatland, Wyoming:

My sister was on her way back to college, and she saw a person walk. up the hill, out of the corner of her eye. She stopped immediately, and got out of her car. When she was toward this person she saw how bad it was. A man, his wife, and their newborn baby rolled their car. When she got to the man my sister asked him if he had contacted 911. He said he didn’t because none of them own a cell phone. My sister saved the family just with the click of some buttons.

Kacy H., Wheatland, Wyoming:

I live six miles from town on a ranch in Wyoming, so most of the time I am in very remote areas. With my mobile phone, I feel like I have more freedom and fewer worries. … I know what you are probably thinking, what if there is no cell service? Text messaging is the answer! Often times, when I can’t make a call out, with only one “bar” of service I can still send a text message. 

Scarlet S., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

As my friend tried to swerve off the road, bam! Out of nowhere, a wreck happened. What do you do when something like an emergency happens? No, you don’t write a letter to your mom saying you got in a wreck. You don’t send a message to her pager, and you definitely don’t send an email. This is why a cell phone can be so important.

Tom D., Tecno Tiger, Teen Second Life:

I was introduced to Second Life by my dad who plays on the main grid. After the first week of playing, I was hooked, and if I’m being honest, my grades started to slip at school… Once I figured it out, I started using SL to my advantage. I set up a small mall, and started selling my products, I then used the money I made from Teen Second Life to pay for resources to help me at school.

Cassie T., Kokomo, Indiana:

Another great thing about blogging sites is the ability to network…this helps teens that may feel like they are alone in the world find that they are not the only one who has an interest in one particular thing, or is different in some way.

Chris F., Louisville, Kentucky:

Being capable of solving other people's problems enriches me with a sense of hope for my future.

Brandon A. S., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama:

I began writing this essay using WordPad, a scaled-down word processor that comes with every version of Microsoft Windows, at the public library in Greenbrier, Ark. WordPad has no spell check. function. So, to take advantage of the power of computers, I e-mailed this essay to myself, finished writing it in WordPad and then transferred it to OpenOffice.org 2.0. OpenOffice is an open-source (translates to “free”) office suite similar to Microsoft Office or Corel's WordPerfect Suite. OpenOffice has spelling and grammar check. as well as thesaurus and dictionary. If I continued to use WordPad or Notepad, I could always look online at dictionary.com with my Internet Explorer should I need to find the correct spelling of a word; while you can't leave all the spelling to the computer, it is a big help.

Posted by joyce at 1:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While there were only 14 winning essays, the majority of the over 130 essays offered some insight into and perspective on the role of digital media amongst today's teens. The following is a collection of some of the best quotes around the topic of Digital Divide & Access.

Veroo E., Teen Second Life:

Libraries offer computers and Internet for use. Many people without a home computer can use those. But they don't have as much access and they can't do as much as they would if it was their home computer.

Max S., Bob Jones High, Madison, Alabama: 
Everyone in the world should have the power of technology.

Emmanuel P., Kokomo, Indiana:

If a person does not know how to operate a computer it is more than likely that they will probably never get an office job.

Sabienne B., Brooklyn, New York:

My use of any digital media is very limited. Because of a lack of time, I am not able to explore the digital media world as much as other youth and I’m not very proud of it. Every time I use the computer I have to have someone help me with my research. Sometimes it’s embarrassing. Look. at other teens being able to do it, I feel like I’m missing something.

Mike H., Louisville, Kentucky:

Technology is an integral part of my life, and only by using it can I truly be ready for the future.

Posted by joyce at 1:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While there were only 14 winning essays, the majority of the over 130 essays offered some insight into and perspective on the role of digital media amongst today's teens. The following is a collection of some of the best quotes around the topic of Games and Violence.

Matt M., Louisville, Kentucky:

Arnold Schwarzenegger recently passed a law in California stating that violent games are not allowed to be sold to children under the age of 17. This law is coming from a guy who has portrayed one of the most deadly characters in the movie The Terminator. Obviously the “Govenator” didn’t know that there is a rating system which says in bold letters, MATURE (for 17+). …People today, like the Govenator, can’t see the violence in the real world, because they are caught up in the violence brought up in a virtual universe. I’m sure that there are plenty of crimes being committed besides a 10-year old playing Grand Theft Auto.

Kayla W., Athens, Georgia:

All in all, in my opinion, video games do cause violence in kids who play them. …this is just like smoke. cigarettes and getting lung cancer. Not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer and not everyone who plays violent video games becomes a violent person. 

Brittney S., Fort Valley, Georgia:

Blaming violent media for all violence is definitely not my intentions… [But] when teenagers openly admit that their violent act was a result of scenes they picked up from a video game, it’s time to address the situation. A line has to be drawn.

Stuart D., Tocharaeh Wake, Teen Second Life:

Violent games do not make a person violent, The person makes him/herself violent by the people they interact with.

Posted by joyce at 1:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On March 23^rd, 2006, Global Kids held a youth conference in New York City for over 600 teens and educators. At the conference, we held an awards ceremony to celebrate the winners of our nationwide Digital Media Essay Contest. As part of this ceremony, we featured winners who participated in the contest via an online virtual world called Second Life. At the conference, we had a screen displaying a live feed of teens who were joining us from within Second Life. Simultaneously, we set up a screen within Second Life, so the teens who were gathered there could watch a live broadcast of what was going on at our real world Global Kids conference.

This transcript begins as we were setting up and practicing before the start of the ceremony. The GK Leaders were standing on the stage in New York, practicing their script for the Awards Ceremony.

PRACTICE TIME BEFORE THE AFTERNOON PLENARY

Jackson Widget: i see myslef on the screen

Kit Axon: lol... almost...

Tocharaeh Wake shouts: I LIKE MUFFINS!

Kit Axon: i missed it

Kit Axon: can we do it over>

Kit Axon: ?

Kit Axon: i just watched myself fall off the stage!

Kit Axon: ^.^

Jackson Widget: YAY

Jackson Widget: PREPARE

nik385 Doesburg: can i have the overrider PLEASE

Tocharaeh Wake: MUHGAHAHAHAHA!!

Jackson Widget waves

Kit Axon: wait

Tocharaeh Wake shouts: I RULE THE LAND OF MUFFINS!

Kit Axon: ours will be delayed anyways...

nik385 Doesburg: toch PLEASE

Tocharaeh Wake: MUFFINS!!!

nik385 Doesburg: i be back at one o clock

Aly Nerd: hey i'm on screen on screen!

Kit Axon: i invaded

Kit Axon: oops

Tocharaeh Wake: I'M ON SCREEN!

Tocharaeh Wake: HI! GUY WHOS WAVING

As the GK Leaders practice for the real world Awards ceremony, they get to the part where they introduce Second Life and the screen behind them zooms out to reveal Second Life. The teens in Second Life who are watching the video feed of the stage in New York are then able to see themselves as they are featured on the screen in the real world. They also notice the delay between their actions and what they see on the screen.

Aly Nerd: I can see myself on the screen, on the screen

Kit Axon shouts: i fell off the stage again

Weden Cooper shouts: It's live!

Weden Cooper: Wow, that's delayed.

Alister Harrington: 20-sec delay

The teens standing on stage in New York continue to practice and they get to the point in the ceremony where they all shout “1…2….3… WELCOME TEEN SECOND LIFE!” The teens in Second Life practice their response:

Weden Cooper: Oh i feel so delightfully famous.

The teens in Second Life were able to hear Barry talk through a mic that broadcasted into Second Life:

Tocharaeh Wake: HI GUY WHOS TALKING

Kit Axon shouts: HI

Tocharaeh Wake: WHATS YOUR NAME!!!

Alister Harrington: I feel nicely anonymous yet noticed.

The GK Leaders finish rehearsing for the ceremony, and the teens in Second Life continue to hang out in front of the stage erected in SL, waiting for the ceremony to commence.

Alister Harrington: ...OMG AVATARS IN RL...Wait, no, they're standing in front of the screen

Weden Cooper: they turned us off!

Alister Harrington: noes

Jackson Widget: yargghghghg

Andrew Montagne: Technolony runs my life XD

Alister Harrington: WE'RE OFF!

Jackson Widget: donkey

Kit Axon: lol

Domzino Zeluco: that was cool

Aly Nerd: some of those plants go though the screen

Kit Axon: lol

Staff GKid: THANK YOU ALL for your help during this test run

Jackson Widget: ty staff gkid

Weden Cooper: Wait, test run!?

Andrew Montagne: your welcome

Weden Cooper: Dammnit

Aly Nerd: anytime

Andrew Montagne: i'll be religging in a bit

Staff GKid: In a few minutes we will start the entire ceremony, on the hopur

Alister Harrington: Weden, stop sounding like an annoyed emperor

Aly Nerd: anytime there's a test run that is

Kit Axon: test. the real one wont have people messing it up.

Domzino Zeluco: cool

Weden Cooper: I'm not *an* emperor

Staff GKid: Until then, respect the space, respect each other, and have fun

Weden Cooper: I'm *the* emperor

Alister Harrington: And with that statement, Weden experiences mutedness

Weden Cooper: Global Kids is too Yank anyway :) and democracy filled.

Aly Nerd: so, what it starts, when?

Staff GKid: Please understand if Gkids can't respond right now, as we need to set some things up

Domzino Zeluco: ok

Max Sprocket: ovens and tomatos shouldnt fall from the sky like cookies

Kit Axon shouts: the hopur...

Tocharaeh Wake: lol

Aly Nerd: ah, a philosophy to live by

Max Sprocket shouts: w000000ty

Tocharaeh Wake: i win

Kit Axon: i came to ask if you were okay, but i drowned.

Just before the afternoon plenary began, we attempted to gather the teens in the area in front of the Second Life stage, to let them know what was going to happen, to practice their part in the ceremony, and so they could enjoy the conference entertainment through the live video feed.

Staff GKid: Hey everybody! Please join us over at the stage, and take a seat so we can get started! :)

Alister Harrington shouts: If Weden doesn't get a positive attitude in about 30 seconds I'm OUT of here.

Tecno Tiger bites lip

Blue Linden: okay that's it....now you've done it....I'm going to have to Shush people

Weden Cooper: Alister... nobody asked for your opinion :)

Paulix Hasp: o.o

Tecno Tiger: lol

Blue Linden: SHUSH UP!

Smith Massiel: evryone shut up

Jackson Widget: please stop chatting, i am lagging badly

Kit Axon shuts up. even though she wasnt talking.

Lori GKid: Aright thanks for helping me out guys!

Jaz Impfondo: :)

Tecno Tiger: www.zipit.com

Lori GKid: Just want to explain what's about to happen

Weden Cooper: Hah, the yanks won't shut up in the crowd.

Tocharaeh Wake: HI LACOREY

Tecno Tiger: exZIPET A

nik385 Doesburg: YALL SHUT UP SO WE CAN GET STARTED

Barry GKid is online

Jackson Widget: YAH Barry

Leroy Bigwig: did the video even begin yet?

Esteth Eponym: we can hearrrr you :)

Aly Nerd: yes of course

Leroy Bigwig: oh

aeper Greyskin: wow

Jade Boxer: the no entry tape really kills pictures :(

Jaz Impfondo: if iu cannot se the mevideo,goto in ur web browser

Jacorey: hello

nik385 Doesburg: it wont work if u dont have quicktime

Esteth Eponym: this is weird, to see the people on the SL stage their talking about :)

At one point during setup and rehearsal, the camera whose video feed was being broadcasted into Second Life turned to capture the Global Kids staff at their computers. Here, Esteth is referring to how weird it is to see who the real people are behind the staff’s Second Life avatars.

Lori began talking to the Second Life teens through a mic, asking the teens for their attention, and going over the Global Kids concept of “one mic.”

Leroy Bigwig: how long b4 she stops saying ''sit down''

Leroy Bigwig: its annoying

aeper Greyskin: i know

Tocharaeh Wake: Leroy shush

aeper Greyskin: any one know them?

Weden Cooper: Hah, i've coined the phrase Yankee Kids.

Lucky Sillanpaa shouts: UHM

Leroy Bigwig: pssh you shush

Jaz Impfondo: Yo Pedro,stand up!

Lucky Sillanpaa shouts: let me in :P

Jackson Widget: what does one mic mean?

Domzino Zeluco: brb

Weden Cooper: One mic means they're too cheap :)

Esteth Eponym: Great!

Jaz Impfondo: ?

Esteth Eponym: *applauds*

Paulix Hasp: oh great.. the video finally streamed smoothly, but the sound died...

Leroy Bigwig: its okay all they r saying is sit down

Aly Nerd: the siound if bad

aeper Greyskin: 1 mic?

Esteth Eponym: only 1 speaker at a tim

Aly Nerd: woooo

Aly Nerd: loud cheering crashes it

Weden Cooper: Then cheer loudly.

Domzino Zeluco: mine is fine

THE PLENARY BEGINS

The awards ceremony was featured as part of the GK conference’s afternoon plenary, following spoken word artist Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, with Aquavibe, and plenary speaker, recording artist Talib Kweli.

As the conference’s afternoon plenary programming began, it became necessary for Lori to switch to communicating with the teens through typing/chat because the Global Kids staff were sitting in the conference auditorium.

Lori GKid: We're about to go live...Here's what's going to happen...

Andrew Montagne: word

Jackson Widget: loce

Jackson Widget: love

Alister Harrington: Lori: could anything be done about Weden?

Jackson Widget: chill alister

Jackson Widget: kids

Aly Nerd: dint anger him

Jackson Widget: kids

Jackson Widget: kids

Jade Boxer: can whoever is in charge take down the no entry tape?

Jackson Widget: movement

Alister Harrington: He's really starting to offend me a lot now

Jackson Widget: movemnt

Alister Harrington: kids.

Deaka Luan: woooo

Jackson Widget: ready

Jackson Widget: ready

Lucky Sillanpaa: ready

Domzino Zeluco: ready

Esteth Eponym: ready

Paulix Hasp: lol

Aly Nerd: ready#

Alister Harrington: ready

Esteth Eponym: yeaeaaaaah

Skarr Greyskin: /ao on

Jackson Widget: YEAHH

aeper Greyskin: NOO

Domzino Zeluco: yea

Esteth Eponym: yeeeeaaaaaaaah!

Weden Cooper: "Ready for some poetry"

rose Squeegee: omfg

Jackson Widget: I DO

rose Squeegee: there 100 ppl here

Tocharaeh Wake: everyone SHUSH!!

Tocharaeh Wake: everyone SHUSH!!

Tocharaeh Wake: everyone SHUSH!!

Domzino Zeluco: what is she doing?

aeper Greyskin: HURRY UP

Jackson Widget: *SCREAM*

Alister Harrington: *yells*

Leroy Bigwig: man get with the poetry this pippy stuff isdriving me mad

Char Linden: screammmmmm!

Aly Nerd screams

Lucky Sillanpaa: AHHHHHHH

aeper Greyskin: BOOOOOOO

Domzino Zeluco is bored

aeper Greyskin: whos the carmra man?

Lori GKid: When they get to the part of the ceremony when they give you guys a big welcome...

Jackson Widget: i am

Char Linden: *sings*

Leroy Bigwig: im gonna make some prim tomatoes and throw them at her

Barry GKid: All right folks - while listening and watcvhing the video please hold back any commetns so Lori can talk with you about hwat is about to happen

Jackson Widget: u cant rez objects

Alister Harrington: lol.

aeper Greyskin: let me get some

Barry GKid: for the firs time. ever

Barry GKid: Teen SL in the RW

Andrew Montagne: we gunna be on tv?

aeper Greyskin: ern

Alister Harrington: Barry, is it your account on the screen?

aeper Greyskin: i wish

Barry GKid: Gunna be on the screen on our stage

Alister Harrington: I wanna know whih account I can IM safely

Andrew Montagne: okies

Barry GKid: ty

Jesse Gable: rose

Kit Axon: i have loss of sound.

Lori GKid: This is the important part...they'll give you all a big welcome, and you guys should give a big Second Life hey right back

Lucky Sillanpaa: we will :D

Lori GKid: you can wave cheer jump up and down

Smith Massiel: i dropped ice cream on my keyboard =\

Jackson Widget: ur in my shot

Lori GKid: But then we're going to go right into Jacorey giving out the awards

nik385 Doesburg: hiya out there!

Jackson Widget: nik can u sit

nik385 Doesburg: im a finalist!

Tocharaeh Wake: same

Jackson Widget: can u move farther off the stage

Jackson Widget: move right

Jackson Widget: like 10 ft

nik385 Doesburg: one sec

Lori GKid: so...we'll need to come up with signal I can give you, that lets you kknow when to wave and cheer hello

Little Pengi: hello Lori GKid :)

Lori GKid: and when to stop

Kit Axon: lol

Leroy Bigwig: shes had her coffee

Jackson Widget: Make it "*SL CHEER*"

Lori GKid: You guys know what an Applause sign is?

Lucky Sillanpaa: if Kit can be on the stage, so can i :D

Jackson Widget: no

Tocharaeh Wake: i cant clad

Tocharaeh Wake: i'm a puppy

Esteth Eponym: a sign that says applause?

Jackson Widget: Lori, make it "HOUSEKEEPING*

Jackson Widget: YEAHHHH!!!!!!

Andrew Montagne raises hand

Jackson Widget: YEAH TALEB KWELI

Leroy Bigwig: taleb kweli?

Leroy Bigwig: who is taleb kweli?

Tocharaeh Wake: I love you Kit ^.^

Jackson Widget: u dont know who TALEB IS????

Leroy Bigwig: no, who?

Lori GKid: rightt -- like when at a TV show, when they hold up an applause sign - the audience is supposed to cheer and clap like mad

Jackson Widget: muscial ARtist, super famous

Leroy Bigwig: oh

Kit Axon: i love you too. shush.

Kit Axon: >.<

Tocharaeh Wake: hehe

Kit Axon: ^.^

Leroy Bigwig: i knew a taleb kweli once

Leroy Bigwig: some other computer game

Lori GKid: and when the applause sign is taken down, the audience is supposed to stop applauding so the show can start

Leroy Bigwig: hooza

Lori GKid: So we'll need a cue that lets you know we're live

Esteth Eponym: got an ETA on the start of the awards?

Char Linden: I hear Digidoo!

Alister Harrington: Just yell "live", lori

Alister Harrington: :P

Jackson Widget: COMMUNISM!

Lori GKid: what do you guys think about

Lori GKid: bballoons

Esteth Eponym: brb

Tocharaeh Wake: JACKSON SHUT UP!

Jackson Widget: make it HOUSEKEEPING lori

Lori GKid: balloons

Alpha Zaius shouts: woa, congrets you 4 :)

Alister Harrington: no

Alister Harrington: NO

Smith Massiel: propoganda

Alister Harrington: NO BALLOONS

Andrew Montagne: great for me

Jackson Widget: whah toch

Jackson Widget: chill please

Alpha Zaius shouts: congrats even

Aly Nerd: HEY! woo hey people wooooooo!

Alister Harrington: you'll kill my computer if you fire balloons

Kit Axon: i lost sound...

Lucky Sillanpaa: guys, lets set a good example :)

Lori GKid: Let's practice

Domzino Zeluco: HEY! hi HEY ITS ME, hello out there... HEEEEEEEEY! HEY! hi HEY ITS ME, hello out there... HEEEEEEEEY! HEY! hi HEY ITS ME, hello out there... HEEEEEEEEY!

Little Pengi: hi Domzino Zeluco :)

Lucky Sillanpaa: anything but that

TSL Resident: Guys, please listen, your here today representing SecondLife and all of the Teen Grid, we are going t be broadcasted over there like they are brodcasting to us. Make a good imprestion for SL and for the Teen Grid

Deaka Luan: hey mom im on Tc! xD

Lucky Sillanpaa: exactly

Alister Harrington: Seconded

Andrew Montagne: ok

Leroy Bigwig: we are not going to be broadcasted to new york

Leroy Bigwig: as funny as that would be

Lori GKid: When you see balloons start to fall

Lori GKid: That's your cue to cheer

Lori GKid: Once they stop falling, give your attention to Jacorey

Jackson Widget: YEAUHHH TALIB

Lori GKid: We are READY to go

Alister Harrington: yay

Marduk Mauriac: WOOo

Alpha Zaius: wooooooo!

Char Linden: woot!

Alister Harrington: ker-zomg

Domzino Zeluco is very annoyed with nothing

Barry GKid shouts: cover oyur ears!

Leroy Bigwig: fellow borg!

Alister Harrington shouts: huh?

Jackson Widget: YEAHH TALEB KWELI

Leroy Bigwig: is this guy in the jacket mr. kweli?

Lori GKid: Alister, can I get you up here on stage?

Blue Linden: ;p

Alister Harrington: if I can move, sure

Lucky Sillanpaa: I wanna be on stage x.x

Quinn Vaughan: lol

Lucky Sillanpaa: REPRESENT!

Martial Logan: You guys act all clever and immature when people dont want you to, then when they do, you dont, ffs.

Jackson Widget: KIT

Jackson Widget: KIT PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!!!!!

Kit Axon: eek

Lucky Sillanpaa: REPRESENT

Lucky Sillanpaa: YEAH

Jackson Widget: KIT TOP STREAKING

Lucky Sillanpaa: QUEENS BABY

Skarr Greyskin: all natural dude!!!!

Blue Linden: SHUSH....you're not loading...kit isnt streaking

Jacorey: where is allister

Alister Harrington: Lagging around on the other side of the stage

Jacorey: oh ok

Tecno Tiger: behindyou

Alister Harrington: I'm getting about 2fps

Alister Harrington: Give me around 3 secnds' notice before asking me to do something

Aly Nerd: he speaks the truth, the news lies

Jackson Widget: TALEB KWELI IS THE MAN!

Leroy Bigwig: thats whitewash!

Jacorey: i just nee u next to toch so ii can pay u guys easily

Lucky Sillanpaa: it does lie

Leroy Bigwig: conspiracy

Aly Nerd: I hear ya

Jackson Widget: video stopped

Tocharaeh Wake: the vid died

nik385 Doesburg: NONE OF THAT

Domzino Zeluco: yup

Aly Nerd: sorry

Marduk Mauriac: VIDEO down!

Domzino Zeluco: it died!

Jackson Widget: wherd all the video go?

Leroy Bigwig: oh man isn't taleb sexy when he is frozen?

Smith Massiel: its broked

Paulix Hasp: It died on the web too.

Lucky Sillanpaa: calm down

Marduk Mauriac: NOOOOOOOoooOOooo

Leroy Bigwig: thats just a nice pose

Jackson Widget: *boring*

Lucky Sillanpaa: they will fix it

Domzino Zeluco: NoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Lori GKid is online

Domzino Zeluco: yay!

Andrew Montagne: back

Lucky Sillanpaa: guys, we have to represent TSL, please act your age

Jackson Widget: i want video of Taleb

Leroy Bigwig: I am a monkey..

Lori GKid: Hey guys -- thanks so much for your patience!

Lori GKid: we're having a few technical difficulties, but we're back!

Jackson Widget: why is it upside down!!!!!

Kit Axon: open it, play in world, minimize or whatever, it should keep you dancing

Leroy Bigwig: I spy something blue

Marduk Mauriac: Back again! HAZAA!!!! but upside down

Aly Nerd: I see blue

Jackson Widget: ITS UPSIDE DOWN

THE AWARD CEREMONY

The GK Leaders take the stage and begin the awards ceremony live at the conference. They introduce the Digital Media Essay Contest with quotes from winning essays written by teens. Julia Stasch from the MacArthur Foundation (who funded the essay contest) shares a few words. An award is handed out to Dayhe Ham, the only essay winner present at the conference.

Lori GKid: We're GOING LIVE!!!!

Lori GKid: GET READY!!

Leroy Bigwig: what does live mean

Lori GKid: wand on

TSL Resident: we are going to be broadcasted to newyork

Alister Harrington: it works now....Ungh

Blue Linden: They are gonna see us, get ready to applause :)

Smith Massiel: whats it like in the real world

Leroy Bigwig: like

Lori GKid: get ready guys!

TSL Resident: so remember you are represtntin gth eteen grid

Leroy Bigwig: what city square?

TSL Resident: and all of SL

Leroy Bigwig: were gonna be on a huge TV?

nik385 Doesburg: a massive tv

Domzino Zeluco: when?

Leroy Bigwig: one of those things as big as my house?

Lori GKid: remember, when you see the balloons, that's your cye to giuve a big SL hello!

Lori’s use of the word “balloons” triggers her wand and balloons start falling from the sky – prematurely giving the teens the cue to wave and cheer.

Leroy Bigwig: wow

Alister Harrington: loading

Smith Massiel: big sl helloo!

Kit Axon CHEERS!!!!!

Jackson Widget: YEAHHHH

Alister Harrington: Aaand a big hello from the land of teh 337 h4xx0rz! w00t!

Esteth Eponym: Woo, HEllo!

Domzino Zeluco shouts: HEY! hi HEY ITS ME, hello out there... HEEEEEEEEY! HEY! hi HEY ITS ME, hello out there... HEEEEEEEEY! HEY! hi HEY ITS ME, hello out there... HEEEEEEEEY!

Jackson Widget: CHEEERE

Smith Massiel: woot

Lucky Sillanpaa: Whoo! Whoo whoo whoo whoo whoop!

Kit Axon: LOL

Little Pengi: hello Alister Harrington :)

Jackson Widget: WHAOOO

Domzino Zeluco shouts: HEY! hi HEY ITS ME, hello out there... HEEEEEEEEY! HEY! hi HEY ITS ME, hello out there... HEEEEEEEEY! HEY! hi HEY ITS ME, hello out there... HEEEEEEEEY!

Marduk Mauriac: WOOOOO

Jackson Widget: WAHOOO

Smith Massiel: hi hui

Aly Nerd: HEY! woo hey people wooooooo!

Deaka Luan: lol xD

nik385 Doesburg: woooo

Jackson Widget: WAHOOO

Domzino Zeluco shouts: HEY! hi HEY ITS ME, hello out there... HEEEEEEEEY! HEY! hi HEY ITS ME, hello out there... HEEEEEEEEY! HEY! hi HEY ITS ME, hello out there... HEEEEEEEEY!

Lucky Sillanpaa: Whoo! Whoo whoo whoo whoo whoop!

Little Pengi: hi Domzino Zeluco :)

Andrew Montagne: HELLO!

Skarr Greyskin: yeeeaaaa

Alister Harrington: w00000000000000t!

Jackson Widget: CHEEER

Aly Nerd: hey hey hey

Deaka Luan: i cant seee noooooo

Smith Massiel: woot

Paulix Hasp: LOL

Andrew Montagne: Welcome From TSL!

Little Pengi: hi Domzino Zeluco :)

Tocharaeh Wake: STOP SPAMMING

Marduk Mauriac: Hi!!!!!!

Lori GKid: Ok, and stop (that was practice :)

Lori GKid: get ready...

TSL Resident: shhh now get ready every one, we will go on soon, and remember... you are represented SL and all of the Teen Grid

Esteth Eponym: you can see SL in the background on the projector

Deaka Luan: the projection on the screen has a SL menu bar at the bottom :p

Lucky Sillanpaa: LOL

Kit Axon: ^.^

Leroy Bigwig: i just see blue

Lori GKid: get ready!!!!!!

Aly Nerd: oh here we go

At last, the GK Leaders draw the audience’s attention to the screen on the stage behind them which features an image of the Global Kids Annual Youth Conference announcement.

One of the GK Leaders says, “You might have noticed a video behind us. This is a live video from a virtual world for teens called Second Life. Check it out.”

At that point, inside the footage being projected on the stage, the video pulls back to reveal the virtual world of Second Life, the virtual stage erected on Global Kids Island, and the virtual crowd in attendance.

The GK Leader on stage in New York then continues, “Many teenagers within Second Life also submitted essays. And, in fact, they have been watching everything we just told you. Let’s give a big ‘welcome’ to Teen Second Life. On the count of three, please join me in shouting out, ‘Welcome Teen Second Life.’” At that point, all the GK Leaders shouted WELCOME TEEN SECOND LIFE!

Lori GKid: balloons

Alister Harrington shouts: Aaand a big hello from the land of teh 337 h4xx0rz! w00t!

Lori GKid: balloons

Lori GKid: balloons

Smith Massiel: hi evrybosy!!!!

Aly Nerd: HEY! woo hey people wooooooo!

Callum Fetid shouts: YO

Paulix Hasp: HEY~~~

Lori GKid: balloons

Jade Boxer: /clap

Kit Axon cheers!!!! "HI OUT THERE"

Alister Harrington shouts: Aaand a big hello from the land of teh 337 h4xx0rz! w00t!

Lori GKid: balloons

TSL Resident: Hello every one, from all of SecondLife, and us here on the Teen Grid, Thank you for your interest in us

Esteth Eponym: Hey Everyone!

Deaka Luan: woo!!!!!!!

Aly Nerd: HEY! woo hey people wooooooo!

Tocharaeh Wake: HELLO WORLD!!!! YOUR ALL MY NEW FRIENDS!!!!!! <3

Tocharaeh Wake: HELLO WORLD!!!! YOUR ALL MY NEW FRIENDS!!!!!! <3 <3

Andrew Montagne: WELCOME FROM TSL!

Lucky Sillanpaa: WHOOOOOO

Blue Linden: woohoo

Esteth Eponym: WOOOO!

Tocharaeh Wake: v

Smith Massiel: !mg boogie on

nik385 Doesburg: HIYA!

Marduk Mauriac: HI!!!!

Alister Harrington: YAYZOR

Callum Fetid shouts: W007!!

Andrew Montagne: wELCOME!

Kit Axon shouts: wheeeeeeee!

TSL Resident: Hello every one, from all of SecondLife, and us here on the Teen Grid, Thank you for your interest in us

Marduk Mauriac: :D

Angel Fitzcarraldo: go yall lol

Alister Harrington: ZOMG!!!111ONEONE

Skarr Greyskin: YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Esteth Eponym: HEEEEEEEEEEY

Andrew Montagne: welcome!

Kit Axon: can i run around popping balloons?

Tocharaeh Wake: HI BARRY!

Tocharaeh Wake: THATS ME

Callum Fetid shouts: NO

Kit Axon: lol

Tocharaeh Wake: HI BARRY!

Marduk Mauriac: Get a better view !

Deaka Luan: hes lagging xD

Paulix Hasp: haha

Kit Axon: barry you missed

nik385 Doesburg: HIYA YALL

Deaka Luan: stand still barry xD

Lucky Sillanpaa: GO BARRY

Deaka Luan: or yull lag

Skarr Greyskin: w00t!!!

Lori GKid: money

Lori GKid: money

Kit Axon: lori, we need balloons!

Lori GKid: money

Lori GKid: bubbles

nik385 Doesburg: WEEEEEEEE

Lori GKid: bubbbles

nik385 Doesburg: GET IN!

Marduk Mauriac: I see myself :D

Angel Fitzcarraldo: lol

Aly Nerd: they cant read this though can they

Aly Nerd: wow

Callum Fetid: anyone else hear it?

Lori GKid: SO, the teens in the real world gave a huge shoutout

nik385 Doesburg: WORD UP REAL WORLD!

Andrew Montagne: WEre off...

Callum Fetid shouts: YO

Lori GKid: and Jacorey gave out awards of 28514 Lindens to Toch and Alister

Alister Harrington looks up the exchange rate on lindex

Tocharaeh Wake: woot

Esteth Eponym: 0.0

Tocharaeh Wake: ^.^

Callum Fetid: its 300/1

Tocharaeh Wake: I WIN!

Tocharaeh Wake: ^.^

Alister Harrington: Holy....

Lori GKid: And Nok and Jaz will get their awards in real world money

Alister Harrington: Market crash =X

Esteth Eponym: thats like, kabillions

nik385 Doesburg: im getting 100 rl cash!

Lori forgot her wand was on and the word “world” caused a globe to fall from the sky.

Callum Fetid: lol

Kit Axon: oops...

Lori GKid: wand off

Marduk Mauriac: wtf

Marduk Mauriac: the world is in the way

Marduk Mauriac: nvm

nik385 Doesburg: sum1 get the earth off me

Alister Harrington: lol

Lori GKid: eek indeed :)

Esteth Eponym: y'know, in the spirit of GKids, you should donate it all!

Lori GKid: sorry guys

Kit Axon thinks esteth is a gkid in disguise...

Marduk Mauriac: MONYEY

Jacorey: i luv cash

Lori GKid: So, for the first time doing this, the ceremony went pretty well!

Kit Axon: i got hit by a world

Lori GKid: you guys should be real proud

Char Linden: WTG guys!

Esteth Eponym: will the Gkids be sticking around in SL?

Andrew Montagne: it done now?

Marduk Mauriac: w00t

Lori GKid: Yup

Kit Axon: yay!

Blue Linden: Way to be part of TG/GK history :D

Lucky Sillanpaa: yay!!!

Esteth Eponym: yey ^_^

Lori GKid: feel free to stick around and enjoy more of the youth conference

Lori GKid: we have an great performance coming up in a couple minutes

TSL Resident: Thank you GK, for bringing SecondLife an interesting and rewarding connection

Blue Linden: Congrats to the Essay contest winners!

Lori GKid: Check out their essays in the book over there

Andrew Montagne: congrats nik!

Esteth Eponym shouts: are lori and Jacorey at the conference itself?

Lori GKid: We are

Lucky Sillanpaa: WHOOOO

Esteth Eponym: cool, its weird to see people in RL in SL too :D

Jaz Impfondo: lol

AFTER THE AWARD CEREMONY 

On stage at the conference in New York, the afternoon plenary continues with a presentation by the Global Kids Human Rights Activist Project, followed by a dance performance by Punjabi Dynasty of Long Island City High School.

Lori GKid: jI'm psyched for what's coming on stage!!!!

Lucky Sillanpaa: yeah, I am taking a few snapshots

Lori GKid: check em out!!!

Kit Axon: flickering lights...

Marduk Mauriac: FLASHY

Esteth Eponym: AAAAAH, its FREDDY!

Kit Axon: xD

Marduk Mauriac: Awesome

Marduk Mauriac: That's pretty cool

Jaz Impfondo: Yay for dancing

Jaz Impfondo: xD

Marduk Mauriac: That's some FUNKY dancin'

nik385 Doesburg dosent know whats going on but says wooo anyways

Tocharaeh Wake: =p

Kit Axon: i win

Kit Axon: xD

The teens in Second Life are enjoying the performance and start dancing themselves.

Kit Axon: whoooooooo!!!!!

Multibracer: 1.1.1

Marduk Mauriac: !mg boogie

Kit Axon: lol lucky

Esteth Eponym: dance1

Kit Axon: on the stage, not on lori

Esteth Eponym: /dance1

Tocharaeh Wake: Whoooooooooooo!!!

Martial Logan has a better view from Teh Robot

Marduk Mauriac: YAY! LMAO

Lori GKid: Everyone come on stage and join the dancing!!!!

A bunch of teens come onto the Second Life stage to dance.

Keshi Perun shouts: Good Job Everyone ty GK for bringing this into tsl

Barry GKid: There's more dancing coming

Martial Logan: Victory dance!!!

TSL Resident: Thank you again Global Kids, for bringing all of Teen SecondLife this wonderful event

Jacorey: it doesn't look right when i have a lizard in my hand

Kit Axon: go lizard go!

Lori GKid: Thanks guys!!!!

Kit Axon: yup! ^.^

Domzino Zeluco: that lizard is cool

Domzino Zeluco: detailed

Kit Axon: dance lori!

While the dance party continues, some of the teens express interest in the future of Global Kids in Second Life.

Lucky Sillanpaa: I would like to know, maybe I could help with the next project

Jaz Impfondo: I've wanted to help since the beginner

THE PLENARY ENDS; THE CAMERA SHOWS THE AUDIENCE LEAVING

Barry GKid: That was fun

Barry GKid: Gotta love the dancing

Kit Axon: you guys did awesome with the conference ^.^

Marduk Mauriac: LOOK AT THE PEOPLES

Marduk Mauriac: They don't know we're watching them

Lucky Sillanpaa: is it over?

Lucky Sillanpaa: :(

Lori GKid: YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!!

Esteth Eponym: no, you guys are awesome

Lucky Sillanpaa: psssh, Lori, nest time I am in the city, I will stop by :D

Marduk Mauriac: Whoever's the cameraman should show himseld

Martial Logan: I didn’t get it, what was that all about anyway?

Marduk Mauriac: I’m still dancing and I don’t know why

Esteth Eponym shouts: lets all thank GKids for putting on such a great show!

Kit Axon shouts: THANK YOU GKIDS!!!

Martial Logan: I’m gonna fly around this island for a bit, it’s nice

Posted by joyce at 3:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The 2006 Global Kids Digital Media Essay Contest Winners

Grand Prize Winners
• Thanks, Uncle Ben by Mike L., Belpre, Ohio
• From Gutenberg to Gateway by Mike H., Louisville, Kentucky
• Digital Media and Me by Stephanie M., Madison, Alabama
• Digital Media in My Life by Kyle M., Wheatland, Wyoming
• From Legos to the Big Screen by John P., Athens, Georgia

Essay Finalists
• Digital Media through the Monitor of a H4x0r by Chris F., Louisville, Kentucky
• Untitled Essay by Dahye H., Brooklyn, New York
• Digital Revolution by Rebecca H., Belpre, Ohio
• Megabyte of the Teen Scene by Sylvia M., Madison, Alabama
• Teenagers and Technology by Kristen M., Madison, Alabama
• Untitled Essay by Emmanuel P., Kokomo, Indiana

Second Life Finalists
• Digital Media in Education (or “Hey, I’m a Nerd!”) by Alister H., Wales
• Inspiration by nik385 D., New Hampshire
• Why Games Affect My Life by Tocharaeh W., Idaho

Honorable Mentions
• Jack H., received a Second Life Honorable Mention for building a display for his essay submission, composed of his in-world photo and a switch to launch a surrounding light display.
• Rebecca H., Belpre, Ohio, received an Honorable Mention for Eloquence.

Posted by joyce at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Every generation has a distinguishing characteristic that separates them from all the rest. Beatniks, hippies and grunge rockers all define a specific generation and conjure memories, stereotypes, and images of what a group of people claimed as their own mark in history. I have often wondered how my generation will be remembered and be identified and whether people will even care in 50 years. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking of some common bond that we all share, some new trend or cultural change that we pioneered. I couldn’t think of anything that my generation would be known for, so I popped in my earphones, played a relaxing song on my iPod and Googled the answer while I texted my friend’s cell phone asking if he wanted to go to the new Wi-Fi coffee house to get a raspberry mocha flavored soy latte. That’s when it hit me: my generation will be known for having an abundance of absurd latte flavors!

In addition to 24 different flavor options for your coffee-like beverage, we seem to have developed an affinity towards digital media. It permeates our very existence surrounding us at all times. In a typical day I am exposed to digital media constantly. My cell phone calls me to wake me up just in time to catch the morning headlines on TV while news, sports scores, and stock reports are sent to my cell phone via text message. As I get ready for school, I either listen to music on my MP3 player or watch more news. Before I leave, I check my email accounts and add to my blog if anything particularly interesting happened that morning. I then hop in my car and turn on the radio while driving to school. At school, I go to my class, take notes from the PowerPoint presentation my teacher is showing, and write down my assignments that I’ll type up on the computer later that night. At some point in the day, I check email again and maybe get online to get a jumpstart on homework. Before lunch I have Information Technology class where we work with all types of technology including movie making, sound editing, web page design and more. At the end of the day, I go to the library and get online for my online history class taught by someone eight states away. After school, I go either to practice or to volunteer at the hospital. At the hospital, I go to the front desk, put on my headset and log into the national MediTech system, which has access to every patient in every hospital with an internet connection in the country. After my shift at the front desk, I get my mobile workstation and go around the hospital on a wireless connection helping the nurses stations locate everything from medicine to patients’ families. After volunteering, I call home on my cell phone and check what time we’re having dinner. If I have time, I’ll call a friend and go hangout with them. Sometimes we get on the internet and instant message people or we’ll play video games; I’m partial to James Bond games. When I go home, I’ll have a late dinner and get on my computer to do homework while watching TV and listening to music, and possibly talking on the phone. Before going to bed, I’ll write a couple of emails and write about my day in my online journal.

My generation has been blessed/cursed with the insurgence of digital media. Blessed because of the convenience and positive benefits such as in health care where sensors alert me that a patient has slipped into critical condition and I can alert a Doctor before the patient even realizes that he is dying, saving his life. However, it’s a double edged sword. The constant exposure can be overwhelming and poses many dangers. For example, the Internet (thanks to Al Gore), can be used to communicate with grandma and send her pictures of the soccer game after you research the Incas for homework. You could also be chatting to someone who wants to exploit you sexually. You can file you taxes online and do your shopping without leaving the house as long as nobody gets your information and steals your identity. You can surf the web for interesting sites and get addicted to pornography. If you like, you can download music online without having to pay for it, so long as you don’t download a virus with it. It’s not just the internet though. Someone listening to his MP3 player, absently mindedly walks out in front of a moving car while the driver of the car is talking on his cell phone, not paying attention to the street in front of him. It’s happened, more than once.

As Uncle Ben once told a young Peter Parker, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” We have to learn to be responsible and safe with our powers. We have all the information in the world literally at our fingertips and the ability to be in contact with everyone in satellite range. That’s a lot to handle. In my life, digital media is used as a convenience and a positive. I look to digital media for news, communication, and entertainment. That doesn’t mean that I spend hours in front of a TV watching dribble or playing video games. Everything in moderation is my policy. Our generation has the potential to make the biggest advancements in medicine, mathematics, space exploration, genetics, and many other fields. I think that it would be a shame to waste that opportunity by playing online games and instant messaging all the time. In my life, I try to find a balance between recreation and responsible use of my recourses. I understand that digital media can be a distraction and a danger if not used properly but can also be very useful. For example, the word count feature shows me that I now have 1000 words.

Mike L. attends High School in Belpre, Ohio. He is creative person who likes to be involved in his community. This essay was a Grand Prize Winner in the 2006 Global Kids Digital Media Essay Contest. For more information, please visit GlobalKids.org.

Posted by joyce at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In the year 1041 AD, a remarkable invention changed the way ideas were spread: the printing press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg. Although his invention allowed people to communicate faster than ever before, even Gutenberg could never have imagined the technology that is commonplace in today’s world. Today, almost all the information that humans have gathered over thousands of years is at the tips of my fingers… or those of anyone who cares to use this incredible technology.

My generation, those born in the early 90’s, are the first humans to be so profoundly impacted by today’s new technology. Every day I use the power of digital media for entertainment, schoolwork, and learning. As I type this essay, I use the Internet to find a few words and facts that fit in with my writing. For example, I used Google, a popular search engine, to find the facts about the printing press. All I had to do was go online, type www.google.com in the address bar, and press Go. Then I just typed in “printing press” and Google searched the Internet for every website that contained those words. I then simply had to look at the results of the search to find my information. To me, this was as easy as opening a book and reading; I was raised using this technology. In a typical day, I would estimate that I use digital media for about two or three hours.

In the morning, I always listen to my iPod Nano as I ride to school. My iPod is one of my favorite technological innovations. I used to have to carry around a bunch of CDs and a CD player, and I had to buy the whole CD even if I only liked a few songs. Now I can store up to 500 songs in a small device that is only a little bigger than a matchbox. The iPod can be plugged into my computer. On my computer, I use the iTunes program to buy new songs, take songs from my old CDs, and burn new CDs for my friends or for use on a stereo. My iPod is truly a little piece of the future.

At school, I sometimes have to use the Internet to research any number of things, from the history of Ireland to the structure of a human cell. All these things can be found on websites that were created by other people or organizations all around the world. After school, I usually need to use my cell phone to find out who is taking me home. However, my cell phone is more than just a phone; I can access tons of media from my phone. I use this to download new ring tones or pictures for my phone, although they have to be paid for with the phone bill.

At home, I often have to use the Internet to do my homework. I usually use the aforementioned search engine to find information and websites that can help with my work. When I finish with my research and I want to check my grades, I go to Edline, the website my school uses to post grades, assignments, and test dates. Each student has a password and screen name so he can access his and only his grades; the student’s parents have a password and screen name too, so they access his grades separately. Within the site, each teacher has a page, which he or she uses to post important information. Some teachers use the website more than others, but all in all it is very helpful. Teachers must update grades every three weeks; that way parents can check grades without waiting for report cards.

After school, I sometimes enjoy playing video games on the computer or on my Gamecube, a game system made by Nintendo. On my Nintendo I can play any of the games that I have bought, and (if I had the money) I could buy almost any type of game I could want. I have many types of games, such as sports games, racing games, shooting games, and adventure games. All of these games are fun to play, and they are a good way to pass the time.

Each of the devices I use, though their uses greatly differ, is now connected by the computer and the Internet. Many games can be played online against people on the other side of the Earth. Internet sites are created by people in every corner of the globe. I listen to songs made by people everywhere. Every piece of technology I use is connected to the other ones by the vast, World Wide Web.

With all the technology I have at my disposal, I think that people my age and I will be shaped by the technology of the future more than anyone could imagine. We learn using computers. We play games using computers. We listen to music using computers. We communicate using computers. My generation will be honed to a fine edge by today’s technology. In the new world, it seems that a person’s usefulness in a business will be determined by his or her resourcefulness and by how well he or she uses the tools around him or her. The student or worker of the future will be mobile. While traditional office workers or students have their own little desks overflowing with files, this worker of the future will literally have all the information he or she needs in the palm of his or her hand. This can be made possible by the new Palm Pilots, which are like small computers the size of pocket books, or Black Berries, which are the same kind of thing. In the near future, humans and technology will work seamlessly together more efficiently than a man with a pen and paper ever could.

Although technology has its advantages, it also has its drawbacks. With today’s easy access to information, people, especially children, can easily access media that wasn’t meant for them. It doesn’t help that these children probably know more about the technology than their guardians. Also, viruses and spyware have become a constant plague on the Internet; they are programs that invade computers and take information, such as credit card numbers, names, or addresses.

Another important issue about the use of digital media is the process of illegally downloading media, especially music. This is when people download music or other media from websites for free. This is irksome for the creators of that media, such as singers or producers, who do not get paid for the copies of their work. Although copying media without permission is now illegal, it is still fairly easy to do; I’ll admit that I do it, as do many of my friends. I download free music because it is easy, and, most importantly, it’s free. Also, whereas CDs cost something to make, digital media costs nothing to copy. This is one reason that downloading media should be free; another reason is that the makers of the media are paying nothing to copy it or distribute it. I can see how the producers of that media or music might be upset, but I don’t see how this illegal downloading can possibly be stopped.

For all the problems that come with today’s digital media, though, I believe that the good still outweighs the bad. For every song that is downloaded illegally, I would bet that many more are bought legally. There are new programs that can keep children from accessing media that was not meant for them. Also, virus-fighting software improves daily. As with all new advancements, problems arise; all we can do is adapt and solve these dilemmas.

All in all, I believe that today’s technology is adequately preparing my generation for the world. We are learning more and more about the world every day. My generation is more understanding of other cultures, simply because we are better informed than our parents were. We play games that prepare us for the world by heightening our awareness and teaching us to solve problems. We can develop our own tastes in art and music, and create our own media in our own lives. We can learn the best way for us to make a living and improve upon this technology that we use so much. These are a few of the many uses that today’s incredible mass of digital media have.

Of all the media that I use, I have only touched a spoonful of the ocean that is digital media. There are still thousands upon thousands of other sites, games, songs, and other things that I have never used and probably never will use. Every day, though, I find that I need some obscure piece of information, and this new technology allows me to find it. I play games and listen to music, and this helps define what I like and don’t like. Technology is an integral part of my life, and only by using it can I truly be ready for the future.

Mike H. attends school in Louisville, Kentucky. He is a hardworking student who always does his best and strives to make a difference in the world. This essay was a Grand Prize Winner in the 2006 Global Kids Digital Media Essay Contest. For more information, please visit GlobalKids.org.

Posted by joyce at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

When it comes to digital media I’m a complete novice. I like to say that I’m technologically inept; it makes me sound educated when I tell people that. Now that I’ve explained my handicap I can talk about digital media.

The only things on the computer that I use are Microsoft Word and the Internet. I just recently got high-speed internet and I feel special because I can be on AIM and the phone at the same time. The problem with AIM and Myspace is that personality and expressions are limited. There are smiley faces, wallpaper, and icons, but those are two-dimensional. There are only so many designs you can choose from and people are so diverse that not everyone can find something that fits them. A real person has many facets. When I speak to someone face to face it is more enjoyable. I use hand gestures and facial expressions to get my point across. I like seeing other people’s reactions. On AIM it’s completely different. A person’s tone of voice can’t be heard and you don’t know if someone’s joking or not when they say something offensive until they say something like “LOL” or “J/K”. AIM “convos” can’t compare to everyday talk.

I also have a Myspace. I use it almost as much as AIM. You could say I’m addicted to it. I imagine myself in an AA setting surrounded by fellow Myspace addicts. I stand up and introduce myself, everyone says “Hey,” and then I explain my addiction. A lot of people have that image running through their heads. I’m careful about how much info I give out and the pictures I post. I know there are weirdos out there looking at my site so I limit how much personal information I put up. I know that even if I’m extremely cautious, if someone out there wants to they can find me. Privacy is a big issue for me. I watch all sorts of thrillers where a killer finds a beautiful young girl in her prime by looking at her online journals. He stalks her, finds her, and kills her. They have to base these movies on real events and it scares me. It makes me wonder about who all has seen my Myspace.

In my opinion there should be stricter rules on the age of kids who have online journals. Either that or parents should keep a better watch on what their kids are doing online. I know what’s right and wrong and what I should and shouldn’t put up, but how does a 10 year-old know? When I turned thirteen I was thrilled that I’d finally be able to get on the internet. I’m the oldest of four kids and I’m the experimental child. So if I mess up on something they think my siblings are going to do the same thing. My parents thought that if I could be on the internet and not get into trouble at the age of thirteen, then my sister should be able to be on it at the age of ten. We tried this scenario and my sister played around. After a month my family started getting random letters from random companies. My parents thought it was just junk mail that was getting sent out. Then my mom gets her credit report and finds out that my ten year-old sister had been buying things from ebay and music sites. She spent about two thousand dollars on merchandise and she put my mom’s personal credit information online. It’s been almost three years since that incident and we’re still getting junk mail from websites that she visited. My step-dad did the same thing. We’re insured with Blue Cross Blue Shield and he went to their website trying to look up some of his information. He typed in all of his personal stuff and the next day he had over a hundred emails from other insurance companies. It just goes to show you that you have to be diligent in keeping your private information private.

Even though I say I’m addicted to Myspace and AIM, I’m no where near as obsessed at my nine year-old brother is with internet games. The longest he was on the computer was eighteen hours and fifty-two minutes. The only way you could get him away from the computer was to tempt him with food. He is so enticed by internet games that he wet himself because he didn’t want to waste time going to the bathroom. I was shocked when I came home from school and asked why he was cleaning the computer chair with soap and water. I know that there’s a big debate on whether or not video games cause violent behavior and I have first hand experience that tells me that it does. My brother was playing a videogame that involved a lot of fighting and he lost. He has a very short temper so when his character died he banged his fists down on the keyboard and broke it. Then he gets frustrated and took it out on the rest of the family and our furniture. He’ll throw things off the coffee table or yell at me if I said something about the game. I remember when he was little and only wanted to play with his hot wheels. This behavior has expanded into his social life. He and his friends are so competitive about videogames that his friendships get torn up in the process of becoming the best at a certain game.

Digital media will always be around. It will always be changing and advances will always be made. I am just one person and who am I to say that digital media has flaws? I know that people have their own opinions and that they use technology in different ways. My opinion is biased by my experiences; some good, others bad. Just because my family has been affected negatively doesn’t mean that I won’t continue to use the internet and be on Myspace and AIM. All I am trying to say is that for as long as digital media is out there, people should be educated in the proper uses of it, children should be monitored, and good judgment should me used. It’s all good until someone gets hurt. Is digital media a friend or foe? I don’t know. I’ll have to get back to you on that.

Stephanie M. attends school in Madison, Alabama. She reports that she comes from a mixed family that has helped with everything in her life and who accept her randomness. This essay was a Grand Prize Winner in the 2006 Global Kids Digital Media Essay Contest. For more information, please visit GlobalKids.org.

Posted by joyce at 2:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

America's youngest generation is not destined to become the useless unknowledgeable generation that many media types have predicted it will be. As a person of this generation, I know first hand what the values of my generation are, and I know what is coming in the future. Despite the negative uses for the Internet, there is an equal upside to this communication that gives me great hope and confidence.

The changing ways that kids think have three main points. They have a greater acceptance for diversity, are becoming more curious, and have great self-reliance and assertiveness. If this is truly the way minds are changing, I'm happy to be a part of it. Since there is no way to tell who people are when they're online, people have to be accepted for who they are. We learn to think about what a person says often times without knowing who said it, thus eliminating any possible bias.

This new generation is perhaps easier to understand. The Internet is making the world completely new and ever changing, creating endless possibilities for exploration. This vast world of information has proven inviting to kids, making the new generation a curious one.

Self-reliance and assertiveness are other important qualities gained from the Net. There are web sites for all sorts of purposes, from fantasy football to free speech. Internet-based self-reliance comes from the independent nature of the computer because it is designed for use by one person. When on the Internet, people decide where to go and what to do entirely on their own, and that idea has been firmly engrained in the minds of this new generation. These thinking characteristics acquired through frequent use of the Internet can be valuable in society, whether taking a stand for a belief, accepting a person's opinion, or setting a goal, are all positive attributes of the way we think, which makes me optimistic about the new generation.

The growing need for speed is another characteristic for the new generation. Constant Internet use increases our need for immediacy. They become used to almost instant access to the Internet's vast source of information and exploration. On the other hand, this new generation is used to constant stimulation, whether by having five windows open simultaneously on their computer screens or by flipping unceasingly through TV channels. Many describe this as the declining attention span of the American youth. While it is true that attention spans shorten through constant and immediate stimulation, it is also true that this constant change allows kids to "multi-task" within their own brains. The new generation has the capability of thinking about several things at one time and doing it well, much like the computers from which they acquired this quality. The constant need for stimulation has several other effects, such as the desire to get things done and not be lazy, both positive effects.

The way kids are going to function in the world is amazing, particularly as consumers. The Internet provides nearly unlimited options and choices. The vast "information superhighway" gives so many options that it will become necessary to offer customization for every product. The early signs of this trend are seen by the appearance of new sites for buying cars that allow surfers to pick a price range, color, make, model, and stereo system for their automobile. This customization brings along another desire of the consumer, the desire to bargain-shop. The Internet provides a powerful and easy tool for comparison shopping, at least comparatively easy to the past, and that ability will drive kids to buy things just their way at just their price. While the market is currently adjusting to this trend, it will only help the consumer in the future.

Kids are also affected in other ways, such as communication. My point of view allows me to look at some of the reasons that people condemn kids and bring out the positive side of them. Many people associate chat rooms with some of the negative side effects of Internet dating, e.g. not knowing a person's name, age, or sex, and the acceptance of extreme vulgar language. Sure, chat rooms are a way that kids can use vulgar language and not get caught, which can create a very bad habit. On the other hand, chat rooms can be a way to experience intelligent conversation and try out new ways of saying things, often without having to deal with the fear of being wrong or being laughed at. Kids are using this great tool to enhance personal relationships based on simple dialogue. I'm not going to encourage such behavior, but it is better than what could be going on. Chat rooms and other forms of online communication provide a launching pad for the great thinking minds of America's youth, with little or no consequence for failure. That can only improve the personal relationships of the kids.

I view these changes in society optimistically. The Internet itself is nothing more than a way of speeding up communication, along with most other everyday activities. From there, people can choose their views however they wish. The Internet does provide some bad influences, however, it also provides the means for intelligent conversation and communication. The Internet enhances certain human qualities as curiosity, assertiveness, and acceptance. I find few negative consequences from acquiring such traits, aside from those previously mentioned. The sizable and ever-changing library of information before them will also affect the way kids buy, but those effects will be completely positive and useful, such as customization and comparison.

Certain tradeoffs occur in changing generations. I won't go so far as to say that there is nothing wrong with the changes that occur, but there are positive effects that come from them. Person to person interaction may decrease, but personal relationships through improved communication will thrive. It is with these sorts of philosophies that I have great optimism for kids and their future. Adaptation will be the key. As long as the new generation and the rest of the world can adapt to these changes and learn from them, society will be able to keep on accepting change, from each generation to the next.
The Internet has changed the people of our world and it will continue to do this as it becomes more and more advanced. I know it has changed my life and it will definitely continue to do so in the future.

Kyle M. attends school in Wheatland Wyoming. He currently plays on the Varsity Jets Team that competes in Laramie every year. This essay was a Grand Prize Winner in the 2006 Global Kids Digital Media Essay Contest. For more information, please visit GlobalKids.org.

Posted by joyce at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Computers have been a part of my life almost since I can remember. Although I didn't know it, I was being introduced to digital media everyday, in many ways. I learned how to use the computer and most of its common uses at the same pace as my parents, but as I got older I began to explore more on my own and learned a lot about what the computer was capable of doing.

The thing I found I enjoyed the most about computers was digital movies. I first got into digital movies when I received Lego Studios for a Christmas present a few of years ago. This was no ordinary Lego set. Steven Spielberg endorsed it. It came with a USB webcam better than most out today and a very slimmed down version of Pinnacle Video Editing Software.

After installing the software and building the sets, my brother and I began making movies. With the help of some tutorials and ideas we had from watching many movies, we went to work filming, editing, and adding sound effects and background music. By the end of Christmas day, we had made almost twenty movies. This was some of the most fun I had ever had! When friends would come over we would split into teams and see who could make the best movies. Sometimes we would even have a specific genre, like comedy or action. After we had finished, we would all crowd around the computer and watch them. Most of the time we didn’t even worry about who had made the best video. We just had fun.

A couple of months after I got the set, I received a flyer about a Lego Studios Film Festival. It said they wanted a creative movie made with only real Legos and Lego Studios. Thoughts ran through my head about what kind of movie I would make. I had recently watched a couple of action movies, so I decided to make one. I wrote out a make-shift script and began to film. I made an excellent movie! It had everything that I wanted it to have: car chases, shootouts, and sound effects all with a sort of realism that I had never had before in my movies. Despite my hard work, I missed the deadline for the contest by one day. It crushed me. I didn’t stop making movies though. I just changed the type of movies I made.

That year, my brother received a digital camcorder for Christmas and we began to expand on what we had learned from Lego Studios. We started making real life movies by recording us jumping our bikes off a homemade ramp. I also took the camera up to my youth group where a lot of my friends skateboarded. They all wanted to be in the movies. Then while I was over at a friend’s house one day, we played with the idea that maybe we could start a series of funny home videos. We had seen a website like that and thought we were at least that good, maybe better. I would record him doing stunts and other things and then add some music and captions and make a little series out of it.

I went home and got the camera and began to work on what would come to be known as the “Chocolate Bubblegum” series. We found we needed more editing capabilities, so my mom bought my brother and me some real video editing software. I didn’t even notice that it was Pinnacle, the same software in a full version, that I had used with Lego Studios. I loaded our video onto the computer and began editing. Using the knowledge I had from making so many movies before, I was easily able to make a very good movie from the footage we had. I was even able to add music that I had downloaded from an online music store, iTunes. It fit perfectly into the background of the movie. While making the movie, I called my friend and told him we needed to have some sort of production company to make this series official and thus “PANIC! Productions” was born.

After we finished Chocolate Bubblegum Vol. 1, we needed some way to premiere the video. I asked my church youth group leader and he said that he would be happy to show it one night. I made all the last minute changes and then gave it to him to show. That Wesnesday night, the movie played and then something happened that changed me. Everyone clapped and cheered for the movie that we made. I loved that feeling and it caused me to want to make movies for the rest of my life. Not long after that, I began working on a website for PANIC! Productions with the knowledge I learned from my 4H Tech Team. I purchased the domain for the company, built the webpages, and uploaded them onto the internet. I also started working on finding a team to be the core people behind PANIC! Productions. Aside from my brother and me, the team consisted of the friend who helped me make the company and also a good friend of mine with great artistic abilities. He was in charge of the artwork. After creating PANIC! Productions and the first Chocolate Bubblegum, we worked on a second episode. Because of all of this, I have been asked to help make videos for the youth group announcements. I have also been asked by a number of people to teach them how to make videos with computer software.

All this has changed my perspective on how I watch movies now. I no longer just watch a movie just to see what happens. I also watch movies to see what kind of acting, sound effects and camera angles make the movie enjoyable and exciting. I now see the movies from more of a director’s point of view.

As I watch the movies I have made and see the reactions from the people who are watching, I can’t help but flashback to the days of Lego Studios and think about how far I have come and how much I have grown as a filmmaker. I definitely would not be where I am today without digital media. Who knows? Someday you may even see the name “John Payne” roll past on the big screen.

John P. lives in Athens, Georgia. He enjoys computers, playing the guitar with the Youth Praise Band and paintball on the weekends. This essay was a Grand Prize Winner in the 2006 Global Kids Digital Media Essay Contest. For more information, please visit GlobalKids.org.

Posted by joyce at 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My mother and father often scold me for disregarding their counsel concerning my media-viewing habits. In a given day, I usually watch two or three Flash animations, a couple of Quicktime videos, and often download a song or two that may have been stuck in my head during school. Through my experience, I know better than to worry about the RIAA cracking down on music pirates. Why shell out fifty dollars on The Lord of the Rings Trilogy when I can leave my computer on for a week and obtain the very same for no cost? My parents should praise my frugality.

Flash animations, probably one of the most common forms of media online, are embedded in web pages and load when the page is accessed. They can contain sound, movement, and can even serve as a cool way of displaying text content. Flash acts as a superb outlet of emotion, whether it is deep and insightful or ruthless and violent. The beauty of Flash is that because the tools with which you create these files are so extensive, the possibilities are infinite. The hideousness of Flash is that the software required to create Flash media files is $700. How are those who aren't extremely affluent intended to gather experience with such a glorious media type?

Even when it comes to static photographs, the mainstream editing software is not available to the common multimedia enthusiast without a considerable price. Adobe Photoshop is one of the most widely-used photo-editing programs ever written. Unfortunately, at a price tag of $649, it is far from a reasonable range for the average person's budget. Those of us who are forced to do things the über-cheap way must find alternate means, among which are peer-to-peer clients such as Bittorrent. Although Bittorrent has grown as an extremely efficient means of distributing products across a wide audience with companies, artists, and individuals, it has also become the method of downloading the more frowned-upon media, including the types of movies, music, video games, and operating systems on which one would normally spend hundreds of dollars. Using such programs to download music files is considered the norm inside most Internet communities, and the use is even encouraged in places such as downhillbattle.org (where they claim that the major record labels are corrupting the music industry with their monopoly, which can only be overcome with file sharing networks).

Online multi-player video games are, contrary to common belief, very social atmospheres where players get to know one another personally. Gamers often group together in clans or guilds to play alongside each other on a regular basis. I've spoken to forty-year-olds with wives and children who still cut out a half-hour each day to play a World War II-based shooting game. One of the greatest aspects of these groups is that no one sees what the other people look like, but they respect each other nonetheless. These guys could have completely different backgrounds, different ethnicities, and totally different religions, but all of these variables dissolve when you are shooting virtual enemies as a team. Clans and guilds are microcosms of the business world in that people must learn to work together to achieve goals systematically.

As for sharing personal information with people whom you have never seen face to face, I believe that you would be revealing to them no more by telling them your real name than they could already acquire with a free tracking program. If you are connected to a person using an instant messaging program or voice communication software, they can acquire your Internet Protocol address, a series of numbers separated by decimals specific to your computer during your online session, that can be plugged into a free program that will track your location, accurate to the street you live on. I have no worries about revealing my name on the Internet, as I believe it is not security-threatening.

A recurrent misconception among parents is that violent video games lead to violent behavior. In my opinion, these video games only affect children with already-violent tendencies by giving them new ideas. Kids who understand the difference between reality and an arcade game are not more likely to commit serious crimes. Only those who see nothing wrong with seriously injuring another person should not be allowed to play such games, as they give the rest of us a lot of grief from our parents.

The majority of school research is done on the Internet because of its massive size and simple use. Rather than toiling in a library, cataloging facts and statistics from numerous hardback books, one can use a good search engine and cut his or her time in half. Because of the simplicity of publishing information online, there will always be a lot of incorrect data to be confused with fact. To avoid this problem, one can use a trusted website to research. For instance, if you see inappropriate advertisements on a supposedly accurate web page, you may want to rethink your sources.

I believe that I use the Internet to become more involved in making the world a more enjoyable place by continually learning every time I get on the computer. Since fifth grade, I have had an interest in HTML and web projects. Now I have a firm grasp of Javascript and Actionscript—two programming languages—and I am learning the server-side language of PHP, Hypertext Preprocessor. I am usually the one on whom my family members call if they are having computer troubles, and this has given me a role in the community that I enjoy holding very much. Being capable of solving other people's problems enriches me with a sense of hope for my future.

In eighth grade, I was in charge of assembling my tight-knit class's eighth-grade video, reflecting the past nine years of forty-six people's lives. I went through the pictures and picked out the best ones, putting them together in a slideshow of our prime years of childhood. It was during the presentation on graduation day, while my classmates laughed at each other and cried like beasts, that I realized how important a role I had earned in my school. I wasn't just the boy who wasted most of his time on the computer, but the person in charge of leaving a lasting impression of our favorite times in my best friends' minds. It was the highlight of my grade-school career.
In summary, digital media can shape a person's life, whether by reminding us of the past experiences or by throwing us in jail for copyright infringement. Media is accessible to anyone who searches hard enough for it; it is whether or not the user wants to take the risk of downloading it that makes all the difference.

Chris F. attends school in Louisville, Kentucky. He spends most of his time learning how to use the computers more efficiently. This essay was a finalist in the 2006 Global Kids Digital Media Essay Contest. For more information, please visit GlobalKids.org. (btw, “H4x0r” is slang for “hacker”)

Posted by joyce at 1:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today I missed my bus for school, so I went to school little late. As I was arriving, I got a phone call from my classmate who said our teacher was absent. So I went to deli, got breakfast and walked to school slowly. In my third period class, my friend Jenny sent me a text message saying. "yo d ms.v isn here wanna go out after 6". As I was replying to her message my English teacher caught me. Thanks to my PDA phone, I turned on the dictionary and said I was looking for some word I didn’t know. My teacher began to complain about the new technology students carry and that they are ruining students.

My teacher is in her early forties, and she said when she was a high school student she didn't have a cellular phone, not even beeper. When she had homework that required research, she had to go to library, and check the entire card catalog to find the book she needed. She didn't have digital cable like we do with hundreds of channel. She didn't have Internet like we do now. The only media that was available in her day were television, radio, and newspaper. "Why do you need all that stuff for?’ she asked. “It's ruining teenagers."

I knew exactly how new technology, specifically digital media, effects my life. For any kind of homework that's not in the textbook or a handout, I always turn to the Internet. Some of the textbooks for music and communication classes even come with CD-Roms. It's more efficient to watch and learn from a video than from reading the textbook. I watch all the soccer games that the South Korean team plays. I put on my PDA many helpful programs, like a subway map, dictionary, weather forecast, etc; they can be update automatically all the time. I can contact anybody any time with my cellular phone. I can send text message, when it's not a good time to talk. Online messenger is even better, as I can chat with my friends without paying money. It's obvious I cannot live without new digital medias. I live in digital age.

So, I was thinking: is it good to have all of the new technology we have right now? We are so dependant on it and can not do anything without it. Back in the days, students put more effort into their work. They had to do all the research by hand. They hand wrote their homework neatly or typed it carefully on a typewriter. They had no devices that checked spelling and grammar for them. Since we started using online messenger, we are using more incorrect grammar and spelling. In the past, people wrote letters and called house phones to communicate. But it took so much time. Nowadays, everything is so fast. But is that good or bad?

I see teenagers who go crazy about pornography and games online. They see incredibly more violent stuff than available back in the day. Little children growing up are so negatively affected by all the media showing violence, learning to think that violent is cool. Children cannot protect themselves from the media. It's no surprise to see little children carrying cellular phones and portable game players. Lot of games are about killing; there's no such thing as helping the weak. It's all about killing and winning. Also there is much pornography online. I don't think it's wrong for teenagers to see it. But it's not normal to see videos of raping women or child abuse. It inspires teenagers to commit crimes for fun. They are so into those things and they come to school with sleepless face. How are they going to learn and get educated like that?

On the other hand, the Internet gives lot of information that is helpful. I can search online and can get more and faster information than from textbook. It's very time efficient. People can now get a college degree online. They can take the class whenever they want. People who have jobs and have no time to go to school can get degrees, too. New technology makes our lives comfortable. We can shop online through Internet shopping mall. It's very easy to compare prices and get the best deal. People can get information faster and easier. Therefore, the new technologies develop even faster. Digital media has helped us globalize the planet; since we can get any information from the Internet, it has became so much easier to know what is going on in other countries. Therefore, the whole world is now very interdependent.

I'm not any different from those whose lives depend on technology. Today society is all about speed. I need to carry my mobile phone with me all the time wherever I go, even when in my house. I have an MP3 player that I listen to when I go to school. I study for tests and read news from the Internet. I love online games and I play them. But I know how to control the medias. I don't watch television a lot. I choose what to watch, like news and soccer games. I go online and not only for having fun; I study, too. I use my PDA as my dictionary, since English is my second language and I need to look up words frequently. I also download e-books and read them in my PDA. There are countless things I can get from digital media, but to get the best out of them I need to choose and decide what I really need and balance everything.

We live in a digital age. All the new technology is about digital media, how fast and how much people can get something. I can watch the World Cup from the other side of the world, at the exact same time as when they are playing. I can call anybody and listen to music whenever I want. I have access to unlimited information and can surf online. It wasn't a long time ago since they were first developed, but most people’s lives depend on using digital media, including myself. They make our lives comfortable and easier. We own these new digital media. We shouldn't be their slaves. We have to be their masters and get all we can out of them.

Dahye H. attends school in New York City. This essay was a finalist in the 2006 Global Kids Digital Media Essay Contest. For more information, please visit GlobalKids.org.

Posted by joyce at 1:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Teenagers of “Generation Y” know what they like. They know how to have fun. They know where to find friends. And they know things should be fast. “Generation Y” knows Digital Media.

Not only do these teenagers know it all, but they have it all. They listen to music on their own Walkmans. They watch movies on their own IPODs. They talk on their own cell phones.

Teenagers own the present, will control the future, and have free access to the past. Digital Media has improved the possible and done the impossible. This technology has taken the best and made it even better. Digital Media has shaped “Generation Y” and has revolutionized me.

In my primeval days, I lived a life without Digital Media. I did not listen to CDs, I did not play video games, and I rarely watched T.V. In fact, I had never even heard of DVDs or IPODs. I lived a life of contentment, but never truly realized what I was missing.

This realization finally came to me after I, a studious elementary student, had typed a long, long, long report, printed it off and lost it. Fortunately, I noticed that I could simply print it off again in the click of a button. I was saved not only time and effort, but complete humiliation from my peers. From this day forth, I was hooked into the idea of Digital Media. Eventually, forms of Digital Media have filled my life—CDs, Computer, Internet, Video games, DVDs, digital cameras, and the cell phone.

Compact Disc Player or simply CD Player? I prefer the latter. Most people never take the time to ask themselves this question, but almost everyone wonders what CD they should listen to next. Switchfoot or FFH? Teenagers listen to music and whether it is rock, country, Christian, or rap, nearly all of them listen to it by means of CD’s. This form of Digital Media fills my day from the moment I wake up. Every morning I hoist my weary body from my bed and turn on a CD. I listen as I shower, I listen as I drive, I listen while I work, and I listen while I, well…listen.

I listen to music and I listen in school, at least enough to realize that I have homework. As a student, the computer is not only a helpful tool, but a necessary component to my work habits. Since I am always on the run and have little time for homework, I need a way to complete my assignments quickly and effectively, with as few mistakes as possible. The computer allows me to be organized and neat, while allowing me the chance to change mistakes and critique my skills.

It is through the computer that I can have access to the Internet. Nearly all teenagers in “Generation Y” spend a great amount of time on the Internet. It can supply the needs of every type of person. For the competitive, there are online games. For the talkative, there are chat rooms. For the studious, there are search engines. The Internet connects the bridge between schools, between states, and even between countries. Often, teenagers talk through email and Instant Messaging. They enjoy posting their own attitudes, reading other opinions, and responding. Personally, I enjoy the art I can enjoy through the Internet. I can see famous historical paintings from a museum in France. I can hear a symphony orchestra from Germany. I can explore space and view galaxies beyond. Surfing the web is fast and enjoyable for “Generation Y” and anyone who has the drive to control a mouse.

Video games give teenagers, like me, the ability to control much more than a mouse. I can control animals, humans, even bizarre creatures. I can control their actions, the environment, and sometimes the time. Originally, players could only move the character around a plain screen. Now Video games are artistic and real with depth, shadows, and humanlike movements. Video games give players access to a completely new world, where they can be entertained with pleasure, evil, or adventure.

Technology has given way to another kind of entertainment--DVDs. DVDs are appealing to audiences of all ages. The older generation see them as improved video cassettes and the younger know nothing except them. DVDs are small and simple to use. They provide durable and reliable means to store favorite shows and clips. DVDs are enjoyable and because of their popularity, one of the most popular gifts.

Probably the most common gift is a cell phone. Just about everyone has, or has used a cell phone. Cell phones seem almost necessary when a teenager is busy. I enjoy the occasional excursion, but my family always wants to know where I am, who is with me, what I’m doing, and when I’ll be home. Cell phones make this stressful situation much simpler. No longer must people locate a pay phone, pay a charge, and wait until they get through. With cell phones, people can converse to nearly anyone in seconds with the effortless push of a button.

Technology and Digital Media make even easy things easier. Some of these things I have yet to use. EBooks are not as common as cell phones, but just as enjoyable. I love to read books, but sometimes it is difficult to find the time to go to the library, search for a book, and wait to check out a book I may not even be interested in. EBooks give busy people, like me, a way to quickly find a book, download it, and read it. EBooks make reading so simple that the reader does not even have to turn the page.

Simple. Durable. Access. Digital Media can be described by so many terms. It is helpful, enjoyable, and simple. As time passes, technology becomes more and more essential to the way of life. It has built bridges hundreds of miles long that can be crossed in mere seconds. It has combined speed, organization and information that provide answers to all questions and results to all searches. It has created things that we never thought would exist. In fact, things are still being created. There is now a new mobile phone from LG. With it, “you can watch, listen, and enjoy all your favorite multimedia contents and exchange e-mails without missing a single call.” The phone also contains a mega-pixel camera, an audio player, and an easy-to-use QWERTY keypad”!

Digital Media has started a revolution. It has revolutionized “Generation Y”. It is revolutionizing me. And it will continue to revolutionize the world!

Rebecca H. attends school in Belpre, Ohio. She enjoys reading, painting, singing, and eating. This essay was a finalist and received honorable mention for eloquence in the 2006 Global Kids Digital Media Essay Contest. For more information, please visit GlobalKids.org.

Posted by joyce at 1:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I sit down at my desk; wiggle my mouse to get the screen-saver off my over-worked computer. My gaze falls down to the assignment in front of me. I pull up the internet, Google to be exact; click on Myspace which is conveniently located under Favorites. No comments; maybe because it was checked only five minutes ago. I sigh, and stare back at my paper describing this digital essay project trying hard to avoid the pull to see if any of my friends have logged on. I can hear the murmur of the TV; my cell phone beeps. Just another text. Practice has been cancelled.

This is when it hit me: teenagers really don’t realize how much technology we use, the impact it holds on our lives, and how much we could use it to learn. I started interviewing my friends to see how they use technology in their lives.

Of course it was done through the quickest way, AIM. Holly was up first. Now this is the girl who will fall asleep at night with her cell phone stuck to her ear. When asked how does she use her cell phone and what major role does it play, Holly explained that this is one of her main ways to talk to her friends; someone is only a call away whenever she gets bored. Holly just recently moved and so Myspace is dearly valued to her for keeping contact with her friends, but she also believes it somehow starts a popularity contest. The next big subject I talked about with her was about iPods. Once Holly got her iPod working I always found her with yet another gadget glued to her ear. “With our generation we really can’t think or do anything to entertain ourselves,” Holly expressed, “so we have to keep on inventing things before we really start not to do anything.” She was also asked if she was upset that more advanced iPods came out right after she bought hers. She responded with, “I’m fine with the normal ones because I wouldn’t be able to figure out the more advanced ones anyways!”

Another one of my friends, Sara, was asked what was the most important piece of technology that she used. I got a half sarcastic response, with her saying it was her TI-83 calculator because it fascinates her and she uses it all the time. Sara also doesn’t think teens realize how much they use technology in their lives saying, “Seriously, teenage girls walk around with cell phones, digital cameras, iPods, and digital day planners and they don’t even realize how much thought and work went into making those!” I too find that I use all of these devices and much more! I know Spark Notes are a huge hit for students and those come from the internet. Even when I’m playing Scrabble with my family and we are not sure if a word is a word, I will run upstairs and check dictionary.com.

One common phase I hear walking down the halls at school is, “I saw your Myspace” or “leave me a comment sometime and listen to my song on my site!” This is just one more example of how technology is carried into our schools and everyday life. Friday nights are often used by a trip to the movie theatre, which is technology on the big screen. Arcades, Xbox, Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and video games in general connect the advanced world of technology I couldn’t even begin to describe. There are many less common thought about ways that technology is used; for X-rays, finding a cure for cancer, or right down to every component in a space craft.

Most people find it hard to live without certain technology, but is it really all good and can we somehow use it in the classroom to help education grow? Firstly, if you have not been trained in the technological field it can be very hard to understand, or to get a simple iPod to work in less than a day. As much as I wish teens used the internet to better the world most of us just take advantage of it and don’t use it to its fullest extent. I have taken various computer classes over my middle school years and into high school, so I can navigate through simple computer tasks nicely. This can not be said for everyone. When laptops are sometimes used in regular classes, some kids have no clue on how to make a simple Power Point. I believe there is a lot of room to bring MORE technology into our schools to further our education. I see mostly good in it, but on the other side students may fear the challenge of the work getting harder or just plain change. Just like there is so much common technology with cell phones and people don’t even realize, there are starting to get more and more into the classroom. I feel we are the on the edge of an educational revolution and, to be honest, I’m not quite sure I like it. I often get lost in internet searches that lead me in circles! If we get too much technology in schools we will drift away from the teaching methods that have worked for years. Another negative is with students working so much with computers, they would loose an important socializing aspect that schools offer.

The other side of me sees endless opportunity! Students can get connected from all over the world through technology and it would be one great way to gain a better understanding of the world. I already usually find great help on the internet when researching a topic for a project. It is a lot easier than having to look up a book in a confusing library twenty minutes away! Time could be used more efficiently by learning more in one class period. Bringing in more technology would be great, but only if it was done in an effective manner. By seeing how teens work with Myspace, AIM, or doing research on the internet, one can discover how to incorporate digital media into effective ways of learning.

Sylvia M. attends school in Madison, Alabama. She describes herself as “an army brat” very interested in the world around her. This essay was a finalist in the 2006 Global Kids Digital Media Essay Contest. For more information, please visit GlobalKids.org.

Posted by joyce at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For adults, the image of the typical teenager conjures memories of listening to the radio and going to drive-in movies. Times have changed. The typical teenager living in America, including myself, usually distracts himself/herself with a wide variety of technological gadgets and games. These gadgets and games could be educational or leisure related. Maybe it’s an xbox. Maybe it’s an iPod. Maybe it’s a blackberry. Maybe it’s a cell phone. Regardless, technology is the center of an average teenager’s life.

An example of technology that practically every teenager uses is a computer. I use my computer everyday. To put it simply, the computer can be used for almost anything! Because of its versatility, I devote many hours of my life to my computer.

First of all, I almost always use the internet. To paraphrase a recent ad I heard on the radio, the internet is a fun place to explore, but it can also be a dangerous jungle. One very important issue is safety. When is it safe to share personal information online? I know that I probably don’t pay enough attention to this as I should. For example, almost every teenager I know has a myspace page. Some have livejournals or xanga, but nearly everyone has a myspace page. Maybe it’s a fad, but for now, it’s the thing to have. I can decorate it to my liking, add music or even a music video. I can add pics, slideshows, videos, you name it. I can add all my friends at school and even people that I’ve just met. I can write a blog about my day or post a general bulletin to all my friends. I can’t wait to see who’s messaged me or asked to be my friend. It’s an extension of someone’s personality. Because of its frequent use, our school has blocked myspace, so that students can’t access it at school. Some of the more addicted myspacers used a proxy site to bypass the blocking. Soon, the school caught on and blocked it again. I suppose it can be rather addicting, but it’s a creative outlet and it shouldn’t be criticized as often as it is. I agree that students shouldn’t access it during class time, but I don’t think it’s something harmful, at least for the most part.

Myspace is full of personal information, and I’m sure that this information could be easily shared with consumer studies sites in spite of a privacy notice when signing up for a myspace page. How many teenagers actually read the details of the privacy note? I didn’t. I assume that the privacy notice ensures my information is confidential, but I honestly don’t know that for a fact.

Also, teenagers often reveal personal information on their pages that could come back to haunt them. Most teenagers with any sort of common sense know to keep the details of one’s life as general as possible, but I’ve seen many myspace pages that provide very personal information in both their blogs or through the pics on their pages. I think this can be a problem. I can access the internet with ease but so can a crazed lunatic. It’s hard to ignore the talk of murders, rapes, sexual solicitation, and kidnappings associated with the internet. Myspace seems to have had its fair share of controversy lately. I know of a school that disciplined its athletes for the material found on their myspace pages. As athletes do represent their schools and it’s a privilege to be on the team, I think this is fair.

Other than providing personal information to sites, teenagers also have to be careful when researching. How do I know if my information is reliable? I usually use credible sources for my research. In Alabama, we have AVL, which is the Alabama Virtual Library. It is an invaluable resource. We are issued AVL cards through our school, and with our password and the internet, we are allowed access to a wealth of information. When I google my topic, I see thousands of sites containing related information pop up before me. Maybe these sites are legitimate, maybe they’re not. I’m careful not to use student papers or anything that looks “homemade.” We’re normally required to use several sources when researching, so by cross-referencing, it makes it possible to spot discrepancies.

When using this information, students must be careful with copyright laws. It’s so easy to find pictures and multimedia clips that it seems it should be legal. If it were illegal, wouldn’t they put it where you can’t get to it without paying? Not so. I’m sure many students have used jpegs in a PowerPoint for a speech or added a snippet of a song to a video project. What’s the line between legal and illegal? I don’t know for certain, and I think that most adults are unsure as well.

Computers are used for more than internet searching, but not much more. I use my computer to type most of my assignments whereas some students only type their most important papers. It’s easier for me. I also use it to make PowerPoints for speeches. It’s a better visual aid than any poster I could make. Since I’ve started my broadcasting class, I’m also using it to edit my own videos and make my own music, but I’m just learning.
I also store music and pictures on my computer, but I think most teenagers are aware of the dangers of file-sharing. I’m sure many do it anyway, but there are plenty of sites that offer reasonable rates now. I would rather download the songs I want than buy a CD containing many other songs that I don’t want to own.
In conclusion, it’s easy to see how teenagers’ lives revolve around their computers. In spite of its disadvantages, we use it for nearly everything we do. With computers getting smaller and more portable, it’s even easier to use it. Myspace may be a fad, but computers are here to stay.

Kristen M. attends school in Madison, Alabama. She is a very outgoing, extroverted, busy girl; soccer is her life. This essay was a finalist in the 2006 Global Kids Digital Media Essay Contest. For more information, please visit GlobalKids.org.

Posted by joyce at 1:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On school days I usually wake up at six o’clock. My morning starts with me turning on my computer and listening to my music while I take a shower and brush my teeth. After that I get dressed watch TV with the volume off while still listening to my music from my computer. When my ride comes I turn off the music I had been listening to all morning, grab my cell phone, my iPod or my PSP and head out the door. When I get into my to school my first period is a Study Hall. My teacher, Mr. Johnson, is very lenient, so he lets the students in Study Hall listen or play with any of their digital devices. During 6th period I have a class called SRP. This class is just like Study Hall, so I usually do the same thing I do in Study Hall. My last period is called TV Productions where the majority of the time in this class is spent using digital media. Either we are filming on a video camera or we are editing on a Power Mac G5 computer.

When I leave school, I sometimes go to a friend’s house and play a video game call Halo. This game is not your ordinary video game. A person can play this game over the Internet. So while we are playing in Kokomo, Indiana, we could be competing with people from St. Louis, Missouri or Tokyo, Japan. While we are playing Halo we are two steps away from his personal computer. Which is hooked up to surround sound. So if you are to see me playing this video game at my friends house, that is not the only digital media I am using. I am most likely text messaging on my cell phone, instant messaging on my friend’s computer and listening to music. Chances are I get home around four o’clock and get on my computer and make music on a computer program called Fruity Loop Studio. I might make up to 100 dollars a week just selling these "beats" that I do on my computer. After that I will get a phone call from somebody and hang out with him or her for the rest of the night. That is my usually day for me when it comes to using digital media and that is why it so important to me.

Technology has improved so much over the years. I remember when very few people had cell phones. Now a person is in the minority if they do not have a cell phone. The most you could ever do with your cell phone was talk to people and maybe play a game like Pong. Now a person can get on the Internet, play games, text message, instant message, write a book report, take pictures and make a video. I remember the best portable music players had to offer was probably a Sony Walkman. Now it’s an iPod that holds up to 15,000 songs and is also capable at showing videos. I remember a time when the best potable video games had to offer was a Gameboy. A Gameboy did not even have a color screen; it was played in black and white. Today the best portable video game device is a Sony PSP. This device is able to do what a Sony PlayStation can do and is at least three times smaller. A person can play video games, which have graphics equal to a Sony PlayStation and are capable of getting on the Internet, playing music and video. There was time not too long ago when video game systems limited a person to playing only with the friends that were in the same place as they were. Now you can play a person anywhere in the world.

See, we are the first generation who has lived with all this digital media for the majority of our lives. I am not quite sure what digital devices our children will grow up with, but I am sure that we will most likely know how to operate it, unlike our parents and grandparents. The typical person age 10 to 25 understands more about electronics more than our parents ever have or ever will. There are many more people who deal with digital media like I do. I am by no means socially inactive and I probably deal with more gizmos and gadgets than a nerd that grew up with my parent’s generations.

Digital media is how many people make their money. I make most of my money from making music on my Gateway PC. Ten years ago it would have been impossible for a person to make music at the quality I make my music with just a personal computer, microphone, keyboard and two turntables. There are people in the music industry who use the same technology that I got for just 100 dollars. A couple of these artists like the rap group D4L have had Billboard Number One hits. Many people would have never thought that computers would be so important to an average person’s day 25 years ago. There are so many jobs that require that a person at least know how to use Microsoft Word. If a person does not know how to operate a computer it is more than likely that they will probably never get an office job. I am pretty sure that digital media has opened up many jobs that were not even thought of five years ago and these advancements have probably held out the economy in ways one cannot imagine. We are probably the first who know at least one person that knows how to fix a computer without going to a school to learn how to do fix one. When my generation is old and weary, our grandchildren will describe us as the first children who grew up with the technology that dictated how their lives were lived.

Emmanuel P. lives in Kokomo, Indiana. This essay was a finalist in the 2006 Global Kids Digital Media Essay Contest. For more information, please visit GlobalKids.org.

Posted by joyce at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As you probably guessed from the title, my name's Alister. Over the next few pages, I'm going to be giving a little talk about my life, and how digital media, computers, and the Internet have helped me with my education. Please, try and concentrate, and if you really have to crunch on potato chips, please wait until the end of the talk.

I started out in my secondary education in a school in Wales. It all went fairly OK for a term, apart from the usual boring lessons and the absolutely diabolical canteen food (take one bite out of it and throw the rest away kind of diabolical). Then, as usual, the obligatory bully came along and made life hell for me. I eventually was told, leave or be expelled, so I left the school peacefully. I then was home educated for about 6 to 7 months, with the occasional mathematics lesson from my mother. This didn't go down well though, as I didn't have my own computer at that point, and Internet access was a 56Kbps dial-up effort.

I eventually enrolled into another school out of sheer boredom, and started again. My teachers were fairly average, and the lessons were boring as usual. I think it would have been OK, had I been allowed to mix with the older children. In the UK, however, I might as well have asked to shoot the Queen, as they would have taken that sort of request the same way. A term went by, with the obligatory bullies (yes, plural this time) generally making my life hell (again). I pulled out after the first day of the second term, as I found I had been assigned to the remedial mathematics class after not only not having covered the work, but also having done my exam on a faulty paper. The photocopier had only cloned the one side, meaning I only did half the test. And here's where the home education began.

For my birthday, I got given a modestly equipped eMachines e220 personal computer, and the family installed a 1MB/288KB broadband line. I then discovered the sheer usefulness of the Internet as an educational tool. I got myself interested in computer programming by discovering an offer from Microsoft's developer network (http://msdn.microsoft.com) and downloading Visual Studio 2005 Express free of charge. With the help of Google, CodeProject and various other programming-oriented websites, I progressed steadily in Visual Basic, Visual Basic .NET, Visual C# .NET and Visual C++ .NET to the level I am at now. Around this point I upgraded my computer with a new case, 64-bit CPU and a GeForce 6800GT graphics card. I used the left over parts to build another computer, which is largely my old eMachines 220, on which I later installed Fedora Core Linux v3. I used this server to host web applications, after getting a copy of Macromedia Studio MX from my father, who is a web designer. This is where I started to learn web design (HTML, ASP) and database programming (SQL, MS Access). Around this point I discovered the South Wales Home Educator's Network, which helped me out a great deal on the social side of things. I'm currently working towards a Microsoft Certified Professional qualification, probably MCAD (Microsoft Certified Application Developer).

I am also a member of an online community called "Second Life", developed by a San Francisco based company, Linden Lab. Their website is http://www.secondlife.com (http://teen.secondlife.com for the Teen Grid, which I am a member of). Second Life allows people of any age to build things, make money and interact with people all round the world. Second Life implements a scripting language called LSL (Linden Scripting Language) which is similar in syntax to C or C++. It allows you to do all sorts of things, such as make a door that only opens when someone says the correct password, or make a jetpack that allows you to fly at extremely high speeds, and other cool stuff like that. My Second Life name is Alister Harrington. I am in the process of developing a commerce website for use inside SL, similar to the real world Amazon.com. The site will be a subsite of TSLClassifieds (http://www.tslclassifieds.com) and will allow users to list and sell their creations instantly online. I will be developing the website mostly in ASP. It will work using Second Life's XML-RPC (XML Remote Procedure Call) interface to deliver items, and use email inside & outside Second Life to communicate with the web server. I will probably complete this project within about three to four weeks.

Digital media has definitely played a very large part in my life and education, being involved in most or all of the things I mentioned above. Without digital media such as computing, the Internet, etc. I would be finding it very hard to get a job or make money. As it is, I now have several windows of opportunity open to me.

Thanks for bearing with me, and not walking out in the middle. Anyone wanting to crunch on your potato chips can now do so safe in the knowledge that you won't distract me, as I've finished now. For those of you who want to put the paper somewhere and get on with your lives, the filing cabinet is over there, and I think there's a free drawer somewhere in it. Or you could do what most people do these days, which is chuck it on your desk and forget about it. I hope you enjoyed reading this short story of my life, and I hope it wasn't too boring for you.

Alister H. is a Second Life finalist from England. This essay was a finalist in the 2006 Global Kids Digital Media Essay Contest. For more information, please visit GlobalKids.org.

Posted by joyce at 1:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hiya! I’m nik385 D. I’m going to talk about Teen Second Life, a massive online game where you can interact with friends! I think that Second Life is a great place for kids and adults alike. In Second Life, you can do just about anything or be anything. In Second Life there aren’t very many bullies. There are a lot of gay and bi people, and unlike in real life, they aren’t taunted by jerks and mean people very much. Me and a few friends hold little parties for everyone usually shunned by society, like nerds, gay/bi, disabled, and just about anyone else that feels bad about themselves.

Without Second Life, some people wouldn’t have many friends. It’s not just Second Life that has groups of people, as there are other games such as Runescape, a massive multiplayer role playing game, but there are a lot of mean people there. There is also another thing that separates people on Runescape: character levels. Character levels can cause people to be mean to the 'noobs,' which are new people. On Second Life there aren’t levels to judge your ability. Second Life isn’t about how good you are at doing things. It’s about having fun and being with friends.

There are moderators that work for Linden Lab (the creators of Second Life) named Lindens; they get paid in US cash. Some people don’t like the Lindens but I think Lindens are cool. Nigel Linden is one of my best SL friends. Whenever Nigel is on the Teen Grid (that’s the place where teens go in the game) we try to hang out for a while and make things and script things. Scripting is when you make something do stuff. He has given me lots of stuff. The only reason Lindens may seem 'bad' to some people is because they enforce rules that some people don’t like. I have learned my lesson about having illegal items; I got reported and suspended for a week for having an object of 'mature content'. At first I was really angry because I had been suspended, but then I realized it was my fault for having the object in the first place.

Unlike lots of other games, SL lets you build anything. It can be a house, a vehicle, clothes, ANYTHING!!!!! On World of Warcraft, another massive multiplayer online role playing game, the only things you can make are clothes and weapons, which isn’t all that fun.

I just learned a good lesson about saving back up copies of important documents. Not going to delete this essay again! There are games on which you can’t save backups of your projects, but on Second Life you can save as many copies of your own objects and scripts as you like. They also make it easy to send things to your alternate accounts if you have them (I don’t but I want one).

My friend has a few alternate files, and a main grid account (the Main grid is the adult place). I wont report them but I know they will get caught at some point. I have busted over five adults on the Teen Grid, who are supposed to be only on the Main Grid, but are here by accident. One large problem is items brought over to the teen grid by people that have been transferred from the main grid. There are all sorts of drug paraphernalia, alcohol paraphernalia, and ‘sex toys’ floating around. Illegal objects have ‘animations’ in them that can be removed and renamed so the person can recreate the item of question and not get caught. Animations are things that make your character move and do things like dancing. There are rumors about the abuse team checking inventories, and I am pretty sure they are true. I’m glad to say I have no more illegal items in my inventory that are of that sort.

I have not seen Nigel for a few days. He was on today so we chatted for a while, but it was the end of Nigel Linden’s shift so he had to leave. I was talking to Data Linden about the Starship Enterprise(es) that my friends and I built, so I sent him a few copies through the “find” feature in the edit menu on the Second Life toolbar. Speaking about Lindens, I make avatars that look like Lindens’ avatars. So far I have made a Cyan Linden avatar, a Blue Linden avatar, a Nigel Linden avatar, and a Guy Linden avatar. I’m going to make them of all the Lindens at some point, but I decided to start with my favorites first. It seems that I have a lot of favorite Lindens, but my overall favorite Linden is Nigel Linden. I run the Mega Nigel Linden Fan Club, which has nine members at the current moment. I seem to have really gotten off track. I meant for this to be about how people young and old can be what or who they want to be just by the click of a mouse.

The world of Second Life may not be that big if you are talking about land amount, but it is absolutely massive in the amount of people inhabiting the land. There are shops and little ‘romantic areas’. There are seasonal sims and holiday sims. I’m trying to promote National Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19th! There could be a pirate sim and a pirate Linden and even free pirate avatars!

Holidays are always fun on Second Life. On holidays there are parties hosted by Lindens and residents alike. There is always free stuff to go around and all sorts of Linden sponsored games. People that don’t have a lot of money can actually sell their Linden dollars for real life cash; sure it takes about one hundred sixty Linden dollars to make one US dollar, but there are lots of people with thousands of Linden dollars. We really have Phillip Rosedale to thank for Second Life because he created Linden Lab.

Second Life even has a simple scripting system so that it’s easy to create objects and bring them to life! The scripting is called LSL2 scripting which I think stands for Linden Scripting Language (version 2). You can even make all the variables in different languages such as Spanish.

Second Life is a place where you can meet friends and hang out when ever you like. Unfortunately I lost one of my good friends, as he had been transferred to the Main Grid, the place where you go when you turn eighteen. His name was Ephemeral Flan. We were really good friends and hung out a lot. I was saddened to say the least when I heard that he was moving to the Main Grid. We hung out more often until the day he had to go. There was a big party for him a few days before he was transferred. During the party he saw me standing in the corner alone, and he asked why. I told him that I was really too sad to celebrate. He then told me he was going to wait until after the party to give me something but he decided he would give it to me then. He gave me his original lab mouse furry! (a furry is an animal avatar) I wear that avatar every time I really miss him, which is usually about every other day. I have lots of things he made to remember him by, and a memorial to put up so others would remember him too. I would like to dedicate this essay to him.

Written in memory of Ephemeral Flan.

nik385 D. is a member of Teen Second Life and lives in New Hampshire. This essay was a Second Life Prize Winner in the 2006 Global Kids Digital Media Essay Contest. For more information, please visit GlobalKids.org.

Posted by joyce at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My name is Tochareah. I'm 16 years old and I'm writing this essay for Global Kids in the Teen Grid of the virtual world Second Life.

Before I started playing games I was a heavy drug addict. I spent all my money from my job for marijuana. I needed an escape from my family and my friends. I just needed something to just be away. I hung out with the wrong crowd and resorted to drugs that caused anger issues.

I first started gaming when I found Dance Dance Revolution( DDR). I noticed my drug habits decreased as DDR helped me to deal with my anger issues. I played DDR for close to a year and still play it. I found out that games help me. Games are my anti-drug. So I saved up my money to buy a new computer for more games.

I got my new computer and I downloaded a game called Counter-Strike. It’s a first person shooter. I played this game for a long time and noticed that my anger habits have gone down even further because the rage that I had been feeling slowly moved out as my bullets went into the others teams’ heads. Violent games do not make a person violent; the person makes him/herself violent by the people they interact with.

My other anti-drug is skateboarding. I can’t get enough of it. I skate in the winter, summer, spring, and fall. I just love being in the air like a bird. Once you’re in the air you start to see everything in slow motion and you ask yourself questions like, Why am I here? Do I have a Purpose? Then you fall to the ground and end up in the hospital for 2 weeks.

After I played Counter Strike and DDR for over a year my friend Tom introduced me to Second Life. I can’t stop playing it. It’s like everything you could hoped for in a game. It just draws you in. It reminds me of an anime (Japanese Animation) that I used to watch, .// Hack Sign. It’s about this game people play that draws in their brain; you wear a headset and you're in the game.

The main character in this show was named Tsukasa. His parents pulled the plug on his computer, trapping his mind in the game. His body was lifeless in real life, but his mind was still in the game. It went on a quest to find out who he is in real life and why he is never able to log out.

And I got to thinking I am like this Tsukasa. I eat and sleep Second life. I never log out. I can’t stop playing it. Second life turned into my new anti-drug. In Second Life you can build games with the game script to make your own creations work. I myself own a business in the game called Spider Clothing (Gothic Store). I make pretty good money most of the time and what I love best about Second Life is that you can exchange your SL money into REAL $US!! I mean how better could it get? You’re getting paid to play the game! Second Life has been a big part of my life and I love the people in this game. The people in the game respect you (most of them anyway) and no matter what you look like or what your sexuality is they all respect you.

In the game you learn to respect your fellow friends and foes. The only people I every really talk to in the games are my family (Blue Linden, Patsy Linden, Nicole Linden, Dee Linden, Mia Linden, Deana Linden, and the Love of my life who I met through SL, Kit Axon). Me and Kit met through this game and we started to date. We moved from the game to real life and found out we have a lot in common. It turns out she lived a block away from me! How better can that get?!?! I mean it’s a real small world but everyone you meet is so close you don’t even notice it. Me and Kit are now engaged to be married, in Second Life and in real life, and we love each other.

Since I started playing DDR, Counter-strike, and Second Life I have been clean and off drugs, which is why I still game to this day. I have played every single game title, like Halo, Halo 2, Diablo, Diablo 2, and Diablo Lord Of Destruction; every single Final Fantasy; Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Counter Strike, Counter Strike : SOURCE, Tetris (got to have Tetris ), Pong; all four of the Tony Hawk Pro Skates; etc. etc.

You get the point.

When you have an anti-drug you realize that new doors open up for you. The doors that opened up for me was a whole new life, the life of a gamer and a husband.

Once I was just a plain old bum who went out to get stoned and got drunk. I don't know why I ever made those choices, but they are in the past now. I am now home schooled and have no job. But I am starting over. I will be attending the Job Corp to become a chef because I love food and will be a future success.
My name is Tochareah and Second Life is my anti-drug.

Tochareah W. is a member of Teen Second Life and lives in Idaho. Stuart reports that “I'm cool. I game. I skate. There's nothing I can't do.” This essay was a Second Life Prize Winner in the 2006 Global Kids Digital Media Essay Contest. For more information, please visit GlobalKids.org.

Posted by joyce at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rhiannon Chatnoir standing in front of the x-pressions exhibit she worked on that was ported over to the Global Kids sim in the teen grid.

Posted by joyce at 12:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)