Grades: 9-12 Youth and Violence: A Global Perspective

MAGPI is working with the Multicultural Youth Exchange on a program entitled, Youth and Violence: A Global Perspective. Our hope is to engage young adults (high school age and college age) in a dialogue about risk factors and symptoms of youth violence, and then talk about student-driven solutions through student-created anti-violence media. Students engaged in this workshop will talk with one another during multi-site videoconferences led by MYX facilitators and will then create their own anti-violence digital media projects to share with one another. A videoconference with documentary filmmakers will compliment the student project phase of this three-month endeavor, which concludes with a student digital media virtual festival.

We’re currently looking for national and international partners for this project and would like to cordially invite you and your students to participate. More information about the program can be found below and at: http://www.magpi.net/programs/youthviolence.html. All videoconferences will be held from 8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. EST. If you are interested in this program, please register through the website.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me!

Best,

Heather

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Youth and Violence: A Global Perspective

Youth and Violence Discussion (Videoconference)

Friday, February 29, 2008

8:30 a.m. ET - 10:00 a.m. ET

Exploring Digital Film Making (Videoconference)

Friday, April 4, 2008

8:30 a.m. ET - 10:00 a.m. ET

Youth Violence Awareness Digital Projects

April 4, 2008 – May 8, 2008

Digital Project Virtual Festival (Videoconference)

Friday, May 9, 2008 8:30 a.m. ET - 10:00 a.m. ET

Target Grade Levels: 9-12
Requirements for Participation:
o US Participants (3 spots): Must have H.323 videoconferencing capabilities and be on the MAGPI network.
o International Participants (3 spots): Must have H.323 videoconferencing capabilities and be connected to their National Research and Education Network
This workshop will culimate in the creation of original youth violence awareness commercials. Therefore students must have access to a digital camera or digital video camera and PowerPoint, iMovie, or other video software.

Description:
Youth violence is a social problem that effects many different countries and cultures around the world. The root causes of youth violence, such as poverty, domestic and sexual abuse, war and other contributing factors like drug use and predjudicial beliefs vary from country to country. However, the resulting symptoms of youth violence are universal - feelings of alienation, frustration, and hopelessness are experienced to some extent by both youth offenders and victims regardless of race, gender, religion, nationality or sexual orientation.
This workshop will identify the risk factors and symptoms of youth violence and then explore, in more depth, various forms that youth violence takes worldwide. Workshop participants will examine how these events effect all young people and ways to break the cycle of violence.
Students and teachers will work together to create a Youth Violence Awareness ad, using various modes of technology. Each classroom will compile original photography and/or video, art, and text to produce a 2-5 minute video or automated Powerpoint commercial, driven by an original message of tolerance and youth violence awareness. The completed student commericals will be featured in a virtual "film festival" and "broadcasted" online to share with an international audience.

Teacher's will be able to download a Teacher's Guide that will provide them with pre- and post-videoconference lesson plans. All preparation activities listed in the guide are required in order for students to take part in this project.

This project is made possible through partnership with MYX: Multicultural Youth Exchange.
More Information/Registration: http://www.magpi.net/programs/youthviolence.html


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Heather Weisse
Applications Coordinator
MAGPI
3401 Walnut Street, Suite 233A
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6228
Email: hweisse@magpi.net
Phone: 215-573-6417

www.magpi.net

Megaconference Jr. 2008

General and Interactives Registration Open for Megaconference Jr. 2008

Don't miss this exciting opportunity on February 21, 2008 from 7am EST to 7pm EST (UTC -5) to interact with schools from around the world. The schedule of presentations is now posted. Join over hundreds of sites from countries all around the world including Portugal, Australia, Canada, Japan, Malta, Great Britain, Slovenia, the US and more in the upcoming Megaconference Jr. 2008!

You'll also have a chance to win exciting prizes from our vendor sponsors so far - Royal Botanical Gardens, Center for Puppetry Arts, Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration, COSI Columbus, Cranbrook Institute of Science, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Institute of Music, Vu Ports, and Tandberg. Keep checking the prizes page for the most up to date list of new sponsors and prizes.

Join us from sun up to sun down all around the world for this special 5 Year Anniversary Annual Megaconference Jr. global event
General and Interactives Registration open now at: http://www.megaconferencejr.org//

Please go to: http://www.megaconferencejr.org/ and review the posted schedule and presentations prior to completing your registration. Again this year you have the ability to interact live with one of the scheduled presentations. Once you have read the schedule and know which session you would like to interact with, go to the "register" link and complete the form. You will be asked to make your selection towards the end of the registration form. When you have completed all fields click the "Submit" button. You should then receive an email confirmation. NOTE: If you already registered and would like to sign up to be an ineractive for another presentation (or if you are presenting and would like to update your title or abstract) you can do so by using the email and password you used to register originally to log back in and select your interactive session (or update your presentation information). Don't forget to click "submit" when done.

The interactive registrations with presenters are on a first come first serve basis. Once we have three for each presentation, interactive registration will be closed.

Deadline for Interactive Registrations: Jan. 18, 2008
Deadline for General Registrations: Feb. 1, 2008

Contact Jennifer Oxenford - 215.898.0341 - jmacdoug@magpi.net

Grade 5: The Great Race

The Great Race
5th Grade Project

Goal: Student will race from Historic Jamestown, VA to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA in shortest amount of time, spending the least amount of money and traveling through the most states.

Objectives:
Students will learn about various infrastructures (Bridges, Roads, Railroads & Waterways) and geographical locations
Students will learn to budget and calculate money
Students will measure distance and time
Students will track weather
Students will discover famous landmarks, artifacts, historical facts and locations

Disciplines: Social Studies, Science, Math and Language Arts

Videoconferencing: There will be three videoconferences. The first will be a kick off to the race. Second, will be to see where the teams are in their travels and the final connection students will share their logs and details of there trip.

Program Description: Your students can work as one large team or you can break them down into a couple of teams. Each team will have a name. They can make their trip by land and water but they are not allowed to fly. They will be given handouts to track the infrastructures by which they travel. They will also be given handouts for budget expenses, distance, time, weather and for landmarks and historical sites. Each handout will describe what they need to track or journal. For example, on their “Time” journal they will have to include the time zone. Students will also be asked to identify supplies needed for the trip.

Website: Students will be able to post and blog information about their travels.

Please visit the website from last year's race at
http://pd.ncoesc.org/greatrace/

Deadline to sign up is Monday, February 4th.
Thank you
Katrina

Katrina Moore M.Ed.
Columbiana County ESC
Distance Learning Consultant
216.346.2651