Posts filed under ‘News’
19 Days and Counting
Only 19 days left to register for the Young Minds Digital Times Student Film Competition. We have fantastic prizes for our winners, including two Grand Prize packages to attend the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. Other first place category winners will take home $200 in cold, hard cash. The teacher with the most student film entries, and the school with the most student film entries in Track One: Young Filmmakers Doing Good, will each win $1000! But you have to register first!!
Registration is open until February 19th. The competition is free to all student filmmakers grades 6-8 and 9-12. Film entries are due March 19th. And check the rest of our blog posts for filmmaking tips and tricks.
Film Competition Opens Today! Register NOW!
Registration is now open in the Young Minds Digital Times Film Competition (YMDT) 2009-2010! “Studio Chief” Converge magazine has a fantastic article about the competition on their website – “Lights, Camera, Interaction.” You can also check out the official YMDT Filmmaker Blog Buzz where you’ll find weekly tips, tricks, advice and news related to the competition.
There are new categories, prizes and sponsors in this year’s competition, and we hope you’ll choose to join YMDT as a student participant or by encouraging kids you know to sign up for this great opportunity. They competition also makes an excellent class project!
Countdown to Young Minds Digital Times ’09-’10!
The second year of the Young Minds Digital Times Film Competition (YMDT) is just days away! Starting September 28, students can register to participate in the ’09-’10 Competition. This year’s competition is co-sponsored by KidThrive.org and Converge magazine. As always, there’s no fee to participate. You’ll find all the details live on the YMDT website starting on the 28th. Some exciting improvements to this year’s competition based on your feedback:
- Expanded time line — films due in February 2010
- Larger cash prizes for students
- $1000 cash prizes for the teacher and school with the most entries
- Two new categories to show off your work
Be sure to check back September 28 for all the details! We can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to!
SXSWi: Vote YES for Beth and Hybrid Enterprises
Post by Beth Carls, CEO, OneSeventeen Media & Co-Founder, KidThrive.org
I hope to share more about our exciting journey into a hybrid enterprise at the SXSW 2010 Interactive Festival in Austin, TX March 12-16. With your help as part of the judging process, I’ll be a panelist at the upcoming festival. Check out my session overview and vote with a Thumbs Up to say “YES!” to learning more: The Hybrid Enterprise: A Tool for Visionary Entrepreneurs. Voting ends Friday, September 4, 2009. I look forward to seeing you there!
Introducing KidThrive.org + OneSeventeen Media
Post by Beth Carls, CEO, OneSeventeen Media & Co-Founder, KidThrive.org
As committed social venture entrepreneurs, the founders of OneSeventeen Media, Inc. recently made a strategic decision to operate two entities; the existing for-profit business (OneSeventeen Media) and a new, openly funded nonprofit organization (KidThrive.org), each operating independently and pursuing their own unique mission. This type of collaboration today is called a hybrid enterprise.
The term “hybrid” may sound familiar. While Wikipedia describes hybrid as “the combination of two or more different things, aimed at achieving a particular objective or goal” the word has context in mythology and iconography, biology, etymology, transportation, music, culture, computers and electronics, finance, sports and even video games.
Most of us probably think of cars when hearing the word hybrid. However, in this context, none of the above apply. The hybrid I’m referring to has to do with a new business trend for socially responsible entrepreneurs to use as their operational structure.
I recently spoke with Priya Haji, co-founder of World of Good, Inc. and WorldofGood.org – IMHO, a model example of how hybrid enterprises work best. WorldofGood.org works for industry-wide changes for alleviating global poverty. World of Good, Inc. partially funds the work of the nonprofit through founder’s equity, a percentage of annual profits, and periodic company-sponsored fundraisers and events. Unlike other hybrid-enterprises, however, WorldofGood pursues independent funding for its work through private and corporate foundations and individual grants.
We are committed to and believe this new paradigm of a hybrid enterprise is one that supports a more dynamic, interactive and new economy era model. KidThrive.org + OneSeventeen Media will reinforce the overarching goal of large-scale research, development and implementation of responsible and measurable social media tools that help our youth survive and thrive their developmental and growing up years.
Kids Prefer Life Online, Choose Correct Behavior
ReadWriteWeb shares that in a study of 14-21 year-olds, MySpace found that, “Some 36% of the respondents said they found it easier to talk about themselves online than in the real world, leading them to share more about themselves using technology.” For their younger counterparts who’ve never known life without social networks and text messaging, I’d guess that the percentage preferring to share online would be even higher.
MySpace’s numbers make total sense to us. For nearly a decade, OneSeventeen Media’s team members have been creating interactive experiences for kids online; we see technology as an opportunity to connect with kids who don’t always feel comfortable reaching out for help or support in face-to-face interactions. This isn’t to say online interactions should replace real life ones, but often the right online tool can serve as the first step in improving offline relationships.
So often it’s the doom-and-gloom reports about kids online that catch mainstream media attention, and Anastasia Goodstein presents a fresh look at information and youth behavior online:
“- 63% of teens said they DO NOT USE social networks to make fun of other students
- 87% of teens said they HAVE NOT posted naked or semi-naked photos or videos of themselves.
- 76% of teens said they HAVE NOT signed on to someone else’s account without permission
- 72% of teens HAVE NOT posted personal information that they normally would not have revealed in publicI would say wow, most teens are using this technology pretty responsibly…”
While there’s still room for improvement and educating kids as digital citizens, I greatly appreciate Anastasia framing the numbers to give kids the benefit of the doubt. There’s a strong majority of kids choosing to do the right things online, and that’s encouraging news!
Today’s Kids: Expensive, But Not Worse Behaving
A Canadian study reports that today’s kids behave no worse than their parents;
“The conventional vices such as smoking, drinking and occasional marijuana use are all down from Bibby’s earlier Teen Project Canada studies dating back to the 1980s. So are the teen problems of the sort highlighted by the media such as depression, suicide and bullying, according to his 2008 survey of 5,200 teens from coast to coast.”
While it might be mildly reassuring that this generation of teens and tweens are no worse off than their parents, the expansive media coverage on youth issues should make us aware of many individuals were previously falling through the cracks unnoticed. Twenty-first century tweens and teens are often criticized for their over-sharing, but when kids are willing to open up through new media tools, there’s a unique opportunity for us to provide support and resources to help navigate their struggles. At OneSeventeen Media, we’re motivated around using social media to connect kids with the tools for success that weren’t readily accessible a generation ago.
Another (expensive) sign of the times: the average family will spend $221,000 to raise a child born in 2008 to age 17, according to a USDA report that’s been widely covered the last few days. This is no small chunk of change, but as Joanne Jacobs points out, the figure could be quite inaccurate. On Jacobs’ blog, there are some interesting comments where a single mom explains the number sounds low:
“Overestimates? If anything, it underestimates. I’m a single parent in Southern California, living in a middle-class neighborhood. It costs me $500 MORE a month to rent a 2-bedroom apt. than a 1-bedroom. If I rented a house for optimal “family raising” conditions, it would cost even more. So already, we’re talking $108,000 just for him not to share a room with his mom. Even with extra-cheap child care until he turns 12, we’re talking $40,000 more. It would cost more than that for a parent to stay home for 12 years. That’s $148,000, and we haven’t even gotten to health insurance, medical expenses, food, or clothing yet.”
(Image found here)
Leading Educational Innovation in 1:1 Classrooms
Last week, I had the pleasure of attending Leading Innovation: Implementing Effective 1:1 Technology Programs at The Friday Institute at North Carolina State University. I was able to participate as both a vendor and attendee and gained fantastic insight from the experience. It’s inspiring to hear from leaders across North Carolina who are connecting with technology to do right by kids in school.
David Warlick keynoted the event, and it’s incredibly encouraging to see so many school leaders engaged in making flat classrooms a reality in their districts. There were valuable connections to make with the other attendees – superintendents, principals and classroom teachers. Educators I spoke with were particularly excited about participating in the Young Minds Digital Times Film Competition and pioneering PlumbBrain Micro-Communities in their classrooms. I’ve been in touch with many of my new acquaintances since the event ended on Friday.
The Friday Institute (FI) provided a paperless institute – the first I’ve been to! Not only is this a fantastic was to conserve paper and money, but they’ve also made all of the resources available to you! Both the institute wiki and Ning are “on-growing” communities where educators and laypeople alike are invited to join the conversation about 1:1 computing environments. You’ll also find all the handouts from the different presenters available through the wiki. Please check them out, enjoy, then invite any like-minds you know!
A large thanks to the FI for including KidThrive.org + OneSeventeen Media in the event!
(Pictured from top to bottom: teachers collaborating during an immersive project-based learning simulation and David Warlick looking on as one district makes their comprehensive plan for 1:1 connectivity in their schools. Photos by Amy Strecker)
Reality Check on the Meaning of Growing Up Digital
This article speaks for itself. From the San Francisco Chronicle’s Technology Blog:
Walkman, at 30, a mystery to teen
What better way to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Sony’s iconic Walkman than to ask a teenager for some feedback on the device?
The BBC couldn’t think of one, and neither can I.
I like to imagine that the experience was similar to an archaeologist rediscovering how a recently excavated artifact was employed thousands of years ago. But I’m well aware that it must have been different for 13-year-old Scott Campbell, who co-edits his own news Web site. For one, teenage impatience must have stood in the place where I fantasize scientific curiosity should have been.
“My dad had told me it was the iPod of its day,” Campbell wrote. “He had told me it was big, but I hadn’t realized he meant that big. It was the size of a small book.”
Sure enough, people on the street noticed the antique clinging from his belt with amusement and friends on his school bus were quick to come up with some witty remark.
Campbell went on to criticize the portable cassette player’s size, appearance, functionality and the “hissy backtrack and odd warbly noises.”
Even when he discovered the cassette had more music on the other side (it took him three days), Campbell was still disappointed it could only hold a small fraction of what an iPod can.
“Did my dad … really ever think this was a credible piece of technology?”
Ouch.
(Image found here)
Save The Date: Young Minds Digital Times Film Competition 2009-2010 — Details Aug 1, 2009
OneSeventeen Media will sponsor the second annual Young Minds Digital Times Film Competition in 2009-2010. We’re hard at work getting the details in place to announce them August 1, 2009 here and on www.youngmindsdigitaltimes.com. We hope you’ll stay tuned! If you’re interested in participating as a judge, email Competition Director, Amy Strecker at amy.strecker@oneseventeenmedia.com
