Global Kids' Online Leadership Program

On March 20th, Kofi Annan accepted the MacArthur Foundation's International Justice Award at the gorgeous Waldorf Astoria Hotel, NY. While the participants were enjoying the night and experiencing the uniqueness of this first time ever event at the hotel, Global Kids were broadcasting the event in different virtual worlds as well as on the Web. One of the virtual worlds was There.com. There.com is a 3D social world where members can make friends, communicate with each other, customize their avatars, shop, host events, play games, and many more other things which are mainly social.

With a lot of help from Betsy Book, Director of Product Management at THERE, the event was hosted at Orangutan Stage in There.com. The members of There.com came to join us for this exciting event on May 20th and listen to the talk given by Kofi Annan, and the award ceremony from their computers with hundreds of others in different places. In front of their computers, There.com members experienced this unique event which is a step to bring the same experiences/events into different virtual worlds for different types of users, and share global values, human rights and justice in this case.

I want to thank you all There.com community for participating this unique event which is experienced in several other virtual worlds, and I hope we will be able to work with you for more events to get more familiar with There.com community and share our experiences.

Posted by Selen at 7:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I personally think one reference example of a 2d platform that would be good for our game would be Sonic the Hedgehog.

1. Sonic the Hedgehog games make their characters move very swiftly and can run up platforms

2. The faster you run the more oportunites you get to do with your speed like run on water, run up wall, jump very far

I wouldn't say Sonic the Hedgehog is better than other 2d game platformers but it has better advantages as far as maneuvering wise stabitlity control than in other games. Also as long as you have a few rings or at least one ring with you, you can survive then it won't be too much of a problem

I think that it would be okay if we can use the elemnts from Sonic the Hedgehog except for the spindashing technique

1. We could use the loopdeloops from the game and the breaking platforms too.

2. We could use the wall run and water run along with the accelarators

What I ask of you not to put in from Sonic the Hedgehog

1. The rings, it doesn't matter much you collect if you get hit you lose all of your rings that you had.

2. If you can make the jump movements more fluid the that will be great.

I hope this reference plays a major roll in our platform game.

Posted by p4kCourtney at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The platform game that is very good is Mario Bros because he is able to take a mushroom and Mario is able to get bigger, Mario can take a flower and and he can start to shoot fire out of his hands and the last item he uses is a cape with that item he is able to fly. Mario has to get past enemies like koopas and paratroopas. At the end Mario is able to face the boss named Browser who kidnapped Princess Peach. In order to save her you must defeat Browser.

Posted by p4kKamani at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well This is the big hit for our project. ok well my fav. games are: (expl. on why they're my fav. Good n bad)

1.Ult Ghost n Goblins-
(good)
Its extremely hard to beat
plenty of enemies
The game pays you for earning high scores.
plenty of secrets
plenty of equipment to keep you alive(exp. Dark armor[unlimited r/b aura] empirial armor[4 hits to break] dragon shield [lets you fly])
(Bad)
Annoying scavenger hunt(looking for 33 golden light rings)
Some times Too Hard!!!

Better?: Its Psychoticly hard!!!!

Url: www.gamespot.com/psp/action/ghostsngoblins/index.html

2.Castlevania the draculaXcronicles-(good)
Games sound track is really good
game has plenty of secrets and many bosses as well as easter eggs
looks very good in grafx
creative levels
(Bad)
Game gets Old Fast (Very Fast)
kinda annoying looking for an invisable boss(The EX. Boss)

Better?:Very good sound track

Url: www.gamespot.com/psp/action/castlevaniathedraculaxchronicles

3. Megaman X 1-6-(Good)
A lot of levels
Depending on which boss you beat it affects other levels
Final boss feels like a final boss
(Bad)
Some times level desighn is alittle bit too ocward
First segment of the final level is too too dificult even w/ the ultimate armor.

Better?: The game never gets old

Url:www.gamespot.com/pages/tags/index.php?type=game&tags=mega+man+collection

Posted by Nero infinity at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Territory War

The date is Monday, March 31, of 2008 (finally the end of this month), and the geniuses of Global Kids' Playing 4 Keeps have contributed yet another round of ideas in order for the upcoming game to be complete. Since there are only an estimate of 8 kids in the group this evening, it should be a bit easy..(Session dedicated to Jay, who couldn't join us in today's festivities). Today, we took a bit of a review of all the platform games that we have played during the course of this epic project of extraordinary proportions, (Super Granny in Paradise, Shift, Fancy Pants Adventure, etc.), and our goal is to blog about it explaining why it seems better than other platformers such as Mario, Sonic, etc. My choice for the platform is a game known as "Territory War". This game is very unlikely for a platform game but it is a platform game nonetheless.

I personally believe that this is game is not better but more exceptional as opposed to other platform games because of the fact that it's a bit relative to the game that is currently being made. The relativity of this is that although it pokes fun and mocks the aspects of war, it's highly fun to play in the sense that you as the player or team captain wouldn't want to stop playing until the battle is over. I also consider this game to

Posted by p4kOtis at 3:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

http://www.addictinggames.com/portalflashversion.html

the reason why this is a good platformer game is because you have to use portals to get on to platforms. Another reason why it is a good platformer game is because it was very fun using the portals to get to other locations. It is better than any other because to me this game was much fun more than any other platformer i played. the way that they could use this game in the game we are making is that we could use a water bottle to open a portal into a house to save people. another way is that we could use some of the clothes that look riped or different colors. two ways to make this game better is that we could make the guy able to use the portal on other places to see a better way to get your destination.

Posted by p4kAndrew at 3:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Typically, when I ask a teen about their online experiences - they will adamantly argue that the relationships they develop and the bonds they are making are very real. This is why I was surprised, recently, but he reaction many of the TSL youth have had to the DIDI project.
Dream It. Do It. is a project where we support young people (in Teen Second Life) to come together, identify what is important to them, and what passions and interests they have, and support them to create sustainable social ventures to improve their communities. Youth Venture has been reaching youth out there in the ‘real’ world with this program for quite some time. We’ve been working together since this past fall to reach youth in TSL.
In our workshops, we encourage youth to consider the community that they identify with - it could be home, school, their neighborhood, or even the TSL community. Interestingly, almost all the teens who have gone through our program so far have decided to focus their venture ideas on the TSL community. We think that’s great! However, I wonder, lately, if the youth recognize that they are part of a network of young people throughout the world who are making change in their communities.
Last week we had a special guest from Youth Venture come and speak to DIDI. Kyle Taylor, from Youth Venture’s Road Trip America is a ‘real life’ youth Venturer who is traveling the country to visit various YV Teams and report back on his blog what he learns.
Kyle told about his Real Life venture, and also talked to the teens about what Youth Venture is all about. The teens asked Kyle a number of questions that alerted me to the fact that not all teens ‘get’ the fact that DIDI is a ‘real’ project. While some of the teens at Kyle’s event were new and still learning about DIDI - it was obvious to me that the blend between the Real Life implications and possibilities of DIDI and the method of using TSL for organizing and supporting youth is not clear, even to some of the youth in TSL.
This is a new idea - using TSL to promote real life change, and I’m hoping that, with special help from real life folks like Kyle, we can help more teens in Second Life to look beyond the idea of a play or virtual venture - and more toward something they feel is real.

Posted by Meghan at 2:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Goods...goods in my house comes from the grocery store but i would guess there from farms around the country and world and my clothes would more likely come from china since most things are made there the and furniture wood come from Sweden (IKEA) and France andheat is provide from oil found in other contries.

Posted by Allister at 8:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My goods come from Foot Locker, Target, corner store,Western beef, furniture places,and i get boot leg DVD's off the street

Posted by Daquan at 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The goods in my home, like food comes from animals or from farms.

Posted by Latisha at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The goods from my home come from different places like China,Italy, Japan,and the United States of America. The goods from my home is just imported from other parts of the world.

Posted by Lucius at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Goods from my house comes from other countries such as China or its organic from the states.Thats where i think my goods come from.

Posted by Andrysse at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The goods that comes in my house are from all over. The food is from different countries and my clothes are made from different people and places. My furniture i don't really know. the heat comes from factories.

Posted by Asha at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

the goods in my home comes from companies in different countries that export goods. the furniture in my home comes from other countries,the food comes from other countries,also the heat.

Posted by Naomi at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The goods things that comes to my house comes from many places. ex,some food comes from other countries and then that food come to our country and then to the stores and that how how we get it. Some other good things that we have in our house comes from animals,other countries people,trees,land etc.. like our clothes come from the animals like cheeps and from other countries. All our things that we have in our house comes from many different places..

Posted by Katerine at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Where does the good come from!!!!.My heat, clothes,food,and furniture.
It comes from the earth duh!!! get a clue.My clothes come from some earths renewable sources. like flowers and cotton.My heat comes from non renewable resources like oil and gas,and my furniture is made from wood which comes from trees. But one place i can always get these thing at different stores!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Rakeem at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The goods in my house usually come from the grocery store which would obviously come from a farm most of the time it is from farms and meat factories, also the heat from my house comes from oil. Most of my clothes also come from China, and the furniture also comes from china.

Posted by Shaquille S at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I think that the goods in my house come from a factory were they make things. Water is one thing that I conceder a good, water also comes from a factory that flitters it before they reaches my house (Etc...)

Posted by Ernesto at 8:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

All the good from my house come for different places. Like my food it come from framers and my clothes come form factors they make my clothes out of cotton and then ship it the small towns and city they to the same thing to my food and every thing else i buy are have

Posted by Egypt at 8:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

the food in my house comes from a certain place that i really don't know where it is but i know the store is called Aldi's

Posted by Shaquile B at 8:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We had some significant progress on our game this week at P4K! The game design continues to evolve and grow stronger. On Monday, we voted on both the game’s art style, and the issues it will focus on. To choose the art style, we taped up images in a variety of different art styles. We had everything from Putomayo New Orleans jazz album covers to manga ninjas, watercolor paintings and Samurai Jack.

Each student was allowed to vote for his or her two favorites. In the end, a very detailed manga image received the most votes, with a more cartoony image from Dragon Ball Z and the Putomayo cover tying for second. I think our goal will be to have art like the Putomayo that is indicative of the New Orleans Jazz scene, and merge it with a more stylized, but simplified manga style. I think the result will look great.

We also voted on the major themes our game will address. One goal of the game is to have it move beyond simple critique and offer lessons for future disasters. There are a number of systems and resources that governments must have in place in order to minimize casualties during a disaster. In the game, players will learn about what these systems and resources are by playing in a disaster without them.

From our research and discussions, we narrowed down our selection to eight ideas, and then voted for the top five. As the plan is now, our game will have five levels, each of which will address one of the following ideas: pre-storm evacuation, emergency rescue/communication, supplies and logistics, sanitation, and equitable post-disaster reconstruction. In the Hurricane Katrina disaster, none of these systems were well organized, and confusion and shortcomings resulted in death. The heroes of the disasters are the everyday people (and agencies like the Coast Guard and Louisiana Fish and Wildlife) that took care of these needs when the government failed. Our game will point out what went wrong, salute those who acted quickly, and hopefully help others understand the importance of thorough disaster planning.

On Thursday, we dealt with one aspect of the disaster that we hadn’t thoroughly explored yet: housing. One of the motivations for the game is to draw attention to the housing crisis that is currently engulfing New Orleans. Reconstruction has looked frightfully similar to the larcenous debacle of rebuilding in Iraq. Some of the same corporations are even involved in both situations, and sweetheart backroom deals abound. As a UN committee recently pointed out, low income, primarily black residents are finding themselves with no place to live as the city draws plans eliminate poverty by eliminating housing for the impoverished.

Through our discussion, we made connections to gentrification in New York and how city planning can displace the residents it’s claiming to help. At Global Kids, we’re always seeking to connect the local to the national and the international, and Thursday’s lesson was a perfect opportunity to do so. This game will be an attempt to do the same.

Posted by Jay at 8:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With the release of ICED! (I Can End Deportation), an online interactive 3D role-playing game that teaches the player about current U.S. policies around immigration that destroy families and fundamental human rights, people have been not only playing it enthusiastically, but it is spurring others to search out other games for change.

Below is some of the recent coverage Ayiti: The Cost of LIfe has been getting.

For a virtual dose of reality, a different kind of video game, by the National Catholic Reporter

On college campuses, video games move into classroom, by the Associated Press

Posted by joyce at 2:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This past week the main task for students was to work in groups to design/build their houses with limited number of prims and reflect their actual ecological footprint to this house.

I would say that although all students enjoyed designing/building their houses and this was a big challenge for them. This was the first actual task for them to use the skills they have learned so far for learning science. Second Life has been a very new for students and they have learned so much so far and unfortunately due to the class time, there is not enough time for them to practice their skills. So, I think they are doing great with building since it's definitely challenging to build in Second Life.
Group work is a great way to have students learn from each other. In Second Life, group work requires some more coordination due to the 3 dimensionality and permissions to build things together. During the activity, I realized some groups divided up the tasks, for example, one student edit the notecards, another one changed the textures, and the other put out the objects, etc. In another group, students gave permissions to each other so anyone could move the objects put out by anyone of them. These are goods example of how students come up with a strategy to work together without being instructed.

I am so excited that I will be getting my avatar in TSL soon so that I can be with students in Second Life, so I can have a better idea how students are learning with all the tools given in Second Life, and what difficulties they are having. They have been doing very well so far and they are all very motivated learning in Second Life. I am hoping this will lead to a better learning of science and will effect students' attitudes positively towards doing science.

I can't wait to see students' next project

Posted by Selen at 7:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am still processing all the fabulous information overload from NTC in New Orleans last week. This trip served as my first trip to NOLA and my first non-profit conference.

NTC (Nonprofit Technology Conference), sponsored by NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Network), is focused on networking and collaboration around the concept of using technology to further the cause of non-profits. This year’s theme was appropriately titled, “Building Community: Connections around the globe and around the corner.”

I’ll summarize some of my experiences and take-aways:

1. Touching base with other non-profits. I found it very comforting to talk to folks from other non-profits, and discover they have the same challenges. The feeling of not being alone, and also knowing that there are others looking in the same direction as we are at GK, made this conference worth-while for me if nothing else. Reading about organizations that are working to empower youth with 21st Century skills using new media is one thing - but meeting others who are doing it is much more gratifying.
   
2. Sharing the work we are doing at GK. I was honored to speak on two panels this year at NTC.
   “Technology Programs That Engage and Support At-Risk Youth” was organized and moderated by Karen Michaelson from Tincan.org. I shared the panel with Karen Manuel from Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology and with Hannah Whitmore, also from Tincan.org. We spoke of case-studies from our organizations of programs that we have found successful in engaging at-risk youth using new media - notably, game design and video production.
   
   “Getting Started in Second Life” was organized and moderated by Jennifer Ragan-Fore from ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). Joining me on the panel was Josh Knauer from Maya Design as well as Susan Tenby from TechSoup. This panel was focused on giving an overview of Second Life for non-profits of the different ways that current NPs are using SL - and tips and resources for how they can get started using Second Life in their own org. All resources and notes from the presentation are available on the Panel wiki!
   
3. ROI - Return on Investment - this is not something I *ever* put any direct thought into before NTC. I wonder if it’s something considered by those higher than me at GK - or if we really do just ‘wing it’. OLP Director Barry Joseph continually encourages and inspires his staff to use almost all and every social network and new media tool we come across. I found many folks at this con wondering how to know when it’s worth their man-hours to start using networks like FaceBook and Flickr, not to mention Twitter! It makes me wonder if we at GK are losing money and time with all of our networking - or if we are hitting the nail on the head by DOING it?
   
4. Speaking of twitter - this year’s back-channel was more alive than any conference back-channel I’ve ever experienced - check out NTC-08 on Twitter! One week after the conference - and it’s still alive! It seems we’ve finally found the near-perfect back-channel app :)
   
5. New Orleans. Inspiring. I think that having NTC 08 in NOLA was genius. Bringing us to a city that so needs us, as well as bringing us to a city that invokes the true spirit of non-profit just seems like a no-brainer.
   
6. David Pogue
   This year's plenary speaker was David Pogue, the personal technology columnist for the New York Times. He sang. I laughed. This was immediately before my first panel - and was a great way to relieve my pre-panel nerves. Thanks David.

   
   

Can’t wait for next year!

Posted by Meghan at 4:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This past week, we were joined on Global Kids Island by Jim Kielsmeier, Founder and CEO of National Youth Leadership Council, along with Amy Cohen, Director of Learn & Serve America. Amy and Jim came in to give a panel about service learning, a unique form off community involvement that both advocates and helps make change in communities while also integrating practical learning for the young people that take part in it.

Amy and Jim, with Rafi moderating

With so many teens across America participating in community service, residents from across the grid had a sense of the general ideas before even coming to the panel, but Amy and Jim explained to the twenty-odd Teen Second Life residents that attended that while the terms community service and service learning might be similar, they have very different impacts for the people involved. In service learning, young people are not just volunteering their time to assist in a project, but are actively learning about the issue that they're working on, better equipping themselves to think critically about the approach they're taking to community engagement.

Many of the residents present shared their own experiences working for the good of their communities, which from our perspective was very heartening. We're thrilled to be able to bring to teen grid in April a live stream from the National Youth Leadership Council's annual youth conference from Minneapolis, with keynote speaker Desmond Tutu. Keep your eyes on the blog for the link to the video stream in the upcoming weeks if you won't be able join us in Second Life or Teen Second Life.

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Download audio here.

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

MY QUESTIONS IS CAN I MAKE MY HOUSE BIGGER I WANT A BIG HOUSE ARICH HOUSE WITH A BEAN BAG AND A BIG COUCH WITH A HUMMER

Posted by Daquan at 9:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One question that I have is,if we can put everything we want in our house and how long we going to have our house??

Posted by Katerine at 9:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

i dont think that i had any questions about my second life house. i think that i understood everything and listened to the directions.

Posted by Zana at 9:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The question i have about the house that i made and second life was how do you make the table it was a little hard. my favorite thing that i did was how i design the color and texture to make the floor.

Posted by Egypt at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

my favorite part of the project is editing textures.

Posted by Brandon at 9:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have no further questions about my home. My favorite part of my home was the way i could build more parts and delete some parts off of my home.

Posted by Eaon at 9:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In second life we got to design our own home some questions i still have about doing so is how so edit multiple textures and make some of my own.i like the paint/textures we used because it reminds me of my room.

Posted by Allister at 9:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have no questions about the design of my home in sl. The most favorite part of the home is the roof where i can get a clear view of everything else and get ay from it all...
in the future i plan to eat less meat and do less driving to better our earth.

Posted by Rakeem at 9:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

1 question i have i why do we only have to have 73 prims in the house ? javascript:insert_smiley(13)

Posted by Shaquile B at 9:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How do you close the opening on the top of the house? My favorite part of my house is the inside, the thing I liked the most inside of the house is the chairs.I would like to change the amount of water and electricity that we use.I would also want to change my eating habits because I eat to much meat.

Posted by Lucius at 9:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

. Why when you change your floor the bottom of the outside of the house change too. My favorite part is building the whole house and being able to say that it's mine. I would like my family to be more considerate of the amount of water they use and how much food we eat.

Posted by KoraAnne at 9:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The only question I still have about my home in Second Life, is wether or not we will eventually be able to get a home of our own in Second Life. My favorite part of the home was the colors because I think it was chosen well and looked nice. I would like to change the electricity in the future so it can be used and conserved better.

Posted by Shaquille S at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

a question i have about my home in second life is was it hard to create the structure of the houses when they were being built?My favorite part of the house is the stairs (the waii you could walk up them easily but when you are going down, you gllliiidddeeee).
One aspect of my homes ecological footprint that i would like to change in the future is how much water that we use.

Posted by Demetra at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I dot really have an questions about the design of my home in SL. Finding ways to be more sustainability.The amount of water i use in my real house was shocking to me and thats something i want to change.

Posted by Andrysse at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I DONT HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABUT THE DESIGN OF MY HOME IN SCOND LIFE. MY FAVORITE PART OF THR HOUSE IS THE PURPLE WINDOWS. I WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE THE AMOUNT OF WATER WE USED IN OUR HOUSE.

Posted by Shabede at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

the question i have about the design in second life is why the prims is so much and you only have limited amount. the favorite part of the house is the whole thing.the aspect of my home ecological footprint i would like to change in the future is the amount of gallons of water i use.

Posted by Naomi at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Why the house couldn't be bigger. My favorite part of the home is the roof because when you go up there you see all of outside ad i thinks thats nice. I would like to change the way we eat because we et to much meat and not enough vegetables. I would also like to change the amount of water we use because the more water we use and the more food we eat the less resources we have.

Posted by Latisha at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The following is our recording of one of the many AERA panels held this week in NYC, this one specifically on:

Learning, Meaning, and Civic Engagement in the Digital Age:

The MacArthur Digital Media Initiative

• Participant: Henry Jenkins (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)


• Participant: Howard E. Gardner (Harvard University)


• Participant: James Paul Gee (University of Wisconsin - Madison)


• Participant: Nichole D. Pinkard (The University of Chicago)


• Chair: Constance Yowell (J.D. & C.T. MacArthur Foundation)

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Download audio here.

And, a great excerpt from the larger file in which Jenkins discusses virtual worlds as places of role play and experimentation and situates Global Kids programs as models of using virtual worlds for civic engagement.

Download audio here.

I see virtual worlds as spaces of thought experiences where people can imagine other possibilities than the literal institutions and identities that we are stuck with in this world.

My own experience in High School was that my identity was fixed even within two weeks of entering, that I was going to be the social pariah, and the only question was whether I got out with any amount of dignity left or if I was going to be completely emotionally crippled in the experience.

If I had a place where I could be powerful and assert myself and show my leadership, and my intelligence and my creativity and get recognition from other people through it -- that would have been a hell of a difference for me going through it. And it makes a difference for a lot of kids in this country, now who are caught in that same situation.

So I look upon “identity play” in this world like carnival, in the medieval sense.
Medieval worlds where thick social relations were suspended and where people stepped outside and tried on other identities, and new relationships; moreover in some degree that was emotional release (and social control mechanism), and some degree it was the beginning of social uprising. In my hometown Boston, the people dressed up like Native Americans and dunked tea in the harbor -- that was carnival practice turned into real world politics. Historically, carnival was something that people used to imagine the possibilities and act on them in the real world.

We can judge yet whether the young people are going to be using virtual worlds to imagine institutions that will be more humane or more open to creative and intelligent invention and in route to the real world or if they stay there.

The different is that carnival in medieval terms was a ritual of a few and getting ready for it was a weeklong practice. Now we have carnival existing in parallel reality to us all the time. The temptation to live in carnival most of the time must be very great, especially for kids whose High School experience was anything like my own.

But the challenges is how to generate that out. That’s why organizations like Global Kids really excites me, because they are working in Second Life and developing educational projects which bring young people together to talk about real world issues and the real world penetrates into Second Life and Second Life spills back over in changes they are making in their communities. The model of citizenships that Global Kids represents seems to me a powerful way of thinking about that parallel reality; in a way that makes differences here, in the world that we are going to live in eventually.

Posted by joyce at 3:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our student scientists have arrived! After learning about their own Carbon Footprints, they have formed teams and are busy displaying their data by modifying team houses and other objects. Students are even sneaking on after class to get in a little more building time! Sometimes, it can be tough to make team decisions, but these guys are doing a great job. As each research team faces new challenges and adventures, they'll be taking that new knowledge and applying it as they make new choices and decisions about their homes.

What's next for our Citizen Scientists? Well.. I won't give it all away.. but let's just say that they may need their passports!

Posted by Cathy at 7:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This Monday, before our Dream It. Do It. Workshop, we had a special guest visit from Kyle Taylor from Youth Venture’s Road Trip America.

According to their myspace page,

“There is a movement going on. Youth all over the world are standing up and taking action to change their schools, their neighborhoods, their cities, their countries, and the world! Yet their stories go untold.

To change this, Youth Venture’s very own Kyle and Malena are hitting the road and traveling across North America, collecting video, blogging and taking pictures of young people who are truly changing their communities. During their 40 days travel across 32 US States and 3 Canadian Provinces, they’ll be highlighting the hard work of young Venturers across the planet who are launching their own initiatives for social change.”

This holds true, even for the TSL D.I.D.I. Teams! Using a live audio stream from Sally’s office in NYC, Kyle came and spoke to current DIDI Venturer’s, as well as some residents who are new to DIDI, about the Road Trip America. Kyle shared about his own venture that he started in 2003, a tutoring and mentoring program for at risk urban youth. He also talked a bit about the Youth Venture mission - and explained why he was traveling the country to spread the word!
After his talk, and a few technical mishaps, Kyle was able to answer some questions from the crowd with Sally’s assistance. I was impressed how naturally Kyle, new to the SL experience, was able to work the TSL crowd into an inspiring conversation about their own Venture ideas and dreams.

I really thought it was great to have someone from the outside world come and talk to the TSL Venturers. Although they are members on the GenV web site, I think it’s incredibly important for the TSL teens to know and feel that they are connected to this fabulous network of young changemakers. My hope is that Kyle was really able to help the D.I.D.I. kids feel they are part of the larger mission.

Sally YouthVenture shows Kyle around TSL...

Kyle blogged about his experience visiting TSL. Kyle says, "The highlight of New York (besides hanging out with Kumar) had to be the Teen Second Life Virtual meet-up we did." Read the rest of Kyle's blog entry about TSL!

Posted by Meghan at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

There were many exciting moments to talk about for the month of March and there will be more to come in the month of April. March marks the month were I participated in my first panel. Speaking at the Guggenheim was a great experience for me because not only was I proudly representing Global Kids, but I was also exposed to other educators who have been questioning the effects of technology in education.

On Tuesday March 18, TSL celebrated its anniversary and it was great to be a part of that celebration. I was happy to see that many of our supporters came out to celebrate with us and that we got the opportunity to bond as a team during the event. It was the ultimate proof that so much can be done simultaneously with technology. I for instance was dancing live, dancing virtually and streaming at the same time.

Next month I am looking forward to going to Minneapolis for the NYLC conference and to Stanford University in Los Angeles for the Common Sense Media Forum. Although these events require alot of energy and time there is always something to learn and experience. Plus, I don't mind working on adrenaline. I'm looking forward to the rush.

Posted by Kathy at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My experience from the International Justice Award event was quite impressive, walking around in an expensive hotel. I was a little uncomfortable since I am financially from a lower class from what I can see. What I have learned while participating in this event was that everybody was in spirit, as Kofi Annan made his speech, it was a little intense, but he joked sometimes. While Kofi Annan was speaking, I was commenting what type of food we were served. I didn't like the fish. Haha. But it was fun! I wish I can go to something like this again to learn more about these type of events.

-Matt

Posted by VVP Mathew at 7:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Approximately 25 avatars participated in two Community Forums which took place in the Justice Center Amphitheater today. The goal of these forums was to solicit suggestions and feedback from Second Life residents on what would be the most strategic and needed uses of the Justice Center to support global justice and human rights concerns. We had three excellent presentations by Hayduke Ebisu of Commonwealth Island, In Kenzo of Camp Darfur / Amoration and Nonny Writer of Gone Gitmo talking about their respective initiatives to bring real world issues into the virtual world.

Among the suggestions and ideas that came out of the forums:

• Education about the International Criminal Court should be the first priority. Many people don’t know what the ICC is, or have misconceptions about it.
  
• Integrate educational content into the environment. Immersive experiences can galvanize people to action.
  
• Aesthetics matter.
  
• Virtual demonstrations can have real world impact.
  
• There’s already lots of activity on social issues, but dispersed across the grid.
  
• Bringing real world events into SL is attractive to people because it enables them to attend events that they normally could not, and the backchannel conversations enhance the experience.
  
• It’s difficult to demonstrate and measure real world impact of virtual builds and experiences.
  
• Hold mock trials with different teams of university students
  
• People want to have fun. Integrate entertaining activities to draw people, like music festivals, art shows, etc.

What follows is a lightly edited transcript of the two forums.

Community Forum 1

Presentation by Hayduke Ebisu on SL Activism and Commonwealth Island
[8:22] Hayduke Ebisu: we built a set of four sims called the Commonwealth Islands
[8:22] Hayduke Ebisu: and the intent was to create a beautiful, immersive environment where people woudl want to be
[8:22] Hayduke Ebisu: I'll flip through some slides of the sims
[8:23] Hayduke Ebisu: once again, they are on the web: http://www.slideshare.net/jknauer/activism-in-second-life-commonwealth-islands
[8:23] Shava Suntzu: just fine
[8:23] Hayduke Ebisu: the idea was to create a beautiful environment, pay attention to small details
[8:23] Hayduke Ebisu: and then...
[8:23] Hayduke Ebisu: start integrating content and organizations into the environment
[8:24] Hayduke Ebisu: but lead with gorgeous design, so that organizations would be inspired to do more than just build ugly displays (as they tend to do elsewhere... sorry, but true)
[8:24] Vivienne Cassavetes: LOL
[8:24] Hayduke Ebisu: educational content becomes integrated into the environment
[8:24] Hayduke Ebisu: everything is clickable
[8:24] Hayduke Ebisu: to find out more info
[8:24] Hayduke Ebisu: this is a display about alternative energy
[8:25] Hayduke Ebisu: and looking forward to how it could be... modeling the future is a thing SL is pretty good at
[8:25] Hayduke Ebisu: people can learn very specific things by having their avatar experience it... like how to install a energy efficient hot water heater
[8:25] Hayduke Ebisu: they should also be able to experience the "bad" side of things too
[8:26] Hayduke Ebisu: we've built a to-scale walk through of a nuclear power plant
[8:26] Hayduke Ebisu: so you can see how it works and how it doesn't
[8:26] Hayduke Ebisu: ;-)
[8:26] Hayduke Ebisu: and we've attempted to also try to help people experience the choices/challenges we face as we make future decisions
[8:26] Hayduke Ebisu: that's just a taste of some of the immersive education stuff
[8:26] Rik Riel: neat!
[8:26] Hayduke Ebisu: but we've gone a step further as well
[8:27] Hayduke Ebisu: we're also providing a space for activists to come together, meet and organize
[8:27] Hayduke Ebisu: the next few slides are from different protests that were organized from within Second Life
[8:27] Earadriede Callisto: interesting
[8:27] Hayduke Ebisu: this is a peace protest... trying to prevent the bush admin's march to war
[8:28] Hayduke Ebisu: this is an ACLU protest
[8:28] Hayduke Ebisu: it looks a bit like a RL protest
[8:28] Hayduke Ebisu: with just cooler avatars! ;-)
[8:28] Shava Suntzu: So really, these are more rallies than protests, since the people who could change things -- will they ever know of the events?
[8:28] Hayduke Ebisu: this was a peace chain organized by Viv (who's here)
[8:28] Hayduke Ebisu: thousands of avatars participated in one day
[8:28] Hayduke Ebisu: you can see it was quite a major event
[8:29] Hayduke Ebisu: with lots of folks
[8:29] Hayduke Ebisu: but the coolest part
[8:29] Hayduke Ebisu: is that it spread to other sims as well
[8:29] Michele Mrigesh: Hands Across SL
[8:29] Hayduke Ebisu: we have no idea how many people participated beyond commonwealth
[8:29] Hayduke Ebisu: whichi s great
[8:29] Vivienne Cassavetes: Well we had a fair amount of people who were for war etc attend our evnets shava
[8:29] Hayduke Ebisu: ok
[8:29] Hayduke Ebisu: so the last big protest that bears some time to talk about
[8:30] Hayduke Ebisu: is the one SL event that has had the most "real" world impact
[8:30] Hayduke Ebisu: we host an international labor support group on Commonwealth
[8:30] Hayduke Ebisu: they organize labor unions around the world
[8:30] Hayduke Ebisu: and they had an issue with IBM Italy's contract negotiations with a local labor union in Italy (this is all real-life stuff)
[8:31] Hayduke Ebisu: they organized a virtual labor strike against IBM's presence here in SL
[8:31] Hayduke Ebisu: got thousands of avatars to participate within a 12 hour period
[8:31] Hayduke Ebisu: got TONS of media coverage around the world
[8:31] Hayduke Ebisu: and IBM Italy caved within a short period of time
[8:31] Hayduke Ebisu: and they even cited the intense media exposure as the reason for giving in
[8:32] Hayduke Ebisu: incidentally... several management folks in IBM Italy were removed from their position because of their handling of this issue
[8:32] Hayduke Ebisu: further
[8:32] Hayduke Ebisu: the French Senate awarded the organization that we host on Commonwealth with a medal
[8:32] Hayduke Ebisu: it is the highest possible honor an organization can receive in France
[8:33] Hayduke Ebisu: which to me, is one of the most mind-bending examples of the potential power of the virtual world for organizing a virtual strike
[8:33] Hayduke Ebisu: toppled a RL company's negotiating position
[8:33] Hayduke Ebisu: caused hundreds of articles to be written in RL papers
[8:33] Hayduke Ebisu: and no one had to go on real strike irl
[8:33] Hayduke Ebisu: avoiding lots of hassle for local workers, the company, etc
[8:34] Hayduke Ebisu: totally insane, but cool ;-)
[8:34] Shava Suntzu: < gryn >
[8:34] Hayduke Ebisu: which leads one to question what the heck this virtual world thing is all about
[8:34] Hayduke Ebisu: with all the serious stuff we do it's important to remember the fact that people do want to have fun here too
[8:34] Hayduke Ebisu: so we have LOTS of activities for people to participate in on Commonwealth
[8:34] Hayduke Ebisu: surfing, horseback riding, hangliding...
[8:35] Hayduke Ebisu: musical events
[8:35] Hayduke Ebisu: (that's a concert being given by a student from Juiliard)
[8:35] Earadriede Callisto: well actually in the beginning Second Life is advertised as a game
[8:35] Hayduke Ebisu: even things like Tai Chi and meditation sessions
[8:35] Hayduke Ebisu: (there are some going on today, for example)
[8:35] Earadriede Callisto: that's why people got that game idea
[8:35] Hayduke Ebisu: last slide...
[8:35] Rik Riel: fun and friendship are primary motivating factors!
[8:35] Shava Suntzu: Life is a game...:)
[8:36] Hayduke Ebisu: we're also working on creating better ways for information to flow into and out of Second Life
[8:36] Hayduke Ebisu: this is our GeoGlobe project, which was the first experiment with creating a virtual interaction with Google Earth data
[8:36] Hayduke Ebisu: ok
[8:36] Rik Riel: (One more minute, Hayduke?(
[8:36] Hayduke Ebisu: that's it for me... ;-)
[8:36] Hayduke Ebisu: go check out our website
[8:36] Hayduke Ebisu: if you have an org that would like to become a member of our community
[8:37] Hayduke Ebisu: read about how on that site and sign up
[8:37] Hayduke Ebisu:
[8:37] Mariel Voyunicef: :D
[8:37] Hayduke Ebisu: questions?
[8:37] Michele Mrigesh: Applause!!!
[8:37] Mariel Voyunicef claps
[8:37] Rik Riel: thanks so much Hayduke!
[8:37] Earadriede Callisto: nicely done
[8:37] Hayduke Ebisu: thanks
[8:37] Elle Connaught: :claps.
[8:37] Rik Riel: that really put activism in SL in a good context for our discussion
[8:38] Rik Riel: If I might transition from that to talking about the events that already happened here last week
[8:38] Hayduke Ebisu: sure
[8:38] Hayduke Ebisu: I'll just put away the slides
[8:38] In Kenzo: I definitely want to hear more on geoglobe Hayduke, thanks!~

General Discussion
[8:38] Rik Riel: Who was here last week for the opening events and art gala?
[8:38] In Kenzo: /hi
[8:38] In Kenzo: hello beautiful
[8:39] Rik Riel: anyone?
[8:39] Mariel Voyunicef: Meeee.
[8:39] Mariel Voyunicef: :p
[8:39] In Kenzo: a fewo fus...
[8:39] Rik Riel: haha
[8:39] Michele Mrigesh: I didn't hear about it Rik...
[8:39] In Kenzo: i waved, feeling quiet.
[8:39] Michele Mrigesh: and I'm a Commonwealth member (group)
[8:39] Rik Riel: for those that don't know, In Kenzo worked with USC to organize the art gala on March 19 that was a huge success
[8:40] In Kenzo: The art is still here to explore, and there are videos of last weeks events?
[8:40] Rik Riel: And Mariel was our in-world moderator for the launch of the Center on March 20 with the prosecutor of the ICC
[8:40] Mariel Voyunicef: (Was I?)
[8:40] Mariel Voyunicef: :p
[8:40] Rik Riel: jaja
[8:40] Mariel Voyunicef: I was the q person
[8:40] In Kenzo: Take a trip up to 500 m to see a piece that Shava worked on with Tuna, and a handful of other skyart. The 3/20 events were amazing, I was very impressed with Mr. Ocampo.
[8:41] Rik Riel: we have video and links to flickr photos up on justicecenter.net for those that couldn't make it
[8:41] Rik Riel: so let me open the floor and ask people, based on what we've already done, and Hayduke's presentation, and your own work, what would you see as the best use of this center in the future?
[8:42] Rik Riel: Shava, I'm sure you have some thoughts on this, given your own RW work
[8:43] Shava Suntzu: Well, education is my first thought. I told a lot of folks about Tuna and my installation for the art project
[8:43] Shava Suntzu: They didn't know what the ICC was
[8:43] Rik Riel: (for thjose who came late, you can click on the gold box for a flyer about the center)
[8:43] Shava Suntzu: One person said, "Isn't that the group that wants to take our troops to court?"
[8:43] Shava Suntzu: So there's a lot of consciousness to be raised...:)
[8:44] Shava Suntzu: But there's a great potential to bring together the justice-related/social action nonprofits here too
[8:44] In Kenzo: Amazing how the ICC has not been discussed much in the US....
[8:45] In Kenzo: Very few people I meet know much on it at all.
[8:45] Mariel Voyunicef: I agree with Shava on that one. When I first saw an ICC-related build on the TG, I was like, "Isn't that called ICJ?"
[8:45] Earadriede Callisto: i definitely agree on the education idea
[8:45] Shava Suntzu: Well, it got dismissed very quickly on a national basis in DC, and then the press developed their own "manufactured consent" on the issue
[8:45] Hayduke Ebisu: perhaps some more immersive education concepts could be explored that help people understand why the ICC is so necessary
[8:45] Hayduke Ebisu: move it beyond just clickable signs and such
[8:45] Rik Riel: education is definitely the beginning
[8:46] Hayduke Ebisu: that's hard, and potentially expensive, though
[8:46] Mariel Voyunicef: Also, I'm not sure if this part is subject to discussion, but I think the live broadcast from the ICC would be a real eye-opener
[8:46] In Kenzo: At least understanding the relevance from a global perspective, something that is hard to get when watching major media....combining it with experiences like Virtual Guantanamo that show the other side.
[8:47] Rik Riel: We'll have some people from virtual "Gone Gitmo" here at 1pm to talk about their project
[8:47] In Kenzo: awesome, they are incredible, the new build is just over on teh next sim if you haen't been there before.
[8:47] Shava Suntzu: The term "sovereignty" seems key to people here understanding so many issues -- why we can't have gambling, why an ICC is necessary, why they need to pay VAT.
[8:47] Rik Riel: we definitely need to prepare people for waht they are watching if we host live video from the ICC trials
[8:47] Hayduke Ebisu: I do worry that a lot of the content/experience we all care about in SL is very dispersed... spread out over lots of mostly empty sims
[8:47] Vivienne Cassavetes: yes
[8:47] Hayduke Ebisu: makes it hard for a casual participant in SL to learn more, experience it
[8:48] In Kenzo: yes, especially when not connected
[8:48] Hayduke Ebisu nods
[8:48] In Kenzo: perhaps there needs to be a "wake up" tour
[8:48] Rik Riel: or a HUD
[8:48] Mariel Voyunicef: Videos?
[8:48] Annie Octavia: the world is also a big place. as is the internet.
[8:48] In Kenzo: an easy way to connect experiences via teleports?
[8:48] Rik Riel: or a multi-sim series of events hapening on the same day
[8:48] Hayduke Ebisu: depends on the audience... not sure casual users will put on huds (that's probably a whole different conversation)
[8:49] In Kenzo: true hayduke
[8:49] Rik Riel: ok HUD was a bad idea
[8:49] In Kenzo: world refugee day is coming up in June, one opportunity
[8:49] In Kenzo: to gather groups around a common cause
[8:49] Hayduke Ebisu: good thought, in kenzo
[8:49] Vivienne Cassavetes: interesting that we havent found a lot of ways to truly collaborate in here
[8:49] In Kenzo: think we have
[8:49] Shava Suntzu: Actually we have
[8:49] In Kenzo: and we are finding much more
[8:49] Vivienne Cassavetes: oh really?
[8:49] In Kenzo: there's 6 of us working together on a new initiative now
[8:49] Vivienne Cassavetes: humm
[8:50] In Kenzo: who all met here, doing RL work togethe rnow
[8:50] Shava Suntzu: In and I met 2.5 years ago in a collaborative around social issues.
[8:50] Rik Riel: well the start up time for just getting your own group into SL is so long and hard
[8:50] In Kenzo: somteimes it's easier to leverage your SL friendships to do more RL
[8:50] Rik Riel: after that, you start to look for partners and friends to help out
[8:50] In Kenzo: than to organize something new here
[8:50] Shava Suntzu: The 4th birthday celebration involved about 100 or 200 avatars.
[8:50] Annie Octavia: for those of you that have successful collaboration experiences, could you compare ease/difficulty to rl experiences?
[8:51] Shava Suntzu: The issue is taking it to the real world.
[8:51] Rik Riel: can I ask about the value of bringing in real world events into the Center?
[8:51] Shava Suntzu: In Boston we have a SL/RL meetup (thru meetup.com) and we take on RL projects and SL projects
[8:51] Hayduke Ebisu: rik... I always find those compelling
[8:51] Rik Riel: It takes a lot of work and money and time to do well, but may not be what SL is good for
[8:51] Hayduke Ebisu: it's a way for me to see an event that I can't go to
[8:51] Hayduke Ebisu: an easier way to do it
[8:51] Hayduke Ebisu: might be to be like the Tivo of these events
[8:51] Hayduke Ebisu: record them... and then let people sit and browse them at their own pace
[8:52] In Kenzo: I find anything compelling that gives me access that I could not otherwise get RL.....like Mr. Ocampo certainly
[8:52] In Kenzo: but also like Gitmo
[8:52] Hayduke Ebisu: the live events where you can actually ask questions, etc. of rl speakers are nice, but in general they are not that effective (from what I have seen)
[8:52] In Kenzo: that takes me to a place I cannot reach otherwise. for groups coming together, that can be galvanizing to experience these things together.
[8:52] Annie Octavia: how is broadcast, a simulcast of ocampo in sl different from one on traditional media?
[8:52] Rik Riel: I know that beaming into SL real world conferences and events really excited real world activist groups
[8:52] Mariel Voyunicef: I think they're good every once in a while, Hayduke. My fave SL event ever was like that
[8:52] Hayduke Ebisu: I think the social nature of experiencing the events
[8:53] Hayduke Ebisu: the backchannel chatting that happens during "rl" events is quite nice
[8:53] In Kenzo: I like being able to ask questions and have some interactivity + the backchannel and learning from my coshorts here
[8:53] Shava Suntzu: The backchannel at any RL event that's piped in is as important as the event, though.
[8:53] Hayduke Ebisu: agreed, shava
[8:53] Rik Riel: interesting.
[8:54] Hayduke Ebisu: it's something that has been happening at RL geek events (like O'Reilly conferences) for years
[8:54] In Kenzo: here we don't need twitter
[8:54] Hayduke Ebisu: and it works really well...
[8:54] Hayduke Ebisu: twitter blows ;-)
[8:54] In Kenzo: we just use group chat
[8:54] Hayduke Ebisu: (another conversation)
[8:54] Hayduke Ebisu: sorry
[8:54] Hayduke Ebisu: lol
[8:54] In Kenzo: haha
[8:54] Rik Riel: I don't want to keep people past the hour. Are there any other words of advice or recommendations or critique before I close this session?
[8:54] Hayduke Ebisu: good facilitation, rik
[8:55] Rik Riel: Also if you want to mull about it, you can send a notecard t ome later or email me at rik@globalkids.org
[8:55] Shava Suntzu: thanks!
[8:55] Michele Mrigesh: Thank you!
[8:55] Hayduke Ebisu: my slides are up at: http://www.slideshare.net/jknauer/activism-in-second-life-commonwealth-islands
[8:55] Hayduke Ebisu: I'm always happy to talk about it if you are interested for other groups
[8:55] Elle Connaught: Thanks
[8:55] Rik Riel: (I want slideshow training from Hayduke btw)
[8:55] Hayduke Ebisu: ?
[8:55] Hayduke Ebisu: really?
[8:56] Rik Riel: seriously, good stuff
[8:56] Hayduke Ebisu: thanks
[8:56] Rik Riel: Mariel, was there anything else from your experience at the March 20 event that we should know about>
[8:56] Hayduke Ebisu: it paced better irl, but the text chat delivery wasn't too bad
[8:56] Mariel Voyunicef: Well, nothing really ground-shaking
[8:57] Mariel Voyunicef: I would have never expected to hear a prosecutor speak.
[8:57] Rik Riel: how was the crowd and their reaction inworld?
[8:57] Rik Riel: (welcome, haon!)
[8:57] Mariel Voyunicef: They seemed to be moved by some of the things that were said
[8:57] haon Arado: thank you
[8:57] Mariel Voyunicef: And it was nice to see discussion in-world on what was being said
[8:58] Rik Riel: thanks Mariel. We at Global Kids are still thinking about how to balance real world events, exhibitions, workshops, and other activities here in the Center.
[8:58] Rik Riel: And how to connect that to the larger SL ecology of groups that have been here for years
[8:59] Rik Riel: So please keep us and the Center in mind and drop us any thoughts and suggestions. And do invite others to the 1pm session here.
[8:59] Rik Riel: I should mention that we are developing a tool to connect people in the developing world toSL using mobile phone text messaging.
[8:59] In Kenzo: nice
[8:59] Earadriede Callisto: cool
[9:00] In Kenzo: better than my MotoQ inworld!
[9:00] Shava Suntzu: SMS is more universal than email
[9:00] Rik Riel: We can host faciltitated chats with people in, say, Uganda or Congo where the ICC is conducting investigations
[9:00] Rik Riel: i.e. former child soldiers, journalists, activists on the ground, etc
[9:01] Rik Riel: we'll be announcing more about that soon
[9:01] Mariel Voyunicef: (Ish,
[9:01] Mariel Voyunicef: (Ishmael Beah please!!!)
[9:01] Rik Riel: so thank you all for coming, and be sure and stick around for the great art work by both adult and teen digital artists all around you!
[9:02] Hayduke Ebisu: thanks, rik
[9:02] Rik Riel: oh and join the "international Justice center" group inworld to stay abreast of what we are doing here
[9:02] Shava Suntzu: Some of which is up in the sky -- look for the teleporters! :)
[9:02] Shava Suntzu: If anyone wants a notecard with a directory of the art, I can drop you one.
[9:02] Rik Riel: we also havea google group, if your in-world groups are maxed out, like mine always are
[9:02] Michele Mrigesh: I would like one Shava...
[9:02] Rik Riel: http://groups.google.com/group/ijc-announce/
[9:03] Rik Riel: and of course our website http://justicecenter.net
[9:03] Shava Suntzu: just a sec, Michele, I'm digging it up
[9:03] Rik Riel: Thanks everyone for coming!
[9:03] Michele Mrigesh: Thank you Shava...
[9:03] Earadriede Callisto: nice presentation
[9:03] Michele Mrigesh: Thank you Rik....this has been very helpful
[9:04] Mariel Voyunicef: Thanks, Rik ^^
[9:04] Rik Riel: and thanks Hayduke again for a great presentation
[9:04] Shava Suntzu: yes, thanks all!
[9:04] Hayduke Ebisu: no problem, happy to do it
[9:04] Earadriede Callisto: and of course great discussion
[9:05] Hayduke Ebisu: ah, ok
[9:05] Hayduke Ebisu: adios all... I have to get back to rl now
[9:05] Rik Riel: this video about the opening of the Center rawks btw http://youtube.com/watch?v=5tXNw33vrS0
[9:05] Mariel Voyunicef: Thanks for the presentation, Hayduke :)
[9:05] Rik Riel: thanks alfonso
[9:06] Shava Suntzu: Draxtor Dupres does great work! :)
[9:06] In Kenzo: I loved Draxtor's piece
[9:06] Rik Riel: de donde eres Alfonso?
[9:07] Rik Riel: there ya go
[9:07] Rik Riel: Shava, you wanted to interview me?
[9:07] Shava Suntzu: Yes, please. Do you want to do that here?
[9:07] Rik Riel: how shall we do it?
[9:08] Shava Suntzu: I am easy. I can ask you questions here in spatial, in IMs, or we can go somewhere. Obviously, voice hates me today...*sigh*
[9:08] Alfonso Perfferle: bye bye, and thank aain
[9:08] Shava Suntzu: I think SL Voice rolls dice when I get in world to see if I have voice that day.
[9:09] Rik Riel: folks you are welcome to hang out. Shava is going to interview me in a minute though.

Community Forum #2
[12:48] Amandeep Timeless: i'm no expert, but i'm interested in historical motives and reasoning
[12:49] Rik Riel: hi evelien!
[12:49] Rik Riel: welcmoe
[12:49] Evelien Blinker: hi
[12:49] Rik Riel: we'll get started in about 12 minuts
[12:49] Evelien Blinker: k
[12:49] Rik Riel: please have a seat if you like
[12:50] Evelien Blinker: hx
[12:50] Evelien Blinker: t
[12:50] Rik Riel: the gold box in the air has a flyer about the Justice Center
[12:50] Amandeep Timeless: i read the card from the floating gold box, is there any other preliminary material?
[12:51] Rik Riel: nonny, if you could speak for about 8-10 minutes about Gone Gitmo and what you have learned about teaching people about human rights issues in SL
[12:51] Rik Riel: you can find more info on justicecenter.net
[12:51] Rik Riel: I can also put up the video screen if you want to see some video of our first event here
[12:52] Rik Riel: hit play on your video player
[12:52] Amandeep Timeless: i can't go btween SL and web easily
[12:53] Rik Riel: no worries. You don't really need to know much going in.
[12:53] Rik Riel: I'll give all the context when I introduce the forum
[12:56] Rik Riel: let me go russle up some scragglers and we'll get started in a few minutes
[12:56] Rik Riel: hiya fleep
[12:57] Fleep Tuque: Hi Rik!
[12:57] Rik Riel: we're about to start the community forum on the Justice Center in a couple minutes
[12:57] Fleep Tuque: Excellent!
[12:57] Rik Riel: its in the amphitheater if you would like to stop by
[12:57] Fleep Tuque: Going to wander around a bit, first time I've managed to get here, I was sorry to miss the opening. :)
[12:57] Rik Riel: sounds great
[12:58] Rik Riel: can you both hear us speaking?
[12:59] Rik Riel: hi delora
[12:59] Rik Riel: welcome
[12:59] Amandeep Timeless: yes
[13:00] Rik Riel: hi everyone!
[13:00] Rik Riel: please have a seat
[13:00] Rik Riel: In K, do you mind using voice?
[13:01] Evelien Blinker: please do
[13:01] Nonny Writer: so I'll have to stop eating corn chips I guess
[13:01] Rik Riel: We'll be happy to receive your messages via text chat, but the presentations will go much quicker via voie chat
[13:01] Rik Riel: raise you hand if that's a problem
[13:02] Rik Riel: cool
[13:02] Fleep Tuque: Voice is a-ok for me
[13:02] Rik Riel: have a seat nonny
[13:02] Nonny Writer: ok
[13:02] Rik Riel: I'll bring you up in a sec
[13:03] Rik Riel: why don't people if they feel comfortable mention where they are logging in from, and if they are with any particular organization or group
[13:03] Rik Riel: I'm Rik Panganiban, with Global Kids, coming in from New York City
[13:03] Fleep Tuque: Chris Collins, University of Cincinnati in Ohio
[13:03] Fleep Tuque: :)
[13:03] Nonny Writer: Nonny de la Pena, with Gone Gitmo from Los Angeles
[13:03] Evelien Blinker: I'm a lawyer iinterested in this initiative
[13:03] Chrisy Darwin: Chris Schmidt, just private, from Germany at the moment
[13:04] Rik Riel: great!
[13:04] Rik Riel: ok let's get started. More people will rez in shortly I'm sure
[13:04] Amandeep Timeless: Las Vegas, just an Earth Versed Wondering Minstrel
[13:12] Fleep Tuque: Ahhh! Ok, sorry haven't gotten a chance to look around much - glad to hear it! :)
[13:12] In Kenzo: I'm working with them now as well Fleep
[13:12] Fleep Tuque nods.
[13:12] In Kenzo: and others, to develop these spaces
[13:13] Fleep Tuque: I'm interested in seeing international relations students and perhaps mock trials using this space
[13:13] Fleep Tuque: nod
[13:13] Fleep Tuque: thanks Rik!
[13:13] In Kenzo: Connecting the dots is sooo helpful, thank you Rik!
[13:13] In Kenzo: Fleep, I will take that back to the team at USC, and stay tuned for more on their upcoming opportunities here.
[13:13] Rik Riel: welcoome back pavig
[13:13] Rik Riel: welcome littletoe
[13:13] Fleep Tuque: Thanks In Kenzo!
[13:13] Rik Riel: we're using voice chat
[13:14] Rik Riel: tell us if you can hear it
[13:14] Rik Riel: click the gold box for a flyer about the Center
[13:15] Rik Riel: I made a video about the Gone Gitmo sim here: http://blip.tv/file/378730/ . Check it out later
[13:16] Fleep Tuque: Excellent thanks Rik
[13:16] Rik Riel: welcome lion
[13:16] Rik Riel: we're using voice chat for the presentations
[13:16] Rik Riel: please enable that in your preferences if you have not already
[13:17] Rik Riel: neat
[13:20] Chrisy Darwin: could you give us a LM to the sim please?
[13:21] Rik Riel: lol
[13:22] Rik Riel: wow
[13:23] Fleep Tuque: Thanks Nonny, do you have a LM dispenser
[13:23] Fleep Tuque: ?
[13:23] Amandeep Timeless: that sounds very intense
[13:23] Fleep Tuque: or can you pass out landmarks?
[13:23] Nonny Writer: yipes
[13:23] In Kenzo: It recently moved to a new location near us here, Network Cultur sim
[13:23] Nonny Writer: I don't have a landmark dispenser
[13:23] In Kenzo: Network Culture
[13:23] Nonny Writer: but I can send one along
[13:23] Fleep Tuque: nod ok, will look for it
[13:24] In Kenzo: right next door
[13:24] Fleep Tuque: :)
[13:24] In Kenzo: we can see it almost from here
[13:24] Rik Riel: little higher?
[13:25] Fleep Tuque: Yep can hear you well now
[13:25] Evelien Blinker: little more please
[13:25] Fleep Tuque: :)
[13:25] Rik Riel: you sound fine
[13:25] Fleep Tuque: (You can adjust individual volume with the Active Voice list)
[13:29] Rik Riel: welcome penguin
[13:29] Rik Riel: welcome peacefrog
[13:29] Rik Riel: we're hearing presentations in voicechat
[13:29] Rik Riel: please enable that if you have not already
[13:29] Rik Riel: hi ping!
[13:29] Nonny Writer: THx inkenzo
[13:30] Ping Rau: hi, I can be here for a few minutes
[13:30] Ping Rau: I can't - I'm in a public lobby
[13:30] Rik Riel: wow
[13:30] Fleep Tuque: Are you using specific communication tools outside of SL to keep your community/network cohesive?
[13:30] Rik Riel: any quetions?
[13:30] Fleep Tuque: I've found SL's internal tools marginal at best.
[13:31] Fleep Tuque nods.
[13:31] Fleep Tuque: Thanks! :)
[13:33] Fleep Tuque: The biggest issue is that people feel so disconnected from these events, it's something happening somewhere else to someone else and there's not really anything _I_ can do about it. Are these virtual spaces creating more immediate sense of experience? Are you seeing conversion rates of people taking real world action?
[13:33] Fleep Tuque: (Rik sort of asked the same question, but I was half way through typing so kept going) :)
[13:34] Fleep Tuque nods.
[13:34] Fleep Tuque: It's hard to measure that kind of thing here it seems. :)
[13:35] Fleep Tuque: I just ask because my uni wants metrics metrics metrics. ;)
[13:35] In Kenzo: I am sure we could try
[13:35] Rik Riel: wlcome GenTalk!
[13:35] Fleep Tuque: THanks Nonny, will look for that article
[13:35] In Kenzo: we are doing fair metrics here now on the USC sims, at least on visitors and who they are. it would not be hard to add a question piece at the end that asks if participants will take on future RL action
[13:35] In Kenzo: I think that's a great idea..
[13:35] Rik Riel: we're using voicechat for some of the presentations
[13:36] Ping Rau: Our build will be covered in the online version of VF, linked to from the print article.
[13:36] In Kenzo: USC is in the same boat fleep, and all of us would like to know more so we can do this better.
[13:36] Fleep Tuque nods.
[13:37] Fleep Tuque: Thanks all for your responses, good to know we're not the only one facing those questions!
[13:37] Pavig Lok: either via web or xml-rpc - then you're taking the pledge out of world which has more currency as a metric
[13:37] In Kenzo: want to give full choice
[13:37] In Kenzo: and not limit those actions
[13:37] Ping Rau: if we could check how many times people google, say, "habeas"
[13:38] Fleep Tuque: Gentalk your mic is live
[13:38] Fleep Tuque: :)
[13:38] In Kenzo: teehee, me
[13:38] Fleep Tuque: Alas I had to miss both!
[13:38] Pavig Lok: mee
[13:38] Ping Rau: sorry, have to go thanks
[13:38] Nonny Writer: tried but couldn't get in!!
[13:38] In Kenzo: thanks ping!
[13:38] Rik Riel: thanks ping!
[13:38] Fleep Tuque: Bye Ping
[13:38] Nonny Writer: bye ping
[13:38] Fleep Tuque: thanks for stopping by!
[13:38] In Kenzo: oh, we made room on the neighboring sim, we had to shuffle people back and forth
[13:39] In Kenzo: got a little crowded
[13:39] Fleep Tuque: I did see the interiview in the SLCNT archives though
[13:39] In Kenzo: amazing how air gets crowded!
[13:39] Fleep Tuque: er SLCN.tv
[13:39] Evelien Blinker: tell us how we can contribute to this initiative
[13:40] In Kenzo: /a note that USC and Global Kids will extend the art show for awhile so that others can see the works here, and Josina and the European artists in the sky will do a reprise performance. Join the group here for updates on events.
[13:41] In Kenzo: yes the group, International Justice Center
[13:41] Fleep Tuque: I'm sadly out of group slots, are there external email lists or.. yay googlegroup yes please
[13:41] Evelien Blinker: thx
[13:41] Fleep Tuque: :)
[13:41] Fleep Tuque: Rik keeps beating me to the punch! :)
[13:41] Rik Riel: http://groups.google.com/group/ijc-announce/
[13:41] In Kenzo: Rik will never leave you out of the loop.
[13:41] Rik Riel: haha
[13:41] Fleep Tuque: hehe
[13:41] In Kenzo: i ran out of groups too
[13:41] Nonny Writer: Rik
[13:41] Pavig Lok: have you got a gcal for events here?
[13:42] Rik Riel: that's why we set up the google group
[13:42] Nonny Writer: ONe thing about voice is you get an instant transcript
[13:42] Rik Riel: we're setting up gcal soon
[13:42] Rik Riel: true
[13:42] Nonny Writer: rather problem with voice is no transcript
[13:42] Nonny Writer: not sure what is ideal
[13:42] Rik Riel: so what other suggestions would you have about how we should use this space?
[13:42] In Kenzo: dialogue
[13:43] Fleep Tuque: One of the best ways we've engaged our students is through holding mock trials and mock trial competitions
[13:43] Rik Riel: so should we have more cultural events here like the art opening?
[13:43] Fleep Tuque: I'd love to see that happen, through university teams?
[13:43] Fleep Tuque: international competitions?
[13:43] Rik Riel: say music events?
[13:43] Rik Riel: mock trials are an in teresting idea
[13:44] Evelien Blinker: interesting indeed
[13:44] Fleep Tuque: Music events are also excellent ways to bring people in
[13:44] Penguin Kuhn: that sounds very cool
[13:44] In Kenzo: great idea I think
[13:44] Pavig Lok: cultural is good but i think maybe if you offer the venue to related groups for discussions it may work better.
[13:44] Rik Riel: if people know of relevant musical artists, please suggest them
[13:44] In Kenzo: agreed Pavig
[13:44] In Kenzo: i know protest singers, does that count?
[13:44] Rik Riel: sure
[13:45] Rik Riel: We want to support BOTH inworld groups and non-SL gorups to come inworld
[13:45] Amandeep Timeless: LM to gitmo experience
[13:45] Fleep Tuque: Grace McDunnough and Leslee McCarey are both in world musicians who have done a lot of work to promote social justice causes
[13:45] Fleep Tuque: Juel Resistance, too
[13:45] Evelien Blinker: thx for the presentations, hope to cu all again!
[13:45] Evelien Blinker: bye
[13:45] Amandeep Timeless: any place?
[13:45] Fleep Tuque: hehe
[13:45] Fleep Tuque: She's a doll!
[13:46] Rik Riel: evelien, we'll post the TP in the notes at justicecenter.net
[13:46] Evelien Blinker: k
[13:46] In Kenzo: agreed on Grace
[13:46] In Kenzo: I love that there are "stars" here
[13:46] Rik Riel: Juel Resistance I like as well
[13:46] Rik Riel: or an international African group wouldbe awesome
[13:46] Nonny Writer: slurl for gitmo:
[13:46] Nonny Writer: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Network%20Culture/232/87/25
[13:47] In Kenzo: Rik, talk to Riversong Garden when she's back, or Zeke Poutine
[13:47] Rik Riel: will do
[13:47] Rik Riel: maybe a justice jam?
[13:48] Nonny Writer: Does anyone still need sliurl for gitmo
[13:48] Penguin Kuhn: i like that! complete w/ virtual lighters?
[13:48] Rik Riel: I should mention that we are committed to bringing in people who aren't in SL, who don't even have computers
[13:48] Penguin Kuhn: i would love that please, nonny
[13:48] In Kenzo: i'll use my cell phone inworld as my lighter, with little particles
[13:48] In Kenzo: thanks rik for organizing here.
[13:48] Rik Riel: We're developing a tool to connect people in the developing world with SL using a cell phone text messaging
[13:48] In Kenzo: gotta fly!
[13:48] Rik Riel: ciao In K!
[13:48] Fleep Tuque: Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars was recently profiled on NPR
[13:48] Fleep Tuque: http://www.rosebudus.com/refugeeallstars/
[13:49] Rik Riel: I would love to have them in here!
[13:49] Fleep Tuque: Their story was _incredibly_ moving
[13:49] Fleep Tuque: and the music fantastic
[13:49] Rik Riel: Fleep we're hiring you
[13:49] Fleep Tuque: hehe
[13:49] Fleep Tuque: and I'd love to know more about the SL on a cell phone tool, I've been following some of the African charities here in SL
[13:50] Fleep Tuque: there's soooo much work to be done
[13:50] Fleep Tuque: to connect folks there
[13:50] Rik Riel: also we are working with legal groups to do specific legal trainings on the ICC using SL
[13:50] Fleep Tuque nods.
[13:50] Fleep Tuque: That's a great idea too
[13:50] Rik Riel: or journalist groups doing press events in here
[13:51] Rik Riel: we're about out of time. If you have any thoughts that come to you after today, please contact me inworld or email rik@globalkids.org.
[13:51] Rik Riel: Or you can comment on our blog at justicecenter.net
[13:51] Fleep Tuque: I'll keep brainstorming and will be sure to send along any good contacts to you
[13:51] Rik Riel: much appreciated
[13:51] Fleep Tuque: I'm really looking forward to seeing how this develops
[13:51] Nonny Writer: Thanks all for coming. See you soon!
[13:51] Penguin Kuhn: thanks rik and everyone!
[13:51] Penguin Kuhn: best to you all
[13:52] Amandeep Timeless: is the gitmo sim near the darfur sim?
[13:52] Rik Riel: thanks everyone. we'll have a report on these forums up on the site shortly
[13:52] Rik Riel: with slurls to relevant locations
[13:52] Fleep Tuque: I've always felt one of the most wonderful thigns about SL is how empowering it can be for people who otherwise DONT feel empowered, I hope this will be a good venue for encouraging that kind of response.
[13:52] Pavig Lok: (( thanks mis nonny - i was just banging off a notecard to massively.com to see if they'd be interested in covering gone gitmo ))
[13:52] Fleep Tuque: Thanks so much Rik and Nonny
[13:52] Rik Riel: that's a great sentiment pavig
[13:52] Amandeep Timeless: thanks all, thanks hosts
[13:53] Fleep Tuque: I must run but have a great afternoon/evening/morning, wherever you happen to be! :)
[13:53] Rik Riel: yeah we gotta move that noisy art piece somewhere else
[13:53] Rik Riel: we'll be in touch Fleep
[13:53] Amandeep Timeless: is there a donation box anywhere around these parts?
[13:53] Rik Riel: we don't have one. you can donate on the Global Kids website though
[13:53] Amandeep Timeless: thx!
[13:53] Rik Riel: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=3146
[13:53] Amandeep Timeless: cya
[13:54] Peacefrog Ewinaga: bye
[13:54] Rik Riel: dop check out the artwork here !
[13:54] Chrisy Darwin: cu and tks
[13:54] Rik Riel: it will only be up for another couple of weeks
[13:55] Rik Riel: oh and thanks for wardobe help from Pavig!
[13:56] Pavig Lok: meh twas nothin :P
[13:56] Peacefrog Ewinaga: thanks guys see ya
[13:56] Rik Riel: thanks peacefrog
[13:58] Rik Riel: take care all!

Posted by Rik at 6:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The upcoming public forum, "From Myspace to Hip Hop: New Media In the Everyday Lives of Youth," will address how digital technologies and new media are changing the way that young people learn, play, socialize and participate in civic life, presented by Common Sense Media, the MacArthur Foundation and the Stanford University School of Education.

If you can not attend this event in person, Global Kids will be streaming it live at this Web location as well as within the virtual world Second Life.

When: April 23rd, 2008
Time: 4:30pm-8:15pm
Where: The Hewlett Teaching Center,
Building 200
370 Serra Mall
Stanford California

Registration: 4:30 p.m.
Panel Discussion: 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Reception: 7:30-8:15 p.m.
Registration is FREE but space is limited. Register by: April 18th

Research Presenters:

Danah Boyd - University of Berkeley.
Teen Socialization Practices in Networked Publics.

Heather Horst - University of California Berkeley
Understanding New Media in the Home

Dilan Mahendran -University of California Berkeley
Hip Hop Music and Meaning in the Digital Age

Mimi Ito- University of Southern California and Principle Investigator Kids' Informal Learning with Digital Media project
New Media From A Youth Perspective

Panel Participants:

Tim O'Reilly- Founder and CEO O'Reilly Media
Deborah Stipek-Dean, Standford University School of Education
Linda Burch- Chief Program & Strategy Officer, Common Sense Media
Kenny Miller- EVP & Creative Director MTV Networks Global Digital Media

Register Now at: www.eventsatcommonsensemedia.org
or call Common Sense Media's reservation line at 1-415-553-6735

Posted by Kathy at 3:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Last Thursday, four VVP participants, and myself, had the extraordinary opportunity to see Kofi Annan accept the MacArthur Foundation's International Justice Award. This event was held at the gorgeous Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The event started off with a panel of experts speaking on international law and justice. There were so many people at the event that we had to go to the overflow room to watch a live stream of the panel. I thought the panel was great because the speakers were experts in their areas and also they left time to take questions. In the overflow room, they handed out index cards for us to write our questions down. In the other room, they had a microphone on both sides for people to come up and present their questions.

After the panel, everyone from VVP was sitting outside of the overflow room, when we saw Ishmael Beah! Well, I was too afraid to go up to him and say hello, well it was more like…there was no way I could gather all my thoughts in time to figure out what to say anyway! So yes, when he looked our way and smiled and waved hello at us, I just sat there and smiled back. Anyway, I guess this will be fun to look back on.

Between the panel and the dinner, we had some time to just look around the hotel and take pictures together. It was pretty fun going around the hotel, especially since it's such a beautiful place.

Then we headed to dinner! The ballroom was beyond gorgeous, and we had second floor balcony seats, so it was even better! Eddie actually got two students from Global Kids' High School for Global Citizenship to take pictures with Kofi Annan! Oh, and Ban Ki Moon was there as well! The biggest surprise of the night was that they were both so light-hearted and funny. I think we all have this perception that people who are in foreign relations are serious and globally concerned individuals - we sometimes forget that at the end of the day they are people just like the rest of us. I thought it was great that they addressed serious issues, but also brought humor to the table, because it balanced everything out. I don't know if I would be in the mood to eat if I just finished hearing a speech about how people were brutally murdered en mass, or how children were kidnapped and exploited. It isn't the best thing to hear. It is the truth, and reality for many people around the world, but I think guilt would overwhelm us when we are sitting at a table in an extravagant hotel, dressed up, food ready to be served as we listened to stories of poverty and genocide.

Before the dinner began Carole introduced me to the President of Adelphi University, Robert Scott, which was great because I am planning on attending the university's Honors College this coming fall semester. He was extremely nice, and I was grateful to have the opportunity to meet him. Also, Connie Yowell from the MacArthur Foundation came by our table and took a moment to talk to us. I first saw her at the Second Life Community Convention, and she is a great speaker but it was nice to be introduced to her in a small and relaxed environment. Overall, it was a phenomenal experience. I am grateful, beyond what words can express, for all the opportunities that Global Kids has given me. I also wanted to thank the MacArthur Foundation for supporting, and extending opportunities to participants of Global Kids. I can only hope that both the MacArthur Foundation and Global Kids continue to grow individually and as partners so it can reach out to and bring new opportunities to more youth.

I believe that my generation is somewhat similar to the generations past, especially since we all grew up believing that Pluto was the 9th planet, but even some of the youngest of the educators and mentors will admit that they did not have as many opportunities that I have been privileged to have. So I am extremely thankful to everyone who has been kind enough to give me so many opportunities, especially such a lifetime opportunity to see two of the biggest leaders in international relations and justice of my time. Thank you!!!!

Posted by Nafiza - TSL Intern/VVP at 1:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I think the single most sustainability feature in my second life home would be that everything would be 100% recyclable and that i would have solar powered energy among many other renewable sources of of energy and i would grow my own food to provide for my self.

Posted by Allister at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

AIR POLLUTION THERE WILL BE NO SMOKING IN MY BIG HOUSE .

Posted by Daquan at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The most important sustainability feature in our (Group 1) home in S.L is the energy meter that is located outside the home or house.

Posted by Ernesto at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The problem i have and my house that i would like to change would be how everyone the chair because it's it's importation.

Posted by Egypt at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The most important is the recycling bin. I think it is the most important so things can be re-used, so we wont be using so much resources.

Posted by Latisha at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A sustainability feature in my second life home is solar panel.I chose Solar Panels because it does not burn coal.

Posted by Andrysse at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

i think the most sustainable thing in second life is it is water. i think that it is water because we have a lot of sinks in our house. water is also non renewable so i think that we have to save it,

Posted by Zana at 8:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The most important thing i have in my s.l. home to keep it sustain is the sun panels. This is the most important because every house uses electricity and electricity is a non-renewable resource.

Posted by Eaon at 8:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I feel the most important sustainability feature in my sl home is saving the water.I feel this because th earth is running low on fresh water.r

Posted by Rakeem at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The most important sustainability feature in my second life home is the solar powered house,this is the most important sustainability feature because the house is powered by a natural resource. We won't have to use non-renewable resources like gas.

Posted by Lucius at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

the most important sustainable thing in my second life house is the energy meter because if you don't have a energy meter you cant conserve any power sources

Posted by Shaquile B at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The most important sustainability feature in my Second Life home would be my sink. I think this because it wastes a large amount of water which in many countries is needed to keep their population alive.

Posted by Shaquille S at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last Thursday I attended the MacArthur Foundation's International Justice Award for Kofi Annan at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. This award was being given for the first time ever by the MacArthur Foundation, which are the proud sponsors of GK's VVP Program. It was an absolute great experience to see such a great man like Kofi Annan in person. The hotel was extremely amazing. All the different structures and exhibits were wonderful. During the award ceremony we sat next to a balcony with a great view of the city as we enjoyed the marvelous food. I had lots of fun with the other four students that attended the ceremony and I would like to thank those who invited me. I am looking forward to participating in other interesting events like these again.

Posted by VVP Jonathan at 6:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At the launch of the Global Kids' International Justice Center in Second Life last Thursday, the lead prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the following question to the Second Life community:

"How do you believe we can use this [Second Life] system to improve understanding of this idea and mobilize people and resources in the world to protect those who have nothing... This could be a very interesting tool. You have ideas how we can use this new tool?"

We at Global Kids have some tentative plans for the Center in the near future including the following:

• Live Video from the ICC: As the first major trial at the ICC moves forward, we have the potential to host at the Center live viewings of trials and hearings over the next months. These might be supplemented by commentators and experts explaining why a particular procedure or hearing is important.
  
• Online Chats with People in Countries of Concern to the ICC: We are developing a tool that connects SMS text messaging to Second Life that can enable people in low-bandwidth environments to connect with people in virtual worlds via text chat. Some possibilities include holding online discussions with people in Uganda and the Congo to talk about the role of the ICC in their countries.
  
• Trainings of Lawyers, Journalists, Activists: The Center could host workshops, lectures and classes on ICC-related subject matter, which would be conducted by experts from legal associations, non-profits and academia. This might enable activists, journalists, lawyers and others to get in-depth knowledge of what is going on at the ICC without having to leave their offices.

If you can not attend either of these times, please submit your comments and suggestions in this blog post, or email us at rik@globalkids.org.

You can read more about the Center in our flyer available at this link.

[Image by David/Kronos, used with permission.]

Posted by Rik at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The past month has brought about many new visions of global justice here at Global Kids. The Visions of Global Justice workshops and art contest celebrated the launch of the International Justice Center and was a great opportunity to explore in Second Life what international justice means to teens around the world. Click the link for the complete summary and photos!

Visions of Global Justice Workshops

Forty teens gathered on three different occasions around the campfire on GK Island to share their thoughts and experiences on international justice. During the workshop, we brainstormed about how we define justice, tested our knowledge of the role of the International Criminal Court in upholding international justice, and looked at drawings by children in Darfur collected by Human Rights Watch and Waging Peace, to gain a better understanding of the power of art and how it can be used to spread the message of global justice.

Looking at this artwork, workshop participants wrote stories as if they were the ones who illustrated the drawings to explain the atrocities they’ve seen or alternately, as if they were a judge at the ICC who has received this drawing as evidence. Here is what they had to say:

“When a child of any age illustrates an image so compelling as this, it makes one wonder how intense this moment must have been for the artist. This image contains racial allusions, the white man upon a steed firing shots upon the black man. A weathered woman lies dead in the background, with a red scribble representing the loss of a life. Men holding guns. Men in cars. People standing in a line, waiting to be slaughtered one by one. Genocide? Obviously. The most melancholy of all the determinants for this picture is that it depicts the style of child, quite young, drawing this morbid scene.”

“In the picture I believe that a genocide is occurring. The victims are being marched to a military installation, the laggards being shot. The few that are lucky enough to escape find their houses being incinerated, spewing ash and acrid smoke. The people who are marching to the camp will face intense labor for the soldiers' party. However those that do not work, whether they are too old, stopped while a guard was watching, or refused would be given a slow torturous death, most likely in a flaming chimney. Other innocent people are being forced into gas chambers, groveling at the feet of their once friends or neighbors who have now turned to eradicating some, but potentially all of the prosecuted. Why? …The people who escaped the madness return to their houses, but despair because all they had lost in a mass of fire, blood, and shame. They may have the most important thing of all: Themselves, but what about their family, their previous friends, and their possessions. Some may recover! But to some their world might be lost. The punishment for the attackers will be SEVERE, they will serve the rest of their lives in prison, but unfortunately nobody can return the losses of the victims. The injustice can never be undone.”

Visions of Global Justice Art Contest

With a greater knowledge of global justice and the influential power of art, teens set out to portray their “vision” of global justice or injustice. Participants were asked to submit an image (drawing, painting, etc.) or a sculpture along with a description of how their artwork portrays international justice. The responses were moving, showing a deep dedication of time and effort towards spreading the message of human rights and global justice. Five winning pieces were selected by the panel of GK interns and staff at the judging event held in the newly created Visions of Global Justice Art Gallery.

Winners received L$5,000 as well as had a matching donation made to an organization of their choice. Winning artwork was featured in the opening of the International Justice Center as well. Congrats to everyone for their amazing creativity and support of global justice!

Posted by Shawna at 1:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One major problem i think my house has is the type of light bulbs we use i think it would be cheaper and better for the enviorment if we switch to floresent light bulbs and i also think we could plug out appliances that are not being used to save energy because even if they are not on they still use and waste energy

Posted by Allister at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If i went home today i would make changes by turning off the light every time i leave a room even if I'm coming back in a few minutes, and unplug cords from walls after using it because even if the plug is not in a system to charge it still drains energy for your home..

Posted by KoraAnne at 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I HAVE A LOT OF PROBLEMS LIKE MY FAMILY TAKE LONG IN THE SHOWER AND WE DONT RECYCLE WE JUS PUT THE BOTTLES IN THE GARBAGE AND MY FATHER USES THE CAR EVERY DAY.

Posted by Daquan at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

To make my home more sustainable we need to start eating less meat. Mostly everything that we eat has meat it. We can change our eating habits and eat more vegetables and fish.

Posted by Latisha at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

To make life at home more sustainable my family and i can start recycling more often. We can have bins for cans and bins for paper. This way we can make a change.

Posted by Shabede at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

some sustainability problems i have is leaving using up too much energy.some things that i can do is unplug unused cell phones, and other unused electronics.

Posted by Demetra at 8:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A few sustainability problems in my house is that we don't recycle, and that we sometimes waste food. I would be able to fix both of these today if i had the chance by purchasing some extra white bags and blue bags so my family can see that they need to put different materials in the trash. I could even fix the problem about wasting food by trying to help my mom and her measurements that she makes when she cooks food because after the first day the food basically sits there in the fridge until the next two days where she throws it out and cooks again.

Posted by Shaquille S at 8:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

a sustainability problem i have at home is wasting food.it can be improved today by not making large portions of food and wasting it.i can do this by eating less portions of food when I'm hungry.

Posted by Naomi at 8:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

i think that my sustainability problem was the amount of food i intake. i think that i can change this problem by eating more at home, and i could also stop eating as much and start cutting down.

Posted by Zana at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One sustainability problem that I have at my home is not eating all my food. Today I could start eating more vegetables and stop eating so much meat. When I don't want any more food instead of throwing it out I can either put it in the refrigerator or give it to one of my siblings.

Posted by Lucius at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Somethings I could change would be how much my household recycles. In doing this I will help the not only me but my community.

Posted by Eaon at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have two sustainability problems that i have at home and can start improving today one is recycleing more and eating less meat. i can go home and make sure every thing is in my correct recycle bin and eat less meat.

Posted by Rakeem at 8:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

um yeah i have some sustainability issues my eating habits need to be sustained but i cant change that till friday so friday ill try not to eat so much

Posted by Shaquile B at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One sustainability problem I have at home is the amount of food i buy and eat.I can buy the foods I need and buy less junk food.I can use a canvas bag when i go food shopping an not waste plastic bag

Posted by Andrysse at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In real life I have a couple of bad or really bad ecological foot prints to solve. The one that I think will and has the most effect is the use of electricity; the fact that the bill comes at 300-400$ a month will cause allot of coal burning which then leads to my heat or oil bill I like to keep the house warm by turning on the heat or using the electric radiators i would probably try to cut down on those 3 things the most and I wont pend like $400 of oil in one month.

Posted by Ernesto at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The problem i have at home that i would like to stop or change would be how everyone and my house used to much water at less time like my brother he take a very long shower for like 1 hour. If i could stop my family for used to much water i would make a chart that say 10to25mins to wash and then the next person come an.

Posted by Egypt at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our friends at SLCN.tv provided some great coverage of the launch of the International Justice Center yesterday, featuring a dynamic dialogue between the ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo and former foreign minister of Canada Lloyd Axworthy. The ICC Prosecutor and Mr. Axworthy touched on a number of key global justice concerns, discussing how to balance peace negotiations and criminal investigations, building political will around the world, and connecting national, regional and international justice efforts.

While addressing questions from the virtual audience, the ICC prosecutor posed his own question to Second Life residents:

I'm intrigued with this idea of Second Life. I have no idea if this could be a system with which we could mobilize better people. But I would like to receive your comments on how you believe we can use this system to improve understanding of this idea and mobilize people, to mobilize resources in the world to protect those who have nothing... This could be a very interesting tool. You have ideas how we can use this new tool?

Later Lloyd Axworthy mused about one possible use of the Center as a place for transnational organizing:

It could be an interesting project of the new International Justice Center to put together a strategy, a treaty, an arrangement, to act as an alternative model [to support global justice]. And use this incredible link where you can connect people across borders, where it is the common interest around these issues. Then you can start percolating the change into national systems. From there you can start to put pressure on the national legislatures and organize around major international events.

Thanks so much to SLCN.tv, and particularly SLCN producer Starr Sonic, for your help making the launch of the IJC a success!

Posted by Rik at 1:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week at P4K was short but fun. On Monday we had a field trip to learn about game design from the pros. We traveled to Hunter College and Gamelab to see how games get from rough ideas, to polished downloadable.

First, we went to the Tiltfactor Lab at Hunter College. Professor Mary Flanagan was there to show us around, explain some of the work Tiltfactor is doing around human values and social impact game design, and talk about possibilities for studying game design in college. As a former professional game designer, and founder of the first academic game lab in New York, Professor Flanagan had plenty to talk about.

I also work at Tiltfactor and have integrated some of the elements from the Values At Play curriculum into our Playing 4 Keeps game design lessons. It was interesting for the students to see some of the entries to the Values At Play Better Game Contest, and compare how different college students tackled the challenge of designing games that are both emotionally compelling, and entertaining.

Next, we traveled down to Gamelab, the second largest casual game maker in the US, and the company P4K worked with to make Ayiti two years ago. At Gamelab, the students had the opportunity to see professional game designers at work, and compare their process to our own. Gamelab has a slick office with plenty of high tech equipment–but I was most interested in their low-tech tools. Stacks of board games line the wall, they have a library of manga, and piles of hand drawn sketches and paper prototypes.

I must admit, I felt a little vindicated when game designer Greg Trefry explained the long grueling process of making games–from marathon brainstorming sessions to making card game paper prototypes to inch thick design documents. For game designers, the real work is in the mind, and the computer is but a tool. Our group also got to see the still-in-development Gamestar Mechanic. I think I saw a few kids salivating at the chance to so easily make little platformers and shooter games. We can’t wait till it comes out.

Finally, we headed back to the office eat pizza, process the day, and write some blog entries reflecting on what we saw. You can read our students’ reactions here on the blog, and we have pictures to share. You can see them here.

Posted by Jay at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just a quick note of thanks from all of us at Global Kids Online Leadership Program for everyone's outstanding participation at the launch of the International Justice Center in Second Life. It was a tremendous, if exhausting, day and we could not have gotten through it without the amazing support from our friends, supporters, partners and volunteers, including:

• The ICC Prosecutor Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo and Mr. Lloyd Axworthy, president of Winnipeg University, for agreeing to help inaugurate the Center and experiment with these new technologies
  
• USC Network Culture Project for holding a wonderful "soft launch" of the Center on March 19 with the "Visions of Global Justice" art gala
  
• The Vesuvius Group for contributing your incredible building expertise
  
• SLCN.tv for bringing our in-world event to the web and beyond
  
• Our wonderful volunteers and Interns: Mercury Metropolitan, Mariel Voyunicef, and Selen Turkay
  
• Commonwealth Island for allowing us to use your sim for overflow
  
• Numedeon and Makena for working with us to stream the Kofi Annan awards ceremony in the virtual worlds of Whyville and There.com
  
• Of course the MacArthur Foundation for your ongoing support and guidance
  
• And most importantly all of you who came to our event, whether via the web, Second Life, Teen Second Life, Whyville, or There.com.

By the way, the picture above shows the Global Kids' staff managing the launch of the International Justice Center from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. A camera crew is filming (from left to right) GK Staffer Shawna Rosenweig, me (Rik Panganiban), the ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Mr. Lloyd Axworthy, Selen Turkay and Rafi Santo in the foreground showing the live broadcast on the web by SLCN.tv.

Posted by Rik at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An ecological footprint is how us American live and it's relationship to sustainability is if we continue to do the things we do we aren't able to move to another planet so we will have to figure out a way to live on the earth.

Posted by KoraAnne at 8:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRITS ARE HOW MUCH OF THE EARTHS GOODS WE USE OR TAKE UP.
IT RELATES TO SUSTAINABILITY BECAUSE IT IMPACTS ON THE WAY WE LEAVE

Posted by Demetra at 8:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A ecological footprint is how much effect you have on the world.Its relationship to sustainability is how much food we eat how we take care of the trees and how much damage we do.

Posted by Andrysse at 8:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An ecological footprint is your impact on the earth. Its relationship is that if you have a big ecological footprint then the world wouldn't be sustainable.

Posted by Latisha at 8:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An ecological footprint is how much space a person takes up on planet earth. The relationship between ecological footprint and sustainability is that if your ecological footprint is sustainable it is good.

Posted by Eaon at 8:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An ecological footprint is the impact you have on the earth. For example how much food you eat and the amount of energy you use. The relationship that an ecological footprint has with sustainability is that the size of your ecological footprint determines if the earth can be sustainable.

Posted by Shabede at 8:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ecological footprint It compares human of natural resources with planet Earth's ecological it is possible to estimate how many planet Earths it would take to support humanity if everybody lived a given lifestyle. to me it's relationship to sustainability mean it's have a big impact on our earth.

Posted by Egypt at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I think an ecological footprint and like our damage we left on earth. Some thing we did in the past. our past action how and what we are doing to ruined the earth.

Posted by Rakeem at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

i think a ecological footprint is how much you effect the world. the more you litter or pollute the bigger the impact you have on the world. i think that it has a relationship to sustainability because the less you pollute the more sustainable the environment is.

Posted by Zana at 8:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

To me an ecological footprint is the mark or signature that every human makes. It deals with weather or not a human leaves a small one or a big one determining if that person takes care of his planet or not. It has a relationship with sustainability because they both show what humans to do the earth wether it's good or bad.

Posted by Shaquille S at 8:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A ecological foot print is a foot print you leave on the earth if you keep it wrong your leaving a big foot print on the earth. its relation ship with sustainability is if you keep up using the earths stuff there will be none left to use. that goes for water food everything.

Posted by Daquan at 8:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In my own words an ecological footprint is how big our impact is on the earth.The relationship to sustainability is how much resources we use up and what affect it has on the earth.

Posted by Naomi at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An ecological footprint is the land and water area that is required to support a different human population.javascript:insert_smiley(2) and the relationship between an ecological footprint and sustainability is that when your footprint is bigger than the average footprint then you would have to live on another planet but there is no other planet we could live on so yea were pretty bummed out javascript:insert_smiley(6)

Posted by Shaquile B at 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Welcome to the website of the International Justice Center, a virtual clearinghouse for public education and action in support of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and related human rights concerns. Based both here on the web and in the virtual world of Second Life, the International Justice Center will host news, information and live events in support of the ICC.

Schedule of Events

• 3:00-4:00 PM EST: In-world remarks and Q&A with ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. Mr. Lloyd Axworthy, former foreign minister of Canada, will introduce the Prosecutor.
  
• 4:30-6:00 PM: Panel discussion by major human rights officials on the topic of “The Emerging International Justice System”. Featuring :
  • Jonathan Fanton (President, MacArthur Foundation)
    
  • Moderator: Lloyd Axworthy (President, University of Winnipeg)
    
  • Louise Arbour (United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights)
    
  • Francis Deng (United Nations Special Adviser for Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities)
    
  • Juan Mendes (Director, International Center for Transitional Justice)
  
  
  • Allan Rock, Former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations
  
  
  • Kenneth Roth (Executive Director, Human Rights Watch)
  
  
  • Luis Moreno-Ocampo (Prosecutor, International Criminal Court)
  
  
  • 9:00-9:40PM: Award ceremony and keynote address by Mr. Kofi Annan

  How to Participate

  • Via Second Life: Teleport to the International Justice Center, on the Justice Commons sim at this link
  
  
  • Via the Web: streamed video during the event.
  
  
  • Via There.com: Sign up here and attend the event at the stage zone.
  
  
  • Via Whyville: you can attend the event live in the Greek Theater.
    

  "Building Justice" Background Video on Human Rights and the United Nations

  

  View a short video presentation about Human Rights, the International Criminal Court and Kofi Annan at this link. "Building Justice" examines the development of international justice through the lens of the new International Criminal Court and its first two cases from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Filmed on location in the D.R.Congo and The Hague, with survivors of crimes against humanity, justice activists, and ICC prosecutors, "Building Justice" shows how the criminal prosecution of individual perpetrators can help build an international justice system to end impunity. "Building Justice" is the work of Skylight Pictures in collaboration with The MacArthur Foundation, and draws on material from "The Reckoning" – a Skylight Pictures feature length documentary film and educational initiative about the International Criminal Court, to be released later this year.

  
  How to Stay Informed of Future Events

  • Join the IJC Google Group to receive updates via email.
    
  • From within Second Life, you can join the group "International Justice Center" by searching for that phrase under group search, and then click "join."
    
  • Add the Justicecenter.net blog to your RSS aggregator using this link.
    

  Special thanks to the Vesuvius Group for coordinating the amazing build-out of the Justice Center and the Justice Commons sim! They went above and beyond the call to donate their services to the Justice Center. See their website at http://www.thevesuviusgroup.com.

  Posted by Rik at 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey guys! Today in global kids we watched a movie about racism in Brazil. People in Brazil had to prove their racial identity to get into a college. Some didn't get accepted to the college and they studied really hard to try to get in.

Posted by VVP Jamila at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Why!? Why did nobody come to my interns event? Not enough advertising? No. I advertised everywhere that you possibly can in Teen Second Life. Not an interesting enough topic? No. The topic that this event was based off of came from the most popular topic ever on the Teen Second Life Journal (http://tsljournal.com). What could it have possibly been? I do not know.

On Sunday, March 16, 2008, I attempted to host an event entitled "No Justice in Second Life? - The Discussion." It was supposed to be based off of the article on the TSL Journal "No Justice in Second Life?", which was the most popular article we have ever had on there. I am unsure of what it was that drove people away, but I do have one theory.

People just weren't interested in it. My previous event, violence in video games was a huge hit because it appealed to everyone who plays Second Life. Maybe the people who were on at the time of the event had more interesting things to do.

I don't know.

Hopefully I will choose a better topic next time.

-Nick (Nicholas (Wealthy Bourgeois)) Kit

Posted by Nick - TSL Intern at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have chosen global warming as my topic. I think that The implications will be disasterous for future generations and devastating for the earth if a soluttion is not found and found quickly I believe that the earth will never return to how it once was...and it may even become inhabitable.

Posted by Allister at 8:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

if we continue to treat the world and our surrounding in the way that we do now later on in life they will be less plants, animal, and food for people. And more people would become sick more offend..

Posted by KoraAnne at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

THERE WILL NOT BE A FUTURE IF PEOPLE DONT RECYCLE OR THEY DONT INVENT A ELECTRIC CAR UNLESS THE EARTH IS NOT CLEANED UP IN A THOUSAND YEARS THE EARTH WILL BLOW UP BUT IM GOING TO STAY ALIVE BECAUSE IM LIKE SUPERMAN CANT BE HURT

Posted by Daquan at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In my homework I was just was talking about how we don't sustain when it comes to different things like taking showers,not recycling,and eating to much meat.I know that I can help the earth in a huge way by making sure I recycle,take 15 minute showers,and stop eating meat about four times a week.

Posted by Lucius at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the earth today the problems are getting more serious than ever. The more pollution the less air food and space we have. This will go on until there is no more.

Posted by Eaon at 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Air pollution is bad and is effecting our planet drastic.
AIr pollution makes our enviroment dirty and it affect our body when we breath it in.
Air pollution is a big thing in global warming and we need to stop it.
we should do more carpooling,more hybrids for cheap price.we can make it happen

Posted by Rakeem at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My summarization of the homework's of monday and tuesday, which was based on the effect of sustainability in my community. The topic I choose was air pollution; the impact that air pollution has on my community, the clouds in my community are kinda black and the air smells weird. this will effect the community and the earth by inducing global warming into a more dangerous stage.

Posted by Ernesto at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Sustainability problem i had was about national parks.If we continue to mistreat the trees or plant in the parks it will affect our breathing.And how clean our air is.

Posted by Andrysse at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The problem i chose for home work was how people use to much water and waste food. i pick water because when Im home i all ways leave the water on and don't even turn it off. that's not good.

Posted by Egypt at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

my problem that i chose is making more buildings.The impact the of making more buildings is it takes up space that we can use to grow food,it uses to much energy,and it would use up our resources.it would impact the future because they're would be less trees for oxygen and to clean the air,no homes for animals,and no food for the people to eat.

Posted by Naomi at 8:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The problem that I've chosen was gas. I recently have found an article that talks about Gas and how the price of it is quickly increasing as we speak. The implications of this is that with no gas almost everybody will have to walk or ride bikes around unless they can come up with the money for a very expensive electric car.

Posted by Shaquille S at 8:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

my problem was my room for monday and prudehoe bay for tuesday 's work

Posted by Shaquile B at 8:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Global Kids, the foremost nonprofit in virtual world education, is set to launch the International Justice Center within Second Life on March 20 at 3PM EST. The inaugural event will feature a presentation and discussion by Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). During the launch, the ICC Prosecutor will appear in avatar form to give a brief statement, answer questions from the audience, and introduce the Center. This will be broadcast live by SLCN.TV.

Later that same day, the International Justice Center will host a simulcast of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan as he receives the first MacArthur Award for International Justice and gives a keynote address on international justice. Global Kids will stream a number of other live videos into the Center (click here to teleport).

Click the link for the complete press release...

Press Release

CONTACT: Barry Joseph
Global Kids
Tel: +1 212-226-0130 ext. 120
Email: barry@globalkids.org

GLOBAL KIDS TO OPEN INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE CENTER IN SECOND LIFE WITH ADDRESS BY THE ICC PROSECUTOR

(March 18, 2008) Global Kids, the foremost nonprofit in virtual world education, is set to launch the International Justice Center within Second Life on March 20 at 3PM EST. The inaugural event will feature a presentation and discussion by Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Later that same day, the center will host a simulcast of an address by Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary General.

Since 2005, Global Kids has leveraged the educational potential of virtual worlds to inform and involve people in pressing international and public policy issues. The International Justice Center builds on Global Kids’ groundbreaking work by establishing an online hub supporting the ICC and the global justice concerns it addresses. Developed and administered by Global Kids with funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, this innovative online learning center will provide resources for people to learn about the ICC, connect with ICC officials and advocates, and take action in support of human rights and international justice.

During the launch, the ICC Prosecutor will appear in avatar form to give a brief statement, answer questions from the audience, and introduce the Center. This will be broadcast live by SLCN.TV. Later that same day, the International Justice Center will host a simulcast of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan as he receives the first MacArthur Award for International Justice and gives a keynote address on international justice. Global Kids will stream a number of other live videos into the Center, including:

• 3:00-4:00 PM: In-world remarks and Q&A with ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo
• 4:30-6:00 PM: Panel discussion by major human rights officials on the topic of “The Emerging International Justice System”
• 9:00-9:40PM: Award ceremony and keynote address by Mr. Kofi Annan

All of these events can be viewed from the International Justice Center in Second Life and on the web at http://justicecenter.net. Participants in the virtual Q&A with the ICC prosecutor must be Second Life members and can teleport directly to the Center at this link.

About Global Kids
Founded in 1989, Global Kids’ mission is to transform urban youth into successful students and global and community leaders by engaging them in socially dynamic, content-rich learning experiences. Through its leadership development and academic enrichment programs, Global Kids educates youth about critical international and domestic issues and promotes their engagement in civil life and the democratic process.

In 2006, Global Kids became the first non-profit to develop a dedicated space for programming in the virtual world of Teen Second Life (TSL). Global Kids brings students from its New York-based programs into the organization’s headquarters to conduct youth leadership programming and stream audio and video of major international events. This innovative program is conducted in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation, UNICEF, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Youth Venture, and the International Criminal Court, among others. More information on this program can be found on the blog http://holymeatballs.org/second_life/ and on Global Kids’ website at www.GlobalKids.org.

About the International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is the world’s first international human rights tribunal, designed to investigate and try those accused of committing some of the worst violations of human rights, including genocide, mass rape and war crimes. The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands since 1998, is investigating and trying crimes committed in Sudan, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic.

About the MacArthur Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private, independent grantmaking institution helping to build a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. Through the support it provides, the Foundation fosters the development of knowledge, nurtures individual creativity, strengthens institutions, helps improve public policy, and provides information to the public, primarily through support for public interest media. With assets of $6.8 billion, the Foundation makes approximately $260 million in grants annually.

The IJC is a project of Global Kids and is supported by a generous grant from the Digital Media and Learning Initiative of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The IJC is an independent initiative and does not purport to represent or imply any formal association with the International Criminal Court. For more information, see http://www.justicecenter.net.

The Second Life Cable Network (SLCN.TV), a media partner of this event, is the premier virtual television network providing live coverage of a range of business, entertainment and sports events.

* * *

Posted by Rik at 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This past month GK had its second Rezday party here in the teen grid. Thanks to everyone who came out for various activities from the cake making contest and Visions of Global Justice art exhibition to the dance party and fireworks!

Here's to many more Rezdays to come on the teen grid!

Check out a video from the party below:

Posted by Rafi Santo at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

: a person learned in science and especially natural science : a scientific investigator.
Explores earths hidden secrets.
some one who does experiements and discovers and rune things on diffrent things.

Posted by Rakeem at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A scientist job is to find the things that is killing are earth. Also find out as much as they know about are earth.

Posted by Eaon at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

a scientist tries to make cure for deceases. And make life better for me

Posted by Daquan at 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When I hear the name scientists I think they try to find new or better ways of doing things, like using wind or water power to make electricity, or how to run our cars
without using gasoline.

Posted by KoraAnne at 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What does a scientist do? Well a scientist try's to and take exploring to the next level. Scientist try finding and find new ways to help people and the earth without hurting us the make wacky experiments lab rats(etc...) When scientist use lab rats to try experiments such as a vaccine for aids for example isn't that like animal cruelty?

Posted by Ernesto at 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A scientist does a lot of stuffs that we can't imagine that does things can exists. They being creating a lot of things that now help us. Scientist does and created thing for us,they are very smart. What we would do with no scientist? I really don't know!

Posted by Katerine at 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A scientist does a lot of stuffs that we can't imagine that does things can exists. They being creating a lot of things that now help us. Scientist does and created thing for us,they are very smart. What we would do with no scientist? I really don't know!

Posted by Katerine at 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

i think a scientist is a person who does research,mathematical problems,and try to find problems dealing with the earth.

Posted by Naomi at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A scientist does research and study with alot of materials to find solutions.

Posted by Brandon at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Scientist job is to find out how certain things work.I don't know much more about what scientist do

Posted by Andrysse at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

scientists are people that do scientific experiments.They also do reasearches to figure out new things.

Posted by Demetra at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I think that a scientists job is to create and investigate various things to help mankind in every way. It was scientists who discovered most of what we know about space, our anatomy, our earth, and etc. So basically a scientists job is to help us in our everyday life.

Posted by Shaquille S at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A scientist does experiments based on their thoughts, they also find cures, digg up fossils, and a lot more that i cant think of right now.

Posted by Shabede at 8:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What dose a scientist do? A scientist do thing to help people and animals. like helping sick people with aids are yellow fever. But there are also different types of scientist some study plants blood cell.

Posted by Egypt at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

scientist job is to do is to doing experiments and to test chemical resourses and stuff

Posted by Shaquile B at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our friends at the The USC Network Culture Project at the Annenberg School for Communication announce that this Wednesday, March 19, there will be a "Visions of Global Justice" art show gala at the new International Justice Center in Second Life (click here to teleport.) This event is a special "sneak preview" of the sim in advance of the official launch of the International Justice Center on Thursday at 12PM PST.

The art show begins at 5PM PST, presenting works by a dozen prominent digital artists from the Main Grid as well as the winners of an open competition for artwork from teens on the Second Life Teen Grid!

Click on the link for the full press release from the USC Network Culture Project...

Media Release
Evonne Heyning
USC Network Culture Project
Tel: +1.310.953.1087
Skype: Amoration
Email: networkculture@gmail.com

VIRTUAL VISIONS OF GLOBAL JUSTICE
Art Show Gala to Celebrate the International Criminal Court in New Justice Center in Second Life with USC

• Global event March 19th 5PM PST available online in Second Life
  
• Hosted by USC Network Culture Project at the Annenberg School for Communication
  
• A dozen prominent artists presenting new works on themes of justice
  
• Unique interactive collaboration in virtual world connects real world issues

(March 17, 2008) The USC Network Culture Project at the Annenberg School for Communication harnesses creative potential in digital media with a groundbreaking new art exhibition opening March 19th at 5PM PST in Second Life. The Visions of Global Justice gala will share new works on themes of justice with international leaders to preview the new Justice Center in celebration of the International Criminal Court.
On Wednesday March 19th the new Justice Commons and International Island sims in Second Life will feature a dozen talented artists from the virtual world presenting their visions of justice. USC Network Culture hosts this gala opening with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in partnership with Global Kids. Teens from Global Kids will also present original art at the Justice Commons throughout the month of March.

This arts exhibition is a transmedia celebration of the International Criminal Court. Additionally, the International Criminal Court will be the topic of simulcasts on March 20th with Global Kids in the virtual worlds of Second Life, There, and Whyville. On the same day, the International Justice Center will host a live video screening in which former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan will receive the MacArthur Award for International Justice from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, an independent grantmaking institution committed to building a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. Mr. Annan will also deliver a major address on international justice. The March 20th simulcast will be the first time an international event will streamed across all three of these virtual worlds.

The International Justice Center builds on Global Kids’ groundbreaking work by establishing an online hub supporting the ICC and the global justice concerns it addresses; this innovative online learning center will provide resources for people to learn about the ICC, connect with ICC officials and advocates, and take action in support of human rights and international justice. Learn more about the Justice Center on the web at http://justicecenter.net.

Exhibiting Avatars in Second Life
Tuna Oddfellow, AM Radio, Pavig Lok, Tooter Claxton, Juria Yoshikawa, Dancoyote Antonelli, Filthy Fluno, elros Tuominen, Chance Abattoir, Adam Ramona, Josina Burgess, Velazquez Bonetto, Junivers Stockholm; curated by In Kenzo, Bettina Tizzy and Delia Lake.

About USC Network Culture Project at the Annenberg School for Communication
USC Network Culture Project is exploring how technology can be used to build bridges between cultures, promoting genuine dialogue with the residents of virtual worlds about what really matters, taking the conversation beyond branding, marketing and profits. The Network Culture Project is interested in how network culture and virtual online communities can have a real and significant impact on a wide range of activities including civic engagement, ethics, education and every day practices.

About Global Kids
In 2006, Global Kids became the first non-profit to develop a dedicated space for programming in the virtual world of Teen Second Life (TSL). Global Kids brings students from its New York-based programs into the organization’s headquarters to conduct youth leadership programming and stream audio and video of major international events. This innovative program is conducted in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation, UNICEF, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Youth Venture, and the International Criminal Court, among others. More information on this program can be found on the Global Kids’ website at www.GlobalKids.org.

About the International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is the world’s first international human rights tribunal, designed to investigate and try those accused of committing some of the worst violations of human rights, including genocide, mass rape and war crimes. The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands since 1998, is investigating and trying crimes committed in Sudan, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic.

The International Justice Center (IJC) is a project of Global Kids and is supported by a generous grant from the Digital Media and Learning initiative of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The IJC is an independent initiative and does not purport to represent or imply any formal association with the International Criminal Court. For more information, see http://www.justicecenter.net.

* * *
Tags
mac031908, mac032008, networkculture, secondlife, art, virtualworlds, justice, ICC, globalkids, usc, macfound, digitalmedia, education, media, learning, simulation, exhibition

Posted by Rik at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's 11PM and I've been scrambling all day to coordinate my team of builders, avatar designers, video stream experts, educators, press people, and cadre of volunteers to get the International Justice Center ready for launch on Thursday.  Clearly it's a labor of love for a lot of people, who have gone above and beyond the call to get every prim ready for the unveiling. 

Maybe I am just overtired and sentimental, but looking at the still unfinished builds, I am struck by the poetry of it.  We're constructing a new edifice for justice and human rights, using the most ephemeral and illusory tools. It sits empty, devoid of content and life, just a prim skeleton, suggesting what's to come.  Aren't "Justice" and "Human Rights" structures that always stand unfinished, needing more planks, foundations and support?

And what will be there in a month, six months, a year?  I have plans and strategies and visions. I see great potential for using virtual world and social networking tools to scale up public awareness and action on these vital global issues -- from Darfur to Climate Change to HIV/AIDS.  The International Justice Center seems like a great place to start exploring how that might work.

But truthfully I don't really know what will happen. Which part of what makes it exciting!

(Here's a secret: We've set the sim as public as of today, if you want to check it out here. Please pardon our dust.)

Posted by Rik at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today the trip Hunter College's Game Lab was pretty cool, not only do they provide a variety of games but also knowledge of their designs and the steps to creating them.

The quote, "Don't judge a book by it's cover" took place today while I was viewing their games the game Hush was unique but deadly, by catching up with letters in order to save someone from being slaughtered. It was very simple but you have to press the letter in a few amount of seconds, so you have to be quick.

Posted by p4kPaskins at 3:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We went to a Hunter college where we saw 3 games. After that we went to Gamelab where we saw people working on games. Then we heard from a game artist and a game designer how they work.

Posted by p4kRobert at 3:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We visited Tiltfactor and Gamelab. I thought it was very interesting. I found out that the Gamelab was the second largest casual gaming company in New York. When we visited the Tiltfactor, I found out that they teach classes in there and they attend annual gaming conferences.

Posted by p4kDonald at 3:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today, i went to a trip with the members of Global kids. We visited Gamelab and Tiltfactor in Hunter College. I learned a lot of stuff in that trip, especially when they were talking about how you could put many ideas to one piece to create a game. :). According to the information that i got from this trip.....i think our game will be very good.

Posted by p4kReginaldB at 3:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well today, we had a trip. The first place on our agenda was Hunter college, which was where the game group Tiltfactor is. We met Mary and discussed how to get the "programer's mind". She said to us we need to ask Gamelab designers how did they do that and how did they get this to work. To question things about games design to get a better understanding of the gaming world around us. Then we went to Gamelab and really got a deeper understanding of the programmer stage. I had a good time and hope to go on another interesting trip with P4k.

Posted by p4kLondon at 3:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today's trip was good for me. I liked it and it was fun. I wish I had to ask some questions. Today I learned something new. I think that it could be a little more fun for me. There was some good games that I think it was good.

Posted by p4kChristina at 3:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hello my name's Christopher. Sorry I have never put an entry before I don't normally blog. But, as you can see I'm a part of the P4K so I'm into making games. Hehe. I'm sort of an expert at game dev. So ask me any question you have. I'm always happy to help.

Posted by Nero infinity at 3:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Let's see......well today we went to a college it was really fun...um....what else....what else.....oh! right we went to a gaming company that made some pretty cool games it was also the best part of my day so far.....
so...thats it for now.oh yeah the name of the school was Hunter College!

Posted by p4kAkintunde at 3:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today has been a good trip, but this experience totally changed my ideas of how games are made. I know we only have a few months of making this game of ours but i feel that instead we should make a game design syllabus of what our game would be like. No...it does not have to be long because apparently our game is not that long. I think that if take tips from the game company that we went to today, we can make a better game.

Posted by p4kCourtney at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was a very interesting day, the Global Kids and I went to the Hunter College where we met Mary. Mary explained to us how Tiltfactor was a game lab where they created games about issues going on around the world. After that we went to the Gamelab located on 24th and Madison in Manhattan. i learned how each person involved in creating a game must work as a team. They each contribute different ideas to the game. I also learned that each game requires hundreds of pages of documents describing how the game operates. Our trip today was really fun.

Posted by p4kNick at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today in Playing 4 Keeps we went to a collage. Then we went to a place where they make games. In Hunter college they showed us some of the games they had made. Then we went to Gamelab where I saw the most interesting thing there.

there was lots of books on anime and manga. There was also lots of video games hat were on book shelfs and there were all the new systems that were there like the wii the xbox 360 and there was a game cube and other types of game systems there.

Posted by p4kAndrew at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Todays trip was alright because we got to go to game places and eat pizza. We learned some new things and got to meet some people with important jobs and careers. We met new people went to a college and found some interesting information. We went to Tiltfactor at Hunter College and Gamelab.

By Armando Porte

Posted by p4kArmando at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was a very interesting day. P4K and I went on a trip. We went to Hunter College and learned about Tiltfactor and talked to Mary. She showed us a lot of different games and we talked about all of them the one game I want more Information about is Hush. Then we went to Gamelab and we met with games designer and artist to talk about different games.

Posted by p4kJean at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The date is Monday, March 17, of the year 2008....St. Patrick's Day and I refuse to wear green....instead I wear all black for this occasion as i do everyday. As for today's miscallenious festivities, the inventive minds of Global Kids' Playing 4 Kids went on a little journey that would set the course for any ideas and/or changes that we might have concerning our upcoming game that is set to be available for the Microsoft Xbox....Did i mention that it was a double trip, (quadruple if you count lunch at the park and the trip to the Global Kids office located near Baruch College)? It was a very interesting experience and it honestly got me thinking that although my dream profession is to be a game designer,

I learned that it would take a heck of a lot of work if I plan to successfully achieve that goal and accomplish that mission. We also got a little sneak peek at some of the games that were already developed by the students at Tiltfactor studios in Hunter College. The other half of the trip, we went to GameLab and received a discussion on all the step-by-step transactions required to make a game.

Posted by p4kOtis at 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sustainability means to supply with food, drink, and other necessities of life.

Posted by Eaon at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

sustainability in science means keeping something going, food, or resources oil, water, and energy use. One way it effects me because we will run out of resources, pollution and less places to grow

Posted by KoraAnne at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sustainability is a characteristic of a process or state that can be maintained at a certain level. i think that if the sustainability in the environment is to high then it is bad for the environment.

Posted by Zana at 8:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In science I think sustainability means to keep an environment going. To me sustainability means staying alive and having the resources to help me do that.

Posted by Shabede at 8:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sustainability means to keep an environment going. For example it means to stop pollution. To me sustainability means for me to stay alive and have the resources to do that.

Posted by Latisha at 8:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sustainability is how we people of the earth take cares of the world . Sustainability affect me with the air i breath the food i eat from the earth and the weather i live in.

Posted by Andrysse at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

sustainability means to keep something going and to me it means the same to me in science then it does to me

Posted by Shaquile B at 8:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

i think sustainability in science means living in a area with food,water,people,and etc. and it would impact me because it depends on the amount of food,water,etc i would obtain

Posted by Naomi at 8:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

i think sustainability means the like term of science. what i mean is another way about science like animal cell, insect , blood. when something is warm safe protect you for whether.

Posted by Egypt at 8:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sustainability effect the world because in about 1000 years the earth will be gone and my great great great great great great great grand kids will blow up with the earth and if sustainability stops now the earth will probably stay in a thousand years

Posted by Daquan at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sustainability in science to me means keeping every thing clean, recycling materials.not wasting materials.

Posted by Rakeem at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

from what i have learned in global science, i think sustainability in science means that other scientific things can survive on its own or other science things.

Posted by Demetra at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Based on my prior knowledge of Global Science sustainability in science refers to the condition of the earth and it's many issues like pollution, global warming etc. But to me sustainability would probably be how i keep my body and it's condition.

Posted by Shaquille S at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last week was a Scratch week at P4K. We continued the exercise we began the previous Thursday, modding the Archknight’s Adventure platformer. The exercise progressed to greater specificity and detail over the course of the week. As the class grew more comfortable with Scratch’s interface, we could alter more aspects of the game with more skill.

The sound team went from adding sound effects, to adding background music, to making their own music using multiple samples and loops. The animation team began by simply altering the costumes of the characters, but by the end of Thursday, one student had created a new main character with all the necessary poses to animate him. Background designers created designs for every level, mixing photographs with drawings, and a level designer imported sprites from a website and made a new level that looked like Sonic the Hedgehog. Meanwhile, the programmer altered the main character’s abilities and implemented some of the other students’ changes.

The point of the exercise wasn’t to produce a finished product, but rather to give everyone a chance to explore the different roles in greater detail. Overall, I was really pleased with the results, and the week reinforced a lesson I’ve learned this year. Designers need constraints. People are easily overwhelmed if not given any rules for an assignment.

Students can be more creative and produce better results when they’re given a framework of directions to work with. The first day of the exercise was largely unstructured, and while there’s value to free play, it’s not always the best educational experience. By the last day, roles were very specific and tasks for the day were clearly laid out. By the end of the day, there was tangible progress and the students had a far clearer understanding of the software. Sometimes, creativity flourishes best with limits.

On Saturday, two of our students had the opportunity to participate in the Trendsetters 5th Annual Women's History Month Citywide Conference for Girls on Nontraditional Careers. Monique Fungkhee and Kameisha Thompson joined Tiltfactor Lab director Mary Flanagan and Games 4 Change’s Social Network Designer Ellen Scott on a panel about values and game design. Kameisha and Monique discussed their experiences with Playing 4 Keeps and answered questions by the audience. They did a great job, and with this experience we’re looking forward to having them participate in future public speaking engagements.

Posted by Jay at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our first groups of D.I.D.I. Venturers are successfully launching!!

Supported by Global Kids and Youth Venture, the following teams are beginning to launch successful ventures to benefit their communities in Teen Second Life and bring change to the world around them.

Body Rider
Youth from Ohio, USA, age 15
Body Rider plans to use Teen Second Life to create a virtual tour through parts the human body. As visitors ride through the body, they will learn how our bodies are affected by smoking, using drugs, and engaging in other unhealthy habits. For example, the ride will show what the lungs of a smoker look like compared to those of a nonsmoker. The purpose of Body Rider is to teach teens about health in a fun and interesting way. The team believes that learning without boring books is the best way to learn.

KLASS
Four Youth from Ramapo Middle School in New York
KLASS plans to address problems faced by teens including stress, self-mutilation, suicide, drug abuse, and underage drinking. The team will work within Teen Second life to raise awareness about these issues, and to create a peer support group to help teens around the world who are dealing with these issues. They plan to establish an online group to hold weekly meetings for teens in Second Life to help them cope with problems they are facing and to help foster relationships between teens around the world who are dealing with similar issues. KLASS will be a place where teens can discuss their problems and share ideas. The team also plans to host meetings and conferences in Second Life to raise awareness for the prevention and/or treatment of teens affected by these problems. In order to sustain the venture, KLASS will create and sell products in Second Life such as bracelets and t-shirts with inspirational phrases that reflect the mission of KLASS.

Jump Start Park
Two youth from Florida and Kentucky ages 13 and 15
The primary purpose of Jump Start Park is to provide support for new members of Teen Second Life. The team observed that new residents in Second Life usually wander around not knowing how to do things or where to go. Jump Start Park will address this problem by welcoming new members into the community and providing free classes on building, scripting on other Second Life skills, giving away freebies, and answering newbies’ questions. Jump Start Park will combine learning with fun by creating an educational amusement park with rides for both new and old members. The team believes that if new residents know more about the Second Life and its community, they will enjoy Second Life more, will become better Second Life residents, and will contribute to a better community in Second Life. Jump Start Park also aims to raise awareness of and knowledge about health issues that affect teens. Within the park, they will post flyers and have kiosks with information on a variety of health issues.

Dark Matter
Two youth from New York and Nevada, ages 14 and 15
The Dark Matter team is creating a venture that will provide computer programming resources to both novice and advanced developers. Dark Matter aims to support young people who want to enter the field of programming, but are unsure how to get started. They will provide all the resources young people need to advance easily through learning programming and implementing their marketable knowledge in the real world. Dark Matter will have a headquarters in Teen Second Life as well as an online presence, enabling it to serve as a resource for anyone trying to create content within or outside of Second Life. The team will offer classes, tutorials, meeting areas, software, database storage, directories, etc. that will allow novice developers to get into the field easily, and allow advanced developers to move to the next level.

Preparing for an upcoming Selection Panel:

A New Tomorrow
Youth ages 15 and 13 from California
A New Tomorrow aims to raise awareness among Teen Second Life residents about cancer and other major health problems. The team is constructing a facility where teens will be able to gather, learn about health issues, and participate in fundraisers to raise money for the American Cancer Society. A New Tomorrow also plans to facilitate group discussions for teens who have friends or family who have died or are suffering from disease to discuss their feelings and receive support from one another.

Posted by Amira at 2:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Politics: What's the 411?

April 4th, 2008 Global Kids will hold its annual youth conference. We will be streaming the conference live all day on the web and in Second Life. More details to come!

Posted by joyce at 9:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today at Global Kids, we learned about racism. We touched on Martin Luther King Jr. and then we did frozen pictures on racism. We learned about segregation and we learned about how Martin Luther King Jr. helped Black people gain back their rights. At then end I think that racism is a good topic for making a machinima.

Posted by VVP Harpal at 5:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If our project is on racism, I want to create different scenes in Second Life that has a lot to do with this issue. Also I would like to research and find some more information on racism; information that some people may not know. I want to be able to teach people information about racism that they never knew before.

Posted by VVP Tarana at 5:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I learned that racism is obviously still around and it needs to be talked about more often.

Posted by VVP Rashad at 5:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What I learn today about racism is that it is a major topic to talk about but I felt that many people are not aware about what is happing in other countries. I think groups like ours has to show people that they understand that racism stills exist and ways that we can try to stop it.

Posted by VVP Juan at 5:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What I have learned about racism is that different race discriminates others, just based on someone’s race....

I have also learned about a few courageous leaders during the segregation time when African Americans were separated from White people in most public places, such as schools, diners, restaurants, etc. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. risked his life, trying to change the world, speaking against unfair rules or laws that the congress made that benefited the whites, but not African Americans.

But it was more than racial discrimination; he also mentions religion and gender discrimination. He had a dream that everybody, in different race, in different religion, shall be treated fairly and equally. To me, that’s the most courageous thing any person can do.

-Matt

Posted by VVP Mathew at 5:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey guys! One thing that I learn about racism is that Black people and white people weren't allowed to eat in same restaurant. One thing that I wanted to share in second life is that we could bring together groups of people that are different but share the same problems. Sometimes there are groups that only allow certain types of people or only a certain race in their group.

Posted by VVP Jamila at 5:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If our project is going to be racism then I want to say that it is a big issue world wide and still around today. Today I learned that racism has effects that infect everything in life. For example daily needs for human life such as transportation and different water fountains. I also learned that blacks lived a life that was not the "american dream".

Posted by VVP Doldech at 5:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If our final project was on racism, I want to say that I want to be able to hit the mark on this subject. I want people to see the point of what I am saying about racism because its an important subject to learn and study about. People need to be aware of it at all times so that it does not happen again.

Posted by VVP Brian at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today I learned about how racism affected people in the past, and also how it is affecting people now. We talked about the Jim Crow law and how people were treated during that time. Segregation was a system of separating black and white people. Racial segregation was enforced in the U.S between 1877 and the 1950s.

Posted by VVP Sabina at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If my final project is about racism I want to portray all the ideas that have been hidden in the shadows to this day. Through extensive research I would like to show people what kind of things have been going on around the world. Things based on racism in other countries that are not normally pointed out in media. Some of these things would involve movements, activists and struggles others have been though.

Posted by VVP Jonathan at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Many ideas were shared at Global Kids today on the subject of racism. I learned many aspects of racism during this subject. One aspect is that Blacks and Whites were segregated even in water fountains. Another example is the position of white and color in a public bus.

In second life, I want to represent racism in depth and very powerfully. Since this subject is very fragile I want to represent it in a fragile and respectful manner. One dedication I want to give on second life is the segregation on buses and water fountains.

Posted by VVP Jin at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If our final project is on racism, then I want to show everyone that just because you are of a different race from others, it does not make you better or less of a person. And I want to show THAT in itself in the final project. It gets frustrating when you get looked down upon because of your race or color. I'm sure that people who have been a victim of racism would feel the same way.
Racism has to stop! And just like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcom X, Global Kids will make a difference.

Posted by VVP Yessenia at 5:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If my next project is on racism, I would like to share the message that racism may become illegal. There is still a silent racism that exist in our society to this day and that people need to be knowledgeable about how racism affect the people who experience it. Also I would like to share to the world that racism is a theme that hasn't been discussed enough around the world.

Posted by VVP Thein at 5:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If our final project is on racism, then I want to share that racism does not have to exist if it is not taught. I feel like racism spreads through what people experience around them, or what children are taught by either their family members or people they trust. And I think if racism was not taught to children, then it will not be as much of a factor. However, that is nearly impossible.

I would like to hope that sometime in the future we would be able to eliminate racism. I think if we could portray anything we should portray how racism is initiated. Maybe someone’s parents are not accepting of another race, and their children notice that and learn from that. However, it does not end there! When the child goes to school, then that child might act a certain way towards others or influence his/her friends. So it does not end there. Also, if a teacher or a community is racist that impacts the children that are born into the community. So I do think that the children's voice should be heard because it is unfortunate that some children are victims of racism. I learned a lot about racism and learned about Martin Luther Kind Jr., so I think that it is important to portray racism! I think it will turn out great!!!

Posted by Nafiza - TSL Intern/VVP at 5:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well Tuesday we broke down different types of discrimination. The three sub topics were ageism, sexism, and racism. My group had sexism and we looked at different forms of sexism. Sexism portrayed in different religions, or different sects of religions, or religious words that are sexist. Such as words like, God the Father. There are many words that have roots that could insist some kind of male dominance. Even the word woman has 'man' in it; so we thought it would be interesting to do. We looked up different organizations that help women, such as the National Organization for Women.

Posted by Nafiza - TSL Intern/VVP at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week students have been working on their midterm projects which require them to use Comic Life to teach a Second Life skill they learned. They have been combining the skills they have learned so far such as creating comics by using Comic Life, taking snapshots into Second Life and saving them and using these snapshots for their projects.

While I have been looking at students' works, I was amazed how different they represent what they have learned so far. The project not only provided them with an opportunity to show what they have learned so far but also make them think how to teach the skills they have learned in Second Life. Tomorrow, hopefully, we will be able to see their work on the blog. These instructions can be products which students will be proud of showing their friends and parents what they learned so far. As we know, one of the best learning methods is learning by teaching. If students can teach what they learned very well that means they know the topic. If educators want students to learn, we have to give them opportunity to practice what they have been learning and have them teach this recently learned subject to their classmates, therefore they can learn from each other , challenge each other and master at whatever they are learning.

This coming week is going to be the start to science curriculum in Second Life. Although students are going to have chance to go over their Second Life skills, they will be doing science in Second Life. The big challenge for students will be to transfer these skills to do complete required goals in science curriculum. This will be a very novel experience for them because so far the goals were to learn how to do the tools provided by Second Life, but science curriculum is going to provide them an environment where they will be doing science while role playing and using provided tools in this simulated environment.

I will be writing more about the Science through Second Life curriculum...

Posted by Selen at 3:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RezEd Podcast, Episode 1- Virtual Worlds go to Congress

(WORLD) This is the first RezEd podcast, produced by MediaSnackers with Global Kids.

Larry Johnson is is Chief Executive Officer of the New Media Consortium (NMC), an international consortium of more than 200 world-class universities, colleges, museums, research centers, and technology companies dedicated to using new technologies to inspire, energize, stimulate, and support learning and creative expression. He is an acknowledged expert on the effective application of new media in many contexts, and has worked extensively to build common ground among museums and universities across North America and in more than a dozen other countries.

Show Notes:

0.00—0.09 intros
0.21—2.05 Rik at Global Kids discusses what RezEd is all about
2.06—3.23 Shawna outlining what will be featured and opportunities to be involved
3.24—4.36 Barry and Amira discuss the news of interest starting with April 1st Congretional Hearing on Virtual Worlds
5.50—6.28 next steps
6.29—8.47 News on upcoming events include the Federal Virtual Worlds Expo and the The vBusiness Expo in Second Life which will include a track on Virtual Education.
8.48—9.01 any news or events can be submitted here
9.04—9.16 podcast interview with Larry Johnson (intro)
9.17—11.02 an overview on the 1st congress hearing
11.03—14.29 summary of Larrys statement
14.30—17.05 profound opportunities
17.06—20.22 the reaction from the Congress
20.23—23.01 the Horizon Reports 23.02—25.15 future trends featured in the Horizon Report
25.16—26.10 the future for the New Media Consortium (NMC)
26.11—26.43 outro

For the transcript of RezEd Podcast, Episode 1 click here.

Download the episode here.

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Posted by joyce at 4:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here is an example comic to give an idea of what we are looking for from the midterm projects. This is for module 3.1.4 – Taper, Top Shear and Dimple.

Posted by Kate Farrell at 5:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The IJC is an independent public information and action center supporting the International Criminal Court and related human rights concerns. After his address, the ICC prosecutor will answer questions from the virtual audience, facilitated by Global Kids’ staff. Following this, the Center will be video streaming a MacArthur Foundation-sponsored panel discussion and keynote address on “The Emerging International Justice System” taking place in New York City. The event begins with a live panel discussion at 4:30pm with several major human rights officials. To conclude the event, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will deliver a keynote address at 9pm.

The ICC prosecutor’s address and the video streamed events will be accessible online both at the International Justice Center in Second Life and on the web at http://www.justicecenter.net.

More details on this day-long series of events will be announced shortly...

Posted by Rik at 5:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am so tired...but still I am excited for today's lesson. Today will probably be first day of working on our new topic!

Posted by VVP Sabina at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This month in the DMYA, we had a visit from videographers and producers that are putting together a documentary on the MacArthur Digital Media and Learning Initiative. It was a great opportunity for the youth in the advisory to both have their voices heard about what they're actually doing online, as well as to display their skill in speaking and thinking critically about their relationship to digital media.

After this, we asked everyone to create their own maps of their digital lives, which was a really fascinating process, and one in which we all got to learn a lot about the different ways the group relates to digital media. I've included some of the maps below. Enjoy!

Posted by Rafi Santo at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)