Latest Entries...

12 Lessons After 12 Years 

Submitted by bjoseph on Mon, 09/10/2012 - 17:41

A few weeks ago I completed my 12th year at Global Kids, the majority as the Director of our Online Leadership Program. I recently announced that at the end of the month I will be leaving, to take on a new position at the American Museum of Natural History. My time at GK has been a continuing education program beyond my wildest dreams. As I prepare for the upcoming transition, I wondered if I could take this opportunity to see if I could summarize my key take-aways. What I came up with are lessons I am sure to carry with me but, more importantly, speaks to the importance for this work to continue at Global Kids.

      
1. Youth Care. Youth care about their lives, the worlds around them, and what they can do to better both. Some youth I met knew it. Others had forgotten. But in my 12 years at GK I have never met a youth who lacked the capacity for passionate engagement, given the proper context and support. I learned none should underestimate youth from low performing or at risk communities.

 

Hive Chicago Badges for Learning 

Submitted by Joliz on Thu, 09/06/2012 - 15:41

Christian Greer, Program Director for HIVE Chicago recently wrote a great summary of the work that has been done with the Chicago badging system. Check it out below! 

 

 

Wow! It's been a very busy summer for our Hive Chicago member organizations. We have facilitated jams, game design workshops, citizen science projects, teen-led community events, youth council programs, and many other engaging activities with our teens. With the Labor Day holiday weekend fast approaching and our summer programs completed, I thought that I would check in this week with few member organizations to see how things went over the summer.

 

Out-of-School Settings Create Climate for New Skills 

Submitted by Joliz on Tue, 08/28/2012 - 16:31

 

Education Week featured a story which highlighted our Race to the White House and NYC Haunts programs. Read the full story below. 

 

 

Osarieman Igbinevbo, 17, right, and her teammate, Miguel Zeng, 18, discover a geocache inside a disused Fire Department call box in New York City. The Global Kids program uses the treasure hunt and technology to teach students about public-policy issues.
—Emile Wamsteker for Education Week

 

 

Educators see them as learning labs

By Nora Fleming

 

Youth Virtual Video On Rio+20  

Submitted by daria on Tue, 08/28/2012 - 14:38

In just two weeks' time, Global Kids Youth Leaders created a machinima film about the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, which took place in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012.  Youth were part of our Virtual Video Project (VVP) and learned skills in researching, script writing, storyboarding, voice acting, filming, and virtual world effects. 

 

In partnership with the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), youth were able to premiere the film to a group of teens from BPL in a fantastic end-of-program presentation.  Their hope is that through the film, more youth will learn about the global effects of climate change and be encouraged to take action.  Check our the final video below! 

 

 

Read more posts about VVP here.

Nine Lives Game from Create to Learn 

Submitted by JRubio on Mon, 08/27/2012 - 20:12

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During the school year 2012, middle school girls from the School for Human Rights and the School for Leadership Democracy at the Wingate Campus in Brooklyn, participated in the program Create to Learn, with the sponsorship from the Games for Learning Institute. Create to Learn was a program designed to uncover the potential of games as learning tools in math, and to introduce students to peer education. 
 
The program introduced the girls to the basic concepts of game design, including prototyping, playtesting and iteration. In addition, they collaborated in teams to develop their ideas. They decided on the idea of a 'rescue the princess' game that they called Nine Lives. The program also prepare them to present their game ideas to game design professionals, school staff, and their peers. 
 
The girls, from 7th and 8th grades, developed a game to help their 6th graders peers develop and improve math skills. See the result of their efforts above and play their game. 
 
At the end of the program, they presented their game at the Game Play Expo; during the Games for Change 2012 festival.