Global Kids' Digital Media Initiative

This project was awesome. It was a great opportunity for us to come to Chicago. I learned a lot throughout this project. I had pretty bad skills in Second Life. However, I improved a lot and just in four days. It was really fun to talk to the Chicago team. They all were very nice and funny. After coming to Chicago I learned a lot about this Field Museum and the scientists. The scientists probably had a hard time finding the fossils and bringing them back to the museum. Before I joined this program, I used to think like scientists have an easy life because they always work in the lab. But now I know how hard it is to find out information about something. I have never been a fan of science. However, now I am kind of becoming interested in it. I am really proud of this change because science is very important. We always should learn about it.

Posted by Sabina R. at 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On the first day of IDT, I was clueless of what is going to happen. I did not hear of Paleontology before June 30th, 2008. I joined this program because I was very interested in what we were going to do here at IDT. Being in IDT has been a lot of fun and has taught me many life skills and information. I learned to type faster and articulate my words/sentences better and even build people skills. Now, sadly this is the last day of IDT and I will miss it dearly. Throughout this program I have grown with information from the science field of Paleontology. After today when I hear about Paleontology I would be able to relate my experiences. By experiencing this field of science I realized, I do not want to enter this field. Most proudly I am proud to be a faster typer and to have public speaking skills because I can use these skills in my everyday life.

By learning typing skills I can take that to college and should be able to type my essays better than most. And public speaking that everyone must have or else other would try to wall all over you. In any event I loved this program and I would miss it dearly.

Posted by Tarana L. at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I feel different today than the day we started this project because my interest in the scientists work has grown on me. It has made me more aware and more open-minded on the type of work these scientists work through. It was a very exciting experience and a lot of fun working and just being with the other students in Chicago. I have made new friends that will forever leave a lasting impression on me. They are so much fun. I really hope I can go back to Chicago just to see them again. When I started this project I knew nothing of paleontology and what they do. I have not only learned about them, I have learned with my friends. I am most proud of the way I was able to catch up on things. Not knowing some thing in the beginning and then finally learning something new. Being with my friends was so enjoyable, it will be a memory I hope to relive once more. Go Global Kids.

Posted by Justin A. at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The first day of I Dig Tanzania, I was very excited to meet old and new friends. The first workshop, we met the Chicago kids on Second Life, got split up into teams and were able to cooperate with them through TSL. The same interaction done with the fossil hunt in Tanzania. I enjoyed it very much, and so did everyone else. During the past days of workshop, we learned new things about fossil hunting and Tanzanai. While working in those days, we had the privilege to talk to actual paleontologists in Tanzania via satellite. I thought the experience of being able to talk live to actual fossil hunters, we asked questions and most of them got answered. We also had the chance to have live Tanzanian drumming/singing in front of us live. Us being able to get a hands on experience has such a significance, that I still remember some of the notes.

Finally arriving in Chicago, I was so excited to meet other teens that I couldn’t wait. Interacting live to me was a pleasurable and fun adventure, after chatting with them online. Even though today is the last day, I know we will meet again.

Posted by Jinsoi L. at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since the program started I have learned a lot of things and made new friends from Chicago. I have become more knowledgeable about fossils and the process that is involved in retrieving them. I also gained a unique insight into how scientists actually work in the field. Besides observing the scientists and their work, we also did our own dig in Second Life. Throughout the various activities in Second Life I learned the different extinction eras and the various unique species in each ad learned how they adapt to their environment in order to survive. Once we found the fossils we assembled them and identified which species it is. During the activities I learned a lot more about the features that Second Life offers and got a better handle on how to interact, create and assemble in Second Life. The thing I’m most proud of learning is being able to see actual scientists and follow their work. We even had a group session where we got to ask questions to the scientists. Thanks for the program I gained a new perspective on the world.

Posted by Thein H. at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It’s amazing how time flies! Wow! A month! That’s a lot of time, don’t you think? On the first day that we started I Dig Tanzania I was new to everything. I didn’t know everyone and I never heard of Second Life! I mean it’s not a very common thing. If you were to ask anyone about Second Life, chances are they’re not going to know what you are talking about. It will probably take you a while to explain to them about Second Life and its features.

The only difference I can think of is my knowledge about Second Life. I was happy that I was able to join this program because I got to learn about different species and its natural adaptations. However, I was thrilled because I got to meet new people and I was able to be with my BEST friend Sabina Runa.

When I first came to Global Kids, I didn’t know anything about fossils. Well, I knew a couple of things, such as fossils being the remains of dead animals. However, I was never aware of the process that Paleontologists had to face. They’ve earned my respect. In order to be a Paleontologist you need to be dedicated and have a lot of patience.
I feel proud of myself because I encouraged myself to join this program because I wanted to learn about Tanzania and its beautiful culture. Honestly, I learned so many things. I learn about Tanzania’s music, culture, geography and Second Life. I’m so proud of myself because I joined Global Kids!

Posted by Beatriz N. at 2:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When we first started this program, my interest in fossils was very low. I thought the study was pretty interesting, but this program increased my interest. Being able to see and hear the scientists speak and give the whole behind the scenes tour. Time seems to have passed so fast. Meeting the kids in Chicago was amazing. I’m so proud of the fast friendships we made. These kids were crazy and exciting in all the right ways. They along with everything else truly completed this trip and experience. Meaning none of this would have been as fun and exciting had they not been with us. I’m very excited to visit some of the museums in New York and maybe quiz myself. Now that I can pronounce some of the dinosaurs names I have and seen them and feel proud that I can recognize and say I know some inside. Also Chicago was amazing. I feel like I have grown so much and feel so comfortable with this subject. I know that I have grown so much because of this program. I feel like I have gained a better perspective on people, fossils and the world that is behind all of it. My respect and curiosity is beyond grown. I am now so much more intrigued and full of knowledge. This experience has been so amazing. I am going to definitely remember every minute and every person. This place, Chicago, the museum, has been outrageously awesome.

Posted by Vanessa F. at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been putting together this blog post for a bit, and first asked the RezEd community to weigh in, about what the various setups you can have for education in Second Life as a way to just wrap my head around the issue. Over here at Global Kids alone we've used Second Life in so many different ways. As a youth media creation tool in a face to face setting, as a leadership development and peer education tool in a distance learning environment, as a peer exchange and collaboration tool between groups of students that are in two separate physical locations, and many more. So, I'm curious to see how we can break all of these various setups down.

Here's what I've got so far, and I'd love to hear about more from others, especially examples of a given educational setup that you can refer to.

(note that my examples are skewed to the k12 space, as well as to Global Kids projects. Pardon my biased knowledge base. :P)

Face to Face Settings

• Education happens in Second Life - Ramapo Middle School, where I believe a given class will be logged on, from the same physical location, and the class interaction/discussion/facilitation will happen within Second Life


• Education happens outside of Second Life - In Global Kids' Virtual Video Project meets face to face and has workshops that will involve Second Life, but don't happen within Second Life, per se. The aim of such a project is more to use SL as a platform to create media.


• There are so many more here! Classes doing research of the Second Life community? Classes that collaboratively create events, builds, or media together?

Distance Learning Settings

• Peer Education/Leadership Development within the SL community- In GK's Power of Citizenry in Second Life program facilitators do outreach into the teen grid community to do leadership development through having teens learn skills to develop, facilitate and document their own issue oriented educational events. The facilitators never meet with the teens face to face.


• Virtual Classroom - college level courses offered through Second Life where the students meet with teachers only in Second Life. Example?

Combinations of Face-to-Face and Distance Learning Models

• I Dig Tanzania - Teens in Chicago and Teens in New York met in Teen Second Life to learn about Tanzanian culture, politics, and paleontology through virtual digs and interfacing with Paleontologists on the ground in the country. The teens in each location we gathered together face to face as they logged on, and there were facilitators present in both locations.


• Pacific Rim Exchange - A peer exchange program between students in California and Japan where the students met first in Teen Second Life to collaborate on projects together, get to know each other, and practice language skills before they met face to face on their exchange.


• Schoolaborate - Learning community bringing together classes from a variety of different classes from across the globe. From what I can gather, the teens and teachers in a given class meet in one physical location, but log in-world to develop collaborative projects with other schools and attend events that other school classes develop.

Asynchronous Learning

• Games - Consent!, a game developed by GK's Playing 4 Keeps afterschool program to educate others about exploitative practices in medical testing against African American males in the American prison system.


• Simulations - The now famous Testes Simulation in Second Life


• Virtual Exhibits - GK and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum's Witnessing History: The Night of Broken Glass exhibit that educated visitors about the role of bystanders during the night of Krystallnacht.

Whew! I know that this isn't everything, and I would love to hear more from the community about other program models for education in Second Life. I know I totally left out what's happening on the university level, so you profs better get in here and let me know what I missed!

Posted by Rafi at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Brock from the Greenville Forward blog lends an account in a recent post on himself and his coworkers experience playing Ayiti: the Cost of Life, after they were cued in to it by a recent Nonprofit Times article.

Anyway, I called to Russell and asked him what he was doing. No answer. So, I called again. Still no answer. But, the beeping and the bomping kept coming. Now, it was accompanied by sounds from Russell. "Aw..." "Oh yeah." "Whoops." "Uh Oh." started to echo in the emptiness of the first floor on Manly Street. Well, now my interest was up. So, I walked out and saw Russell intently working on something on his computer. He looked up and said, "Man, this is cool. You gotta try....", but his sentence faded out as he went back to the thing on his screen.

Eventually, he stopped and told me about this article he read that talked about kids designing online games with Game Lab, a NYC-based game development company. Students at South Shore High School developed Ayiti: The Cost of Life , detailing a family, living in Haiti, struggling with poverty. You live as this family for 4 years and have make choices as to where you work, how you work, whether your children go to school, how many go to school, what to do when someone gets sick, etc. You are also faced with challenges like Hurricane Season and Dry Season. My family made it to Year 4 when I lost the son to Cholera and the father to Diphtheria. Once the father was gone, the game was over. The oldest daughter could not care for her younger sister alone. Especially, when she was so sick from working as a Rum Distiller for so long, just to help feed her family.

Thanks Brock for playing and taking the time to write up your experience!

Posted by joyce at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Review of camp day 14

* Today was the big ONE - SELECTION PANEL
* Before 10am SLT campers did FINAL minute checks
* Panel got together at the DIDI Coffee House to be de-briefed.
* Venture panel came through the doors and went onto the Stage to get started
* Introduction from the panel, crew and add-ons lol
* 2 campers started to tell us about their venture's that they will do in the near future
* Q&A session at the end to ask questions and find out more about it
* Campers said their good-byes and teleported over to the D.I.D.I. Institute Bulding
* To end the amazing exciting day - campers needed to go onto the venture website to discuss some things before ending today.

* Overall awsome day folks, great job at the panel today!

Steps for Selection Panels
* Panel members sit on the stage and get ready
* Panelists introduce themselfs with a brief summary about them
* Each team will have 10 minutes to present, followed by 10 minutes of questions from everyone.
* After both teams have presented and been asked questions, they’ll leave, and we’ll have some time to discuss.
* Then they will soon get a Yes or No to launch their ventures in the next few days or weeks
* Hopefully then they will be to start
* Finally...a review after a few months to see how things are going and stuff

End of camp day 14

Posted by Daniel Voyager at 5:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Review of Day 13.

* Campers started to review some panel basics for tomorrow's panel
* A few people said about their past experiences at the Selection Panel e.g. what it is like, requirements, how to get pass and make a sucessful TSL/RL venture
* Half-way through campers and team worked on getting last minute checks ready in time for tomorrow.
* To end the session today campers and team went over some of the important preparing steps, skills, things to know about doing a venture
* Q&A just passed the hour at the end of camp today

Posted by Daniel Voyager at 5:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Review of Day 12

* Quiet day today for campers - Not alot of staff in town today! :P
* Campers started to come up with ideas for Thursday
* Our head camper:Meghan GKID had to attend to a meeting, therefore YouthVenture staff took over the job of today for us campers
* Lastly campers signed up to the TSL Venture Site

* End of Day 12

Posted by Daniel Voyager at 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Review of Day 11

* The first two weeks were focused in learning about DIDI, and then preparing yoru action plan. * Most of you have made super super progress on your plans.
* This week the campers will really focus on tieing all that together and preparing to present your plan to the Pane.
* NEXT week will focus on getting camper ventures officially launched!

* Review of Day 11

* Campers started of with a fun activity called two truths and a lie. About?.. Campers took turns going around clockwise - when a camper had their turn they had to make 3 statements, two truths (so two statements about theirself that are TRUE) and one lie, but the aim was to not know which is which - they had to guess, try to trick everybody and make it hard to decide. Awsome game!.
* Campers then walked across DIDI Pathways to visit two Teen Second Life ventures that are using DIDI Venture Park. they are only two examples of the many things they could do with DIDI. This was the chance for campers to ask questions and get feedback from it.
* Came back to the Meeting room to review grants for camper TSL ventures.
* Plan for the venture selection panel coming up soon for campers.

Posted by Daniel Voyager at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Remember you can view my previous reviews of camp by going to my Daniel Voyager Blog and going to the achieve section on left called “can you find it”, then find and click on Summer Camp/D.I.D.I.

Review of day 10

* Movie watching & plans for the weekend
* Campers had to take a minute and think of two thigns to share 1) Favorite part of camp so far, 2) their hope for the next two weeks, campers comments below! - HALF WAY THROUGH ALREADY :(
* We did a quick recap of the week which at this point all campers should all have all FIVE action plan cards with them to hand in on Monday for week 3. Reminder for those of you who wont be here next week - please work on your cards - and get them to us as soon as you get back - once you return we will see how far you are and get you ready for panel!
* We had a exciting poem time which started of by Meghan - Campers had share a poem with the rest of the campers - either one that they wrote or happens to be written by an author, or favorite poem.
* How to enter into the BOHO/Beatnik costume contest, from the late bohemian era - where bohemians blended with hippies.
* Campers told us about their outfits
* Surprise building contest which is related to the poetry day. How to do it?…Find a poem - Either one you wrote, or one you like (include author) and make a notecard. This part is easy…….build a 3-D illustration that goes with your poem - either illustrating the feel/mood of the poem, or illustrating a scene from it - some how has to be connected. Campers had 35 minutes to do this, the event was really fun for all.
* Campers and all had to visit each piece, and let the creator 1) share the poem *just give a notecard* and 2) explain the build. Then to vote for best at the end - well down to: tarkin!
* The VOTE was REALLY close, as usual, so much talent at camp)

* End of week 2 at camp on a high!!!!

Camper Poems

* Nekoslash Innis: There it is! The vision in my dreams! It creeps nearer and nearer. It moves like a spider moves in on its prey. It’s dark shadowy body covered in darkness, it engulfs everything in its path. It moves slowly but surely after me. “Ah!” I yell out for help, but… no one can hear me. It has already long consumed me, I am stuck within my own pool of darkness and depression. It blinded me, haunting me in my dreams, driving me slowly mad. But, I won’t let this thing do this anymore! I can control it! It grows smaller as I become the light and become one with the darkness. I can control both parts of me, no matter how hard it becomes… I’ll do it! It won’t consume me anymore…

* Meghan GKid: But it’s a fave of mine, but Shel Silverstein. Titled “Sick”. ‘I cannot go to school today, ‘ Said little Peggy Ann McKay. ‘I have the measles and the mumps, A gash, a rash and purple bumps. My mouth is wet, my throat is dry, I’m going blind in my right eye. My tonsils are as big as rocks, I’ve counted sixteen chicken pox. My leg is cut-my eyes are blue- It might be instamatic flu. I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke, I’m sure that my left leg is broke. My hip hurts when I move my chin, My belly button’s caving in, My back is wrenched, my ankle’s sprained, My ‘pendix pains each time it rains. My nose is cold, my toes are numb. I have a sliver in my thumb. My neck is stiff, my voice is weak, I hardly whisper when I speak. My tongue is filling up my mouth, I think my hair is falling out. My elbow’s bent, my spine ain’t straight, My temperature is one-o-eight. My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear, There is a hole inside my ear. I have a hangnail, and my heart is-what?. What’s that?, What’s that you say?, You say today is…Saturday?, G’bye, I’m going out to play.

* JOEY Alexandre: The Crystal Gazer, By Sara Teasdale. I shall gather myself into my self again, I shall take my scattered selves and make them one. I shall fuse them into a polished crystal ball. Where I can see the moon and the flashing sun. I Shall sit like a sibyl, hour after hour intent. Watching the future come and the present go. And the little shifting pictures of people rushing. In tiny self-importance to and fro.
Reviews so far!

* Meghan GKid: 1) My favorite part of camp so far has been hearing all the great ideas that you campers have and 2) my hope is that we can support all of you to create successful ventures in the next two weeks!

* Alexander9 Carver: my favorie part was when we built the tents

* JOEY Alexandre: My favorite part was learning new things. And i hope for to have fun the next 2 weeks

* Nekoslash Innis: MY favorite part was learning new things and I hope we can learn new things in the next 2 weeks

* Jetta Egan: my favorite part was learning new things and i hope to learn more and have fun

* Amira GKid: Getting to see each other every day, so that we can move so quickly through the DIDI process and launch quickly, and 2) I hope that you all find venture ideas that you believe strongly in and feel proud about making the world and TSL a better place!

* Me: I think so far its been great fun since the camp started, i love helping your guys out and keeping note on day-to-day reviews, loves uploading awsome camp shots. Two weeks left - enjoy it!.

* Loyne Garzo: Unfortunately i have been unable to attend several sessions but 1) i thoroughly enjoyed tent making aswell as meeting you guys and 2) i hope to have more fun and create a successful venture

* Tarkin Garzo: 1) making tents 2)medieval day nxt week

Posted by Daniel Voyager at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Review of Day 9.

First - budget trivia!

Second - Discuss last two action plan cards

Third - Time for discussion of challenges and next steps

Fourth - discuss Friday Fun Fest - last - time to work on your plans.

Posted by Daniel Voyager at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Monday, July 21st, Global Kids’ U.S. in the World: International Law and Foreign Policy Program was proud to welcome Dr. Francis Deng, the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, to speak about “Stopping the Genocide in Darfur: The Role of the UN, the ICC and the International Community.” Before Deng’s arrival, students in the program, which is held at the Council on Foreign Relations, participated in a workshop on the Sudan. The students were divided into four groups, with each group taking the role of either the United Nations Security Council, the Government of Sudan, the United States and International Community, or the International Criminal Court. Students had handouts which they could use to devise strategies on how they would protect the civilian populations and Internally Displaced Persons of Darfur.

Teens in Second Life doing an icebreaker during the workshop

As the workshop was run in “real” world at CFR, a similar workshop was being run online in Teen Second Life. This was the first time that a workshop was run simultaneously with students at CFR and the students on the teen grid, this summer, so it was interesting to see both sets of students processing the activity. Students in TSL did a warm-up activity on a large checkerboard in which they had to take one step forward if individual statements applied to them, such as “You or someone you know has been evicted from their home” and “You know one place in the world where children have been used as soldiers.” The TSL students were then given notecards with the information needed to break into the four groups and further discuss these issues.

Teens listening intently to Dr. Francis Deng, the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide

After the workshop, students in TSL and adults on the main grid listened to Dr. Francis Deng talk about the problems facing the international community and the roadblocks we face in making the necessary strides for peace. Students at CFR were able to watch the TSL simulcast being projected onto a screen, so they could watch the back channel of discussion taking place as Dr. Deng was speaking. During the Q & A, some of the students in TSL had the opportunity to have their questions answered by Dr. Deng. It was inspiring to see people from a wide-ranging locations engaging this important discussion through different means.

- By Mike, GK Watson Fellow

Posted by Rafi at 2:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was a day of endless surprises. At breakfast we congratulated the Zerriffi's on their 38th anniversary. Everyone busted out laughing when Ali a.k.a Papa Zerriffi said"oh snap it's today". After breakfast we went to CASA hospital and then their building. It was beautiful. Most of the buildings in Mexico are house s turned into offices or stores. But anyway we did workshops for them and vise versa. We spent most of the day at CASA interacting with the youth. Then we went home and got ready for dinner. We had dinner with the Zerriffi's. This place was so nice and had the best salmon ever made.While we ate we were singing songs, laughing and chatting like a real family. After dinner is when the surprises started. Mirza gave them a glass bird that stood on top of a beautiful crystal. We later found out that she is in love with crystals. Fahim gave them a little bicycle that had a blue outline, orginally made in Bangladesh. Then we gave them I LUV NY shirts that we had signed. At the table we let Nassim sign both shirts. Then we let Mama and Papa Zerriffi sign each other shirts. The funny thing was that when they signed them they wrote the same thing "forever yours" in different languages.Naomi a.k.a Mama Zerriffi wrote it in Spanish and Papa Zerriffi wrote it in Arabic. This was a night to remember.

Posted by Tashawna HRAP at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today I helped organize a pretty successful mixed-reality Global Kids event, featuring Dr. Francis Deng, the UN Special Representative on Genocide, speaking about Darfur and the UN's response to situations like these. The Online Leadership Program of Global Kids, which I'm a part of, is making concerted efforts to coordinate our work more closely with other Global Kids' programs that focus on New York teens.  While Second Lifers know about Global Kids as being innovators in virtual world education, our main work is face-to-face with thousands of real world teens in 25 schools in the wider New York City area.

My colleague Shawna and I developed a quick-and-dirty way of taking a program organized by the Global Kids Summer Institute at the Council on Foreign Relations and bring it into Second Life and Teen Second Life. 

Shawna and I looked at the program planned for the Summer Institute participants to see what we would be the best fit to bring into Second Life.  While there were a number of interesting subjects being dealt with during the Summer Institute, from climate change to humanitarian intervention, we felt that an event focused on Darfur would be of interest both to our community of teens on the Teen Grid and to the adults involved with the International Justice Center on the main grid.  And hearing from a UN Special Representative on Genocide, who himself is a Sudanese national, talking about Darfur, seemed like too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Shawna worked with the Summer Institute organizer Eddie Mandry to get an idea of what the real world teens would be doing to prepare for Dr. Deng's speech.  They were doing a roleplaying exercise where different groups of teens got to represent various actors -- from the Sudanese government to the ICC to the international community -- and come up with their actions in response to the Genocide in Darfur.  Shawna adapted this roleplay activity to work with our teens on Global Kids island, which reportedly went quite well. (On the Main Grid, we skipped the roleplay, which I don't think would have worked as well with adults.)

The actual presentation by Dr. Francis Deng was easy to capture and stream.  All it involved was a laptop connected to the internet, a decent USB mic, and a program to set up an MP3 audio stream (we used Nicecast). We probably could have done a full video broadcast, but that seemed too iffy to arrange given the wifi-only environment and the challenges of ensuring a reliable video stream into Second Life.

Keeping the adults and teens engaged with the speaker was another challenge. It's one thing to be a teen in the same room as an elder Sudanese UN official speaking directly to you.  It's another to hear a disembodied voice come out of your computer speakers.  So we had to find ways to keep our audiences engaged, by having them comment on what Dr. Deng was speaking about, and asking them to submit questions that we could pose to the UN Special Rep.  I think we largely succeeded, but it's definitely hard work.

Getting the real world participants to understand and connect with what was happening virtually was another task.  One way was to make sure that the moderator asked for questions from the virtual participants, which we collected and passed along to Dr. Deng.  A better way was to have projected onto a screen a live image of Second Life, so that the speaker and the teens could envision what the virtual participants were experiencing.  An even better way would be to let the virtual participants speak for themselves and have Second Life voice projected into the room.  We didn't do this for this program, but I'd like to try and arrange it in the future.

Fortunately, the teen and adult participants all asked excellent questions. Dr. Deng handled them all carefully and diplomatically, as expected. If we had some post-event processing with the participants, I would have loved to get them to think about what things were left unsaid by the senior diplomat, and why. 

Numbers-wise, we had the attendance we expected given the timing of the event (summer, early afternoon): a half-dozen on the Teen Grid, another dozen in the Main Grid.  As an experiment, it was a success.  But for an established mixed-reality program we would have to think more intently about outreach and scalability.

For now, I'm satisfied that Shawna and myself, with the help of our colleague Rafi and GK fellows Sean and Michael, did our respective jobs competently, organized a unique and important mixed-reality event, and pushed forward the work of Global Kids and the Online Leadership Program.

Posted by Rik at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wow like wow again. We're leaving like in two days. I'm very relaxed and I see my mom all anxious, Wing Mai and Nassim running around doing errands and lalala stuff. I'm just taking my sweet time !! Well I'm very excited to go. I can't wait t see the ruins, work the workshops, and etc. I also want to say something to someone:
thank you so much for the letter and papers, Molly!! They meant a lot to me!! I hope u have fun in Tulum. It's very pretty.
Have fun

Posted by Norma HRAP at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week the Cool Kids got to participate in the Human Barometer activity. They got to agree, disagree, or answer 'not sure' when given a statement that didn't have a right or wrong answer.
We explored topics including online and offline relationships (which are more meaningful) as well as the statement 'anyone can be rich and successful.'

While it was early in the morning, the conversation was still good! I think the human barometer was a great activity to feel safe to state opinions that were honest and learn how to communicate with others that might not share the same opinion-both great skills to have when launching a DIDI venture!

Here are some excerpts from the conversation about whether online or offline relationships are more meaningful:

Icey: I said I'm not sure because I have some very very close relationships offline, and online I keep it at a not too personal level

Chilly: I say not sure because some time it can be good and then it cant. For example, when you meet somebody online you may find them to be a nice person to be around and talk to cause you never seen them in person before but when of if you do meet them in person they mite not be the same person you was talking to and online. They mite act different in person. But in my own decision i would like to meet a person face to face before i meet them online.

Posted by Kelly Eye4You at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Non-Profit Times recently posted an article online focusing on games being used to change kids ideas of nonprofits and spotlighting Ayiti as a good example of such.

Building Vs. Blowing Up Games aimed to change kids' idea of nonprofits By Michele Donohue

Choose whether your child goes to school to learn or works in a rum distillery to make money. Decide whether a bicycle or medicine is more important to spend precious resources on. These are decisions most of us don't have to make every day - but they are the choices you have to make in the game Ayiti: The Cost of Life.
Ayiti: The Cost of Life demonstrates poverty in Haiti.

Ayiti simulates choices people in Haiti have to make - health or wealth, education or jobs - and is just one of the many games emerging from the growing social and health game sector.

The rest of the article, after the jump, or you can view it online here.

Nonprofits and academic institutions are increasingly interested in using interactive game play to drive their missions home - from ICED, which stands for I Can End Deportation, from New York City-based human rights organization Breakthrough, to the United Nations (U.N.)

Foundation's Deliver the Nets about battling malaria, which kills a million people each year.

"The emphasis behind the game was to give people something fun to do but also to educate them about the role of the U.N. and how hard and challenging it can be to get these nets, but at the end of the day what a big difference they make," said Katherine Miller, director of communications at the U.N. Foundation. In Deliver the Nets, players must find people to give bed nets to before the sun goes down. The game was launched in conjunction with World Malaria Day on April 25 and a bed net was donated for each of the 16,000 people who played the game in the first month. "We thought that it was also an excellent way to educate people about the challenges of delivering these nets and where they go," said Miller.

The games might make social problems more tangible to the player - children and adults alike - but most nonprofits have to keep the budget and mission in mind. Small single-player games can reach $100,000, with costs easily jumping from anywhere between $250,000 and $1 million or more for increasingly sophisticated games, depending on the developers, project time and design.

"We never make a program when there isn't a need. We want to be careful about how we are spending donor dollars," said Joan Ford, vice president of strategic initiatives at the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation based in Los Angeles. Starlight Starbright has created several games that help children understand sicknesses they might be battling, such as asthma, sickle cell anemia and diabetes.

Ford said that the organization used research and proven modular learning techniques to develop fun, creative games that most importantly made impact on the children. According to Ford, researchers "found a difference in knowledge, self-efficacy -- when you are sick you get hopeless about it and it's not hard to get there -- increased self responsibility and compliance reducing in symptoms," in children that played the health games Starbright Starlight developed.

The idea of using games to teach health and social change - instead of stealing cars or battling aliens - is a relatively new concept, and nonprofits are trying to figure out how much impact games can have on people.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, based in Princeton, N.J., announced that $2 million in grants would support 12 research teams figuring out if different health game techniques can have proven results through its Health Games Research program at the University of California in Santa Barbara. The grants are awarded, up to $200,000, on a one- to two-year basis to further research the effectiveness games may have in healthcare.

"Our vision is that in the coming years we'll have a thriving marketplace of well-designed, compelling, interactive games that draw on this evidence base to become highly engaging and effective tools for improving the health and healthcare of all Americans," said Chinwe Onyekere, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program officer for the Pioneer Portfolio, which promotes innovative projects in the future of healthcare.

The projects chosen for the grants vary in demographic, technology medium, and health topic -- from a mobile phone game to promote healthy eating habits for young adolescents to implementing an action-adventure driving game to improve cognitive functions for adults older than 65.

The grant work will help researchers "understand more deeply how people respond to interactive games and how we can design effective health games that can engage, motivate, empower and support players as they achieve better health habits and health outcomes," said Dr. Debra Lieberman, communication researcher at the Institute for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research at the University of California.

"I think we need more proof that this is possible and that the game can be fun and at the same time be useful in the world," said Colleen Macklin, Parsons The New School of Design chair of Communication Design and Technology in New York City.

Parsons' Communication Design and Technology department announced in December a joint initiative with Games for Change (G4C) to create PETLab, a game design research lab for prototyping social change games. G4C started in 2004 as part of the Serious Games Initiative aimed at providing information about social change through games, under the financial sponsorship of the nonprofit Digital Innovations Group, Inc.

The G4C's annual festival invites gaming professionals, nonprofits and academia to discuss how games have, and will, affect the social sphere. PETLab was made possible by a $425,000 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation grant and will create games using the Microsoft Xbox development platform. The organization already plans to work with MTV's Think.MTV.com, a youth-driven activism community.

Suzanne Seggerman, G4C co-founder and president, said that a majority of mainstream games fail, and that rate increases for social issue games. But, she said, PETLab will help build base information about game design and provide low-cost methods and small game prototypes.

"I think that we're really at the infancy, but we're really beginning to see some of the change that's possible," said Seggerman. NPT

Posted by joyce at 1:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Press conference in Rome held by the Coalition for an ICC, July 1998. Credit: CICC.

Ten years ago today, the world took a historic step from impunity toward accountability by creating the International Criminal Court.  On July 17, 1998 in Rome Italy, 120 governments of the world signed into being the Rome Treaty on the International Criminal Court, "one of the most important advances in international law and human rights since the adoption of the UN Charter in 1948" according to my old boss Bill Pace of the Coalition for the ICC.The International Criminal Court is a permanent human rights tribunal based in the Hague, Netherlands, whose mission is to hold accountable those who commit the worst offenses of justice in the world, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

I was privileged enough to be there in Rome for the treaty conference, at the time serving as the communications coordinator for the Coalition for an ICC.  I was responsible for the communications going into and out of the conference to our hundreds of allied organizations and activists around the world, including writing a daily newsletter and email blast to our constituents.  It was perhaps the most important thing that I have ever done in my 20 year career as an activist organizer.

Today the ICC is doing remarkable things and having a broader impact around the world that we may not even be able to assess in this generation.  Notably:

• This week, the ICC prosecutor applied for the indictment of Sudanese President Sudan Omar al-Bashir on genocide charges -- the first arrest warrant against a sitting head of state.
• Last week, former Congolese Vice President and rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo was arrested in Belgium and transferred to The Hague in the first arrest issued for the investigation into human rights violations in the Central African Republic.
• The ICC is also proceeding with prosecutions against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo and Congolese warlords Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui.
• The prosecutor is looking into situations in other regions, including Afghanistan and Colombia.
• With the addition of Suriname earlier this week, the number of countries who have ratified the treaty is at 107!

These are amazing times. I'm so proud to have been able to have been able to play some small part in getting us to this point. And to be working now on the International Justice Center, a virtual space to support the ICC.

Visit the Coalition website for more on this significant achievement.

Posted by Rik at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It’s Tuesday at Camp, day 7 - 1 week = camp days so far. Here is a overlook of day 7:

* Campers teleported to the green grass area over at D.I.D.I. Island to get a summary of today’s tasks.
* Campers played a game called Primtionary where they had to whisper > (without typing or talking) to make us guess the word using only prims.
* Review on campers venture ideas.
* Campers were given their first card of the action plan to gather camper ideas and to feedback to all.
* Campers had to play a job and it was up to them to figure out who does what etc
* Campers built their many visual representations/models/sculptures that represents what DIDI means to them as the DIDI ‘08 Campers. All team members had to put input on the *idea*.
* The plan for above: the first thing they needed was to get together as a group and make a plan, then they had to figure out who is going to do what (who will build, what will be built, finally who will take notes/snaps, who will present)
* Campers moved to the workshop room for part 2 of today which was to to sit down and talk about some points about ventures and review of the last task
* Campers played a game called to make one sentence that makes sense lol

Posted by Daniel Voyager at 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yay, week 2 has started with many exciting things lined up for this week. Week two means its business time!. Campers over the weekend planned and was told to think about their missions then to send it to Meghan GKID today/this week. Remember this means that campers if the most points on this mission earn an extra iPod Raffle ticket :)

One of the things i love about Global Kids and D.I.D.I. system is that they talk about the guidelines that people should follow, campers really like this way i think. 1) one mic - makign sure everyone has a chance to share, 2) participation - you are all doing it! and 3) safe space- you are disagreeing respectfully.

Review of day 6 - week 2

* Meet and greet (where campers teleported in)
* Brief summary of what campers will be doing today
* Campers went over to Global Kids event area to do activity 1 which was to talk about peer pressure, self esteem, Behavior, Environment, reasons about this topic
* Campers teleported to the Coffee House on D.I.D.I. Island to do the second activity which was to create an action plan - which will be a series of notecards that you will fill out. Each notecard will have a focus
* Campers were asked if they have a rough idea of a venture they would like to do, many had a idea, many did not which is alright and understandable
* Example of a venture: 1 & 2. the venture idea is to build a ‘ride’ in TSL that teaches about the body. 3. that ride will help thecommunity by educating young people about the affects of things like smoking on the body, 4. this one is health related because it’s teaching about how to keep your body healthy 5. could be personal - coudl be that the person might have had a relative with lung cancer etc
* Campers had to complete a venture notecard, then to give feedback afterwards
* We think that (gkids & mentors) the Campers are starting to have GREAT and DIVERSE venture ideas, it looks like campers ventures will be very succsessful and will (hopefually) get public backing and support
* End of day 6 in week 2

* Have you Missed my previous reviews of camp from days 1 - 5, you can now visit them all here: http://danielvoyagerwebsite2008.wordpress.com/category/summer-camp-08/

Check out my Daniel Voyager Flickr for todays snaps :)

Posted by Daniel Voyager at 8:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today I came late so I missed the morning discussion on media literacy. I heard it was so interesting. Then we had a language practice. We learned words related to a social justice. We had to to make up our sentences using the words we learned on social justice.
The afternoon session was really really interesting. We learned about the Zapatista Movement not only in Mexico but around the world. We had a awesome guest speaker named R.J He enlightened us with all the knowledge about that particular group. The revolution itself inspired so many people around the world. So it has become a Global movement. This people are pretty peaceful. Use strategies and tactics to get their message across. I am totally loving this group. G.K Zapatista vamos!!!!! just kidding. Zapatista movement is a growing threat for the Mexican government. So the Mexican government wants to eradicate this group of people permanently. U.S is giving Mexico 1.4 billion dollar for the so called "Merida Initiative" A.K.A "Plan Mexico." The Mexican government is trying to get rid of them by saying that these people are drug dealers. But the fact is that These people are so peaceful that they don't even drink alcohol. They Don't want any violence. Under them men and women have equal rights. They recognize gay rights. These people will not attack you until unless it is for self defense. R.J was really cool. He gave us some articles which dealt with a variety of human right issues.If we look at the demands of the Zapatista people, it is almost the natural rights which they are deprived of. Some of the demands are mentioned below:
-work
-Land
-Housing
-Food
-Health care
-Education
-Independence
-Freedom
-Democracy
-Justice
-Peace

There slogans are very eyecatching.
-"Everything For Everyone."
-:Nothing For Ourselves."

It is said that once Mexican government tried to buy off them. But they did not accept that saying that it has to be done for everyone who is suffering which perfectly reflects there slogans.
which is pretty awesome.I am looking forward to learn more about them.They are really good with planning actions. They make sure they have media coverage needed and us different propaganda techniques to propagate about themselves. They have supporters now both locally and Globally.

Posted by Fahim HRAP at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the continuation of our preparation for Mexico, lots of ideas have been introduced to us. We've also expanded our vocabulary in Spanish. Nassim and Wing Mai want us to be very prepared for this trip. This is why they have established this first time in history- two week long training. Since we are here from about 9:30 until 4:30 we are learning tons of things specifically about Mexico. I absolutely love when we have guest speakers because they have a planned lesson for us that we usually relate to. On Wednesday RJ, a guest speaker, exposed the group to the Zapatistas in Mexico. We've learned so much about this group of people from Mexico. He went into detail about them people and their struggles for los derechos humanos (human rights). The Zapatista are a group of indigenous people in Mexico who fight for natural human rights through revolution. He showed us two videos about the Zapatistas that expressed how they deal with problems violently and nonviolently. it is amazing to continue to learn about Mexico, even in the last five days we have left.

Posted by Nahtahniel HRAP at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was another day in HRAP and was eventful {yet again}. Today we met R.J {our guest speaker} who told us about the Zapatistas. These are the people who were the rebel group because NAFTA was destroying their lives. The Zapatistas went into hiding after they were forced off their land. On new years of 1994 they came out of hiding and took over a town. Then they return to their communities. Then we watched a video by Olmeca where he was showing the process of protesting and the results. Also he showed how the government doesn't help.They say they are helping but they are only tearing us down.

Posted by Tashawna HRAP at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, I'm positive you all heard about the GLS conference (Games, Learning and Society) in Madison already and basically, I just wanna shed some light...(or darkness)...on what a "hell" of a good time I had.

Let's see now, with all the hotel accommodations, free food, interesting meetings, (including the last one featuring Barry Joseph, Rafi Santo, Jay Bacchuber, and yours truly [(:]), what more do you expect from a conference where the theme is GAMES, GAMES,....AND MORE GAMES!!!...?

Not to mention, you guys missed a hilarious rendition of "Sabotage" by The Beastie Boys covered by the funny...i mean, musical genius himself...(Say Nothing) Barry Joseph! (What?, No Applause, Oh Well) Anyway, all was well, but i don't really wanna have the heart to tell about the chicanery that came about when the P4K gang and I were leaving because it isn't really that important.

Anyway, we had ourselves a hell of a time and we had a lot of laughs....and I gave the best presentation I have ever done, (being as it stands, I have never done so). But all the credit for that presentation doesn't all go to me. Let's hear for the three that have already been mentioned in this blog:

Jay Bacchuber
Rafi Santo

and give a round of applause for the man, who, if he were not here, I would get cold feet and ditch the presentation to play video games (HA!)

Barry Joseph

(crickets)
Oh come on
That wasn't fair

(Applause, Standing Ovations, etc)

Thank You
-Otis

Posted by p4kOtis at 1:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today is Wednesday, July 15th. We are on the second week of H.R.A.P. It has been going good. Today we learned vocabulary words relating to Immigration. The language practice in the morning is very helpful. The brain or memory usually remains very sharp.

We practiced some workshop facilitation. The funny thing is that all the games were translated to Spanish. I think it will be a lot of fun playing in Mexico.

Some people from Fordham High School came to G.K office today to talk about their trip to Costa Rica. They talked about their experience there and advised us on safe traveling in Costa Rica.

After that, we went to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Since I interned there last year, it was kind of emotional for me to see a new group there. It reminded me about last year. Anyway, this year I saw a lot of diverse people in C.F.R. We participated in their workshops and worked with them. It was a lot of fun there. C.F.R is always very exciting. The fact that youth like me are so concerned about different policies of the U.S is making me so happy because they are the future citizens of the U.S. The more they are involved the better the policies of U.S will be because our actions are affecting people around the world.
I wish I could have been in the C.F.R discussing those issues forever!!!!!

Here is a photo of us in the Council on Foreign Relations:

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Posted by Fahim HRAP at 4:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today we did lots of things. We studied a lot of spanish and read a poem that was about immigration then later we met with the HRAP group from Fordham High School and learnt about their experience with their trip to Costa Rica...... Later we had lunch....After lunch, we went to the CFR (Council on Foreign Relations) to get involved and learn about different political and human rights issues of the world in several countries.
.......hahahahaha......sorrry for fulling you up with all this info but it is soooooo important that you get this...........it was a prosperous day and I am really really really!!!!!! looking forward.!!!!!!

Here is a photo me:

Posted by Kemar HRAP at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Saturday, June 28th, the Field Museum, the Biodiversity Synthesis Center and Global Kids launched an intensive summer camp for a group of teens in New York and Chicago that we call "I Dig Tanzania." Sixteen teens participated in this ground-breaking initiative that uses the virtual world of Second Life to educate them about Tanzanian culture and politics, scientific research and methodology. Here you will find a summary of each day's activities as well as many of the video, audio, and photos of the IDT teens in New York and Chicago as well as the scientists in Tanzania.

I Dig Tanzania Day One

To start the day, the teens and staff members put on their safari hats and backpacks and began their journey into Virtual Tanzania. The teens split into four cross-city teams, piled in their jeeps and were on their way. The first leg of the trip was spent at the library collecting maps and travel tips about how they, as researchers, could reach the Ruhuhu Basin in Southwestern Tanzania. As a team, they had to find the continent, country and cities they would travel through to reach their field site on a series of floating maps.

Once they had mapped out their journey, the teens traveled through a nature reserve complete with animated Tanzanian wildlife including lions, giraffes, elephants, and hippos.

As the IDT group met around the campfire for the first time, we watched a video of Ken, one of the researchers in Tanzania, confirming their location in Tanzania that we had just found on the map! Rik spoke with the international research team in Tanzania over Skype and asked many of the teens' questions about the journey to Tanzania and what their experience has been like thus far. You can check out what the scientists had to say here.

After the call, we learned about ecotourism in two of Tanzania's largest nature reserves and tourist sites, the Serengeti and Mount Kilimanjaro. To start off we learned the Jambo song, which is a welcoming song in Swahili. We all had a great time singing back and forth to one another -- first New York and then Chicago taking their turn as impromptu choirs. Afterwards, each team met in their tents to research the positive and negative effects of tourism on their region. Each team then created three travel tips that they could share with tourists to minimize their impact while traveling.

Our in-depth look at paleontology began with looking at evolution and time through Gondwana, the southern super-continent, and piecing together the land form as a puzzle. The teams then researched the six mass extinctions that have taken place on Earth and all correctly identified the period we would be looking at as the third extinction, between the Permian and Triassic periods. It was also interesting to learn that humans are causing the sixth mass extinction. To wrap up the day each teen was hard at work to build their own rock hammer. As we concluded the day with a blogging activity, each teen wore their hammer to show off their design. The rock hammer they designed will be one of the tools used for their fossil dig bright and early tomorrow morning!

I Dig Tanzania Day Two

The day began with more singing and language practice in Swahili, which the kids seemed to like. Dominique did a great job of getting everyone pumped for the day.

The most exciting part of the day was the highly-anticipated virtual fossil digging. To accomplish this, we had expert builder Amulius Lioncourt (aka Midnight Sun on the Teen Grid) create a complicated and realistic set of tools for unearthing the fossils that the teens had to wear on their avatars to get to the fossils. To start off, we watched the latest video from Ken, where he showed us how the team finds fossils in Tanzania. Not only did the teens have to work together to cover the large area of their dig sites, they had to figure out the proper order of tools to use to not damage the fossils.

After finding a set of fossils, the teens got another chance to interact with the team of real life fossil hunters finishing their dig in Tanzania. The kids asked a number of really great questions, from how the scientists chose their tools to how many pieces of fossil do they need to find to identify a particular animal. After collecting a large set of questions, Rik talked to several of the researchers over Skype, which we streamed into Second Life so the teens could hear the researchers answer the questions they came up with. Here is the conversation they had today. Then the teens returned to the task of preparing the virtual fossils that they found. To do this, we showed them a video of how fossils are "stabilized" by paleontologists with a glue-like solution so that they don't break.

Later the teens had to mix their own stabilizing solution using several possible ingredients set out on a work table. If they chose the right combination of ingredients, they were given a brush to treat their virtual fossils. This is probably sounding pretty complicated at this point, but the kids really seemed to enjoy the tasks.

After each team found the right solution, they were rewarded with shiny white "stabilized" fossils instead of the brown ones that they had unearthed. One of the toughest tasks of the day was learning how scientists classify the various forms of life using phylogenic charts -- maps of the evolutionary path of various creatures. The teens had to learn what a synapsid is, and create a sign describing a particular sy