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YMEX public beta goes live!
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

After many months of thinking, learning, writing, talking, designing, testing, thinking more, rewriting, and learning new stuff again, the public beta of Youth Media Exchange is live!

YMEX.org is a new online social network, developed by TIG, Global Kids, and Asia Society, where young people can share, create, and learn about digital media for social change. It's full of resources to learn about both digital media production and global issues, and it's ready and waiting for YOU to come check it out, share your media, and get your voice heard.

There's much more to be said about the process, as well as what's still to come. But as we know, if I wait to write a well crafted post, it will never get done, so for now, just check it out: http://www.ymex.org and let us know what you think!

May 1, 2008 | 6:24 PM Comments  0 comments



blazing trails
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

I was never one of those kids who knew what they wanted to be when they grew up (in fact, I'm still not entirely sure...). But it's a privilege to me that I had friends who knew exactly what they wanted to be, and blazed paths in pursuit of those goals, so I knew what it can look like to get from point A to point B, and onwards to C, D, and F. To be sure, I was also graced with examples from adult role models, but it was especially meaningful to see my peers make their way and to learn from them, and now, have the chance to be proud of them.

One of my best friends from high school is now an actor in one of Chicago's most successful and fresh young theatre companies, and she refused to settle for anything less than her dreams, no matter who told her that she would have to wait tables, or that she better major in something practical, just in case. The pictures of my sister sitting at a typewriter at age two seem now to be the perfect symbol of her life path to becoming a newspaper reporter, covering the politics beat. Neither are easy goals to attain, but I'm lucky to know firsthand what it takes to get there.

The person who is perhaps my oldest friend in life - we started school together at age seven and graduated from high school together ten years later - is now a scientist, completing her PhD and contributing to research that is deepening our understanding of ocean sustainability and climate change. My memories of her as far back as middle school include her dreams of being a marine biologist, and I've had the opportunity to see that dream grow into a reality, through many years of formal education, fieldwork, muddy boots, and the most admirable tenacity, even in circumstances under which most of us might give up. Knowing her all these years did little to improve my own scientific abilities, but it taught me what it looks like to do hard work, to be a researcher, and now, to care more about the application of scientific knowledge to the social issues about which I already care very deeply.

For all the talk about preparing students for the world of work, as important as it is to define skill sets and ready them for the global economy, it often seems that we leave out from the conversation what those pathways really look like. There is outstanding work being done to define specific pathways to global citizenship and to digital citizenship, but are we also showing students what it looks like to identify their passions and pursue their own goals? It seems like we're afraid to let students see, "this is what it looks like to be a scientist" and how you can get there, because we're caught up in a belief (or fear?) that jobs will change too fast, as if the economy of the future does not allow for goals or dreams. Knowing that those pathways exist is important, even for the ones who haven't figured out what their dreams might be, and regardless of what they ultimately pursue. Young people should have a realistic (and media literate) understanding of the pathway to the least attainable goals - like being an NBA superstar or the next American Idol, and they should have the same awareness of more common professional journeys, and of those pathways that change at every turn. We should be situating the necessary skills, knowledge, and capacities in these real world pathways - we'll never engage students in those frameworks in the abstract. And, they should know that each of these involves failure, and most of them involve failing multiple times. We're definitely too scared to let students in on that secret, even though learning from failure is likely the most important piece we can model for them.

February 20, 2008 | 5:38 PM Comments  1 comments



i heart irony
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Just when I think irony has finally been pushed off a cliff to its death (often while people watching in certain areas of my neighborhood in Brooklyn), my faith is renewed.

This morning I set out to read a New York Times article about the convergence of casual games and social networks, as seen in the success of games like Scrabulous, and the enormous potential that has for generating advertising revenue. No sooner had I clicked on the title, which included the phrase "a net to snare social networkers" in it, than was I assaulted by an OpinionMart popup survey asking me to give it all up right then and there.

It's not a bad article, by the way, but since I still can't figure out if this is intentional irony or not, I'm resisting the urge to help the Times with their potential link baiting strategy on this one.

January 15, 2008 | 8:15 AM Comments  0 comments



Take a Survey about Ayiti: The Cost of Life!

Calling all educators - have you used – or do you plan to use – Ayiti: The Cost of Life game in your classroom?
We’d love to know - participate in this survey from our partners at Global Kids!

May 17, 2007 | 5:38 PM Comments  0 comments



do you learn with a laptop?

If you think technology can help people learn, make your voice heard!

The New York Times would like to believe that laptops are a barrier to learning because they don't directly contribute to a 19th or 20th century definition of "achievement".

But those of us who have experienced learning with technology know that computers aren't the answer themselves, nor are they the sole problem when students "fail" to learn. Education is at a critical moment and needs holistic change - in the ways we teach, we learn, and the tools and resources we involve in the process.

The reporter interviewed educational technology advocates for this article, but ultimately chose not to include their perspective in her story.

If you are a teacher or student who feels that technology has had a positive impact on learning, please share your story!

You can
-leave a comment here
-post your own blog entry
-weigh in on the TIG discussion board
-enter the Take Your Classroom Global! contest

May 4, 2007 | 12:45 PM Comments  2 comments



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