[SL] Linden Lab's Newsletter on Camp Global KIds
June's Second Opinion, the newsletter from Linden Lab (the company that runs Second Life) is out, and guess what organisation is a focus of an article? Thats right, Global Kids!
The article is titled Making Learning Fun - and Profitable!
Making Learning Fun – and Profitable!
Educators have been using the Main Grid for some time now to test their ideas and conduct research. Now the Teen Grid is beginning to generate interest with schools and non-profits as an invaluable resource for learning and advocacy. Global Kids is one example.
Global Kids is a non-profit group working to prepare urban youth to become global citizens and community leaders. With help from Main Grid content creators and consultants like The Magicians and the Electric Sheep Company, Global Kids created a program where students in New York City collaborate with Teen Grid Residents from around the world. The teens had to finish the interactive adventure to participate in a real-world essay contest. Winners of the contest received cash prizes (in US dollars) and were part of an awards ceremony co-broadcast into the Teen Grid and on stage in NYC.
This summer, Global Kids is holding a free month-long virtual summer camp that encourages teens to form educated opinions on current events. They'll learn what's going on in the world, how foreign policy is shaped, who the decision makers are and what other factors come into play. As part of Camp Global Kids, participants choose a topic that interests them and work to develop a plan of collective action to educate their peers. Along the way, participants are learning to be community leaders, and for those who complete the program, they will earn $100 USD.
Barry Joseph, director of Global Kids' online leadership program, has been a strong supporter of the Teen Grid and its Residents. "The Teen Grid at Second Life offers high school educators like myself an incredible opportunity - a large population of teens from around the world, already prepared by the SL experience to take on leadership roles, who are often lacking meaningful activities to occupy their time and give their efforts direction,” said Joseph. “For an organization like Global Kids, interested in transferring our youth development model around social issues into a virtual world, who could ask for anything more?"
