My Global Kids colleague Joliz posts on the Huffington Post about how Global Kids changed her life ten years ago in high school. It's a really neat story about how Global Kids works with inner city youth to expose them to new opportunities, cultures and ways of seeing the world and themselves. Check it out…
Category: Education
Reframing social media for non-early adopters
Yesterday I had the pleasure of helping facilitate an all-day training on social media for educators and nonprofits at the Global Kids offices, as part of our regular professional development services. It's always fun to talk with an eager and open group of folks about social media, particularly if they have no particular background in…
MacArthur, Digital Youth Network & Chicago Public Library launch “YouMedia” digital youth center
Check out this cool video about the launch of the "YouMedia" youth media center in downtown Chicago. A partnership of the MacArthur Foundation, the Digital Youth Network and the Chicago Public Library, YouMedia is a digital learning space where young people from all over Chicago can come together to create and collaborate across a range…
Why America’s youth need affordable broadband internet access
The FCC has created a website using IdeaScale to solicit ideas and opinions on the importance of broadband internet on education in America. I just posted my own views entitled "All of America's Youth Deserve to Play a Part in the Digital Society." Here's a bit of what I wrote: I work at Global Kids,…
How to transform our Global Kids teens into Outliers
I recently read Malcolm Gladwell’s new book Outliers , a fresh perspective on genius and success. Gladwell's central aim is to challenge the notion that individuals who are at the top of their field got there by sheer talent and hard work. He argues convincingly that there are number of external factors outside of the…
Games in Education Conference: Warcraft in the Classroom, Hungarian Revolution and Elmo!
Thanks so much to the organizers of the Games in Education Conference for inviting me to their symposium this week. It was a really fun and thought-provoking experience for me. My presentation on Global Kids' Playing 4 Keeps program went quite well, I think, with many educators at the conference complimenting me and asking for…
Becoming More Human through Robots: Youth programs and robotics
This morning I attended a cool session at the Games in Education Conference on "ROBOTS: They're Not Just for Taking over the World, but for Education, too!" put on by Nick Webb, Senior Scientist at the Institute for Informatics, Logic and Security Studies at the University at Albany and Ilene Frank, of the Schenectady Museum…
Speaking at Games in Education Conference this Wed at HVCC
This Wednesday, August 5, I will be heading upstate to speak at the Games in Education Conference at the Hudson Valley Community College about Global Kids' innovative digital games program "Playing 4 Keeps." Specifically I'll be speaking on the panel "Relating Social Issues & Historical Events through Games" with Andrea Lauer Rice, CEO & Founder…
Global Kids Professional Development: Learn how to engage youth on global issues using virtual worlds, games and machinima
You might not know, but my organization Global Kids not only does some of the most innovative virtual world, serious gaming, and digital filmmaking youth programs out there, but we also help other educators adopt our methods for their kids. Global Kids offers a range of professional services and professional development including standards-based training for…
I Dig Zambia Wrap-up: teaching about Africa and science using virtual worlds
Last Friday was the conclusion of the “I Dig Zambia” virtual summer camp, co-organized by the Field Museum and Global Kids. I Dig Zambia was a two-week camp that brought together 19 teens from Chicago and New York to learn about paleontology, biology, and Zambian culture and politics in the virtual world of Teen Second…