Second Life is a 3D virtual world in which the residents are provided with the tools required to lliterally shape the world around them. Teen Second Life is a space restricted to 13-17 year olds. Beginning in February, 2006, Global Kids has been exploring how to bring a youth development model around global issues into an island within this teen grid.

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July 1, 2009

[vvp] Global Kids Machinima "Discovered" Now Online!


After tonight's successful public premiere of the Virtual Video Project's 2009 film "Discovered" at the Sony Wonder Theater, we are proud to announce the online release of this serious issue machinima. Created by 15 Global Kids teen leaders over the course of the school year, they decided on the subject matter, wrote the script, created the avatars, recorded the voices, shot the footage, and edited the final cut you see here.

We are so proud of our GK filmmakers for their amazing work, creativity, and commitment on this project! Read more about "Discovered" and the Virtual Video Project here.

June 30, 2009

[vvp] Global Kids Youth Leaders Premiere Second Life Machinima "Discovered" Tomorrow in NYC!

Movie Poster for "Discovered" VVP Machinima FilmJust a reminder that tomorrow, July 1, fifteen New York public high school students will premiere their film Discovered. Discovered is a digital "machinima" film produced in Second Life that explores the powerful issue of child sex trafficking through the fictional story of one Mexican teenager. This is the final product of a year-long, intensive digital filmmaking program called the Virtual Video Project (VVP), an after-school program conducted by Global Kids, Inc in NYC. The students gathered regularly during the past year to learn about film production, human rights, and virtual worlds, culminating in a serious issue machinima film produced entirely by the youth filmmakers.

Come to the premiere of Discovered to meet the youth filmmakers and discover how digital film can be used for global issue awareness and civic engagement.

Event Details:
When: Wednesday, July 1st, 6pm-8pm
Where: Sony Wonder Technology Lab [550 Madison Avenue at 56th St.]
What: Meet & Greet Filmmakers, Premiere of Discovered, and Q & A with students

For more information, see http://www.DiscoveredMovie.com or please contact Shawna at 212-226-0130 x 143 or email: shawna@globalkids.org.

The full text of the News Release follows....

Continue reading "[vvp] Global Kids Youth Leaders Premiere Second Life Machinima "Discovered" Tomorrow in NYC!" »

[In the Media] GK Youth Leader Nafiza Featured on Edutopia Online

GK's own youth leader Nafiza was chosen to be part of Edutopia's online Youth Portraits series, in which they feature the digital worlds of various teens.

Digital Youth Portrait: Nafiza







Edutopia's portrait includes an interview of Nafiza along with short video pieces on her, her work in GK's OLP programs and what it is like to have digital media play a close relationship in her day to day life.

There are also sections, within Edutopia's feature on Nafiza, where other videos spotlight using digital media to learn world affairs and highlight the work Nafiza and other youth leaders put in within the VVP program to produce the 2007 and 2008 program short films "A Child's War" and "Race to Equality".

Learning World Affairs Through Digital Media







To visit Edutopia's full youth profile on Nafiza, click here.

June 22, 2009

[vvp] Global Kids Youth Leaders Premiere VVP Machinima "Discovered" on July 1 in NYC

Movie Poster for "Discovered" VVP Machinima FilmOn July 1, 2009, 15 New York City public high school students will premiere their film Discovered --a digital "machinima" film produced in Second Life that explores the powerful issue of child sex trafficking through the fictional story of one Mexican teenager. Discovered is the final product of a year-long, intensive digital filmmaking program called the Virtual Video Project (VVP), an after-school program conducted by Global Kids, Inc in NYC. The students gathered regularly during the past year to learn about film production, human rights, and virtual worlds, culminating in a serious issue machinima film produced entirely by the youth filmmakers.

Come to the premiere of Discovered to meet the youth filmmakers and discover how digital film can be used for global issue awareness and civic engagement.

Event Details:
When: Wednesday, July 1st, 6pm-8pm
Where: Sony Wonder Technology Lab [550 Madison Avenue at 56th St.]
What: Meet & Greet Filmmakers, Premiere of Discovered, and Q & A with students

For more information, see http://www.DiscoveredMovie.com or please contact Shawna at 212-226-0130 x 143 or email: shawna@globalkids.org.

The full text of the News Release follows....

Continue reading "[vvp] Global Kids Youth Leaders Premiere VVP Machinima "Discovered" on July 1 in NYC" »

January 27, 2009

Speaking on Global Kids approach and nonprofit services today

Rik speaking about Global Kids at Orange Island
I got an opportunity to speak about Global Kids's approach to youth development and the kinds of services we offer other institutions at "Nonprofit Week" on Orange Island in Second Life today.  It was neat being among the 150 or so avatars who rezzed in for the talks today by my friends Coughran Mayo and In Kenzo, and myself.  Thanks to Jade Lily and Orange Island for the chance to address my colleagues and others interest in the active and growing public good sector in Second Life.

As a recap for those that weren't able to be there, Global Kids has learned a lot in the past three years about how to best leverage virtual worlds for our particular brand of constructivist youth development.  We have found Second Life to be fertile ground for getting young people to engage with each other, create a variety of media, and present that work to a wider audience.  That said, we have some concerns that as Linden Lab considers created a "mixed ages" grid, we worry that some of the unique affordances of Teen Second Life might be lost. 

Beyond our own work, we have a strong interest in facilitating other nonprofits and public institutions to be using virtual worlds to further their own missions.  In particular, we offer a variety of services at various levels, including:

  • Event Simulcasting:  We have organized virtual simulcasts of scores of real world events, from conferences to workshops to awards ceremonies.  We can bring a live event to a variety of virtual worlds, such as this speech by Kofi Annan that was simulcast to the web and four virtual worlds.
  • Curriculum Development: We have a set of free curricula that can help any institution teach their students how to use Second Life.  Or we can work directly with your institution to develop a curriculum that is unique to your site and population.
  • Staff Training: Confused about how to integrate virtual worlds into your strategic plan? We can help you and your staff think strategically and holistically about how these tools can advance your mission.
  • Summer Camps: We have run summer camps in Teen Second Life for a number of institutions, including UNICEF and the Field Museum of Chicago.  We are able to tailor our programs to fit your schedule and students needs and interests.

If you are interested in talking about any of these services for your own organization, contact me at rik@ globalkids.org.

August 27, 2008

[IDT] "I Dig Tanzania" promo video!


In July 2008, Global Kids, the Field Museum of Chicago and the Biodiversity Synthesis Center worked together to organize the "I Dig Tanzania" virtual summer camp. This innovative project brought together 16 teens in Chicago and New York to learn about paleontology, scientific field research, and Tanzania culture using the virtual world of Teen Second Life.

We knew that explaining the camp to outsiders was going to be difficult. So we had this short video put together to describe the teens' experience. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed organizing the camp. Please share this with your colleagues and friends who are curious about what happens in Second Life!

July 8, 2008

[vvp] Race to Equality - watch the movie

June 26th saw the premier of the latest machinima that was entirely shot within Teen Second Life and produced by the teens from the Global Kids' Virtual Video Program (VVP). The title of the machinima is "Race to Equality" and it focuses on the challenges faced by youth around the world in the pursuit of equal accessibility of education for all. The film exposes how racism relates to equal access to education.

The official premiere of the film, hosted by the teens themselves, was held at Sony's Wonder Technology Lab theater in New York City. The teens also held a Q&A following the film.

You can view the film directly and footage shot during the official premier below or directly on Youtube.


October 22, 2007

[sl/intern/teen] Ishmael Beah & My 1st Event!

“You have to find hope in hopelessness itself…the human spirit is enormously strong,” were the final words I heard from Ishmael Beah as I exited Second Life. Although he related it to the war in Sierra Leone and his missing family, it is a powerful statement that we can all relate to and incorporate into our own lives. Unfortunately, I could not stay to hear the various questions people had for Ishmael, but I did have wonderful help from fellow TSL residents who filled me in on the questions presented to him and his elegant responses. I am getting a little ahead of myself though, but I just wanted to begin with that quote because it really left a wonderful and lasting memory.

Let me start at the beginning, since it is after all the most convenient place to begin. Hello! I am Nafiza, or Nafiza GKid. First thing I should clarify is that I am NOT an adult; I have the last name GKid because I was brought into Teen Second Life by Global Kids when I first joined their Virtual Video Project program. Currently, I am a Global Kids Intern on TSL and my very first ever online-facilitated event was this one, in which Ishmael Beah was streamed into TSL on the Eye4You Alliance island (10/18/07). I joined this program because…well there are several reasons. The most obvious is because I feel strongly about global issues and love seeing other people’s perspectives on these issues. The other reason is that…I wanted to have this experience—not for a resume or a college application—but for myself. I think that if I can prove to myself that I am capable of doing something, then I can prove it to any other person in the world.

Another part of it is that I have facilitated a workshop in the GK Annual Conference, so I did want to see what it would be like to do something like that in Second Life. Trust me when I say, that although you have to concern yourself with public speaking and expression in real life, dealing with some of the messes that can occur in Second Life can be somewhat more frustrating. At the same time, it is much easier to “brush-off” misbehavior on SL than it is to do in real life. The one thing that makes doing this in SL so hard is getting people to stay active, interested, involved, and to keep their attention. Also, I think they were very anxious to hear from Ishmael that they became impatient and also frustrated/bored when I was doing the screening. I can’t say that I blame them because it can be pretty boring to just sit there and watch someone typing. I tried to ask them questions to keep them engaged though, I don’t know how much it helped, but they seemed to respond very quickly and well to the questions so that was a good sign. One thing I can say for sure is that they did enjoy and they were somewhat mesmerized by Ishmael while he was speaking because they responded to all the things he said. Some times in awe, after hearing the reality of war, and sometimes with applause for his elegant words. Although they did not have the same privilege as I did to meet him in person, I think they still understood him to be the warm but strong individual he is just by hearing his voice and words. Lee Soothsayer commented that the event was “deep and very informative”.


Continue reading "[sl/intern/teen] Ishmael Beah & My 1st Event!" »

September 5, 2007

[machinima] A Child’s War: NYC High School Students Expose Child Soldiers and International Justice in New Film Premiering Friday

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A diverse group of New York City public high school students have produced an important animated new film that focuses on the increasingly serious issue of child soldiers.

The film, A Child’s War, will be presented this Friday, September 7, at 6:00 pm at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. Entry for the screening is free. The press is invited. The young animators will be available to discuss their work. The Museum is located at 35th Avenue and 36th Street in Astoria, Queens. It can be accessed by subway (R or V trains to Steinway Street; N or W trains to 36th Ave). RSVP: afterschool@movingimage.us.

A Child’s War is the culmination of the year-long Virtual Video Project, an after-school program conducted by Global Kids, Inc. in collaboration with the Museum of the Moving Image. During the past year, the students gathered regularly to learn about film production, global issues, and virtual worlds, producing A Child’s War, a year-end project on the plight of child soldiers in Uganda.

Global Kids is the foremost nonprofit organization in New York City specifically dedicated to educating students in underserved communities about international and public policy issues.

Throughout the 2006-2007 Virtual Video Project, the students used machinima (digital movies made in online virtual worlds) to create short films and public service announcements that relate to important global issues.

A Child’s War is a short video that displays the students’ spectacular understanding of both digital media and important international issues. Through A Child’s War, the 20 young creators vividly illustrate a poignant story that documents the fictional life experiences of a former child soldier who has come to the International Criminal Court to testify against the warlord who forced him to murder hundreds of people, including his own family members.

A Child’s War was created in the virtual world of Second Life, one of several “virtual worlds” that offers a three-dimensional environment where online participants from around the world are represented by avatars in social and workplace interactions that mimic and reinvent the physical world. Second Life has millions of users and a growing non-profit community.

By streaming the video in Second Life, disseminating it online, and presenting it at screenings such as Friday’s at the Museum of the Moving Image, the students hope to raise awareness about a critical global issue.

The Virtual Video Project is part of Global Kids’ Online Leadership Program (OLP) and made possible with funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The OLP helps underserved youth learn about important international affairs issues and exercise their leadership skills through innovative media forms. Students in the OLP’s Virtual Video Project meet twice a week throughout the school year. The after-school program educates them about film production, digital media literacy, youth media, civic engagement, and global education. Throughout the Virtual Video Project, students learn about Second Life, construct a storyboard based on a global issue of their choosing, create a series of public service announcements, and create one short film such as A Child’s War.

You may watch A Child’s War at: www.holymeatballs.org/2007/06/vvp_a_childs_war_released_year.html

You can watch their earlier piece about digital media and youth at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=7TlSGH9-IVM

Read the youth leaders blogs: www.holymeatballs.org/machinima/

To learn what you can do about this issue, go to: www.holymeatballs.org/2007/06/acw.html

About Global Kids, Inc.

Founded in 1989, Global Kids' mission is to transform urban youth into successful students and global and community leaders by engaging them in socially dynamic, content-rich learning experiences. Through its leadership development and academic enrichment programs, Global Kids educates youth about critical international and domestic issues and promotes their engagement in civic life and the democratic process. Through professional development initiatives, Global Kids provides educators with strategies for integrating experiential learning methods and international issues into urban classrooms. Global Kids’ programs reach over 11,000 youth annually. For more information, visit http://www.globalkids.org.

Contacts

Global Kids
Jonah Kokodyniak, 212-226-2116
Jonah@globalkids.org
or
Mariam Communications
Tom Mariam, 914-939-4294
Tom@mariam.biz

[jobs] New Job Openings at Global Kids

Global Kids' Online Leadership Program has filled the positions opened in the summer of 2007.

Thank you to everyone helping to spread the word, such as Moo Money, 3pointD, NMC, Second Life Times and the blog Future-Making Serious Games.

Continue reading "[jobs] New Job Openings at Global Kids" »

July 6, 2007

[sl] GK Machinima Camp Kickoff Extravaganza Event

Today on Global Kids Island, we held an event to premier “A Child’s War” – a machinima video created by Global Kids youth leaders in Queens, New York, followed by a GK leader youth panel discussing the creation of the film, and finally, we unveiled the details about the Global Kids CRC Machinima Summer Camp in Second Life!

A Child's War screening_005

Teens from all over the grid came over to Global Kids Island to partake in this event, most of which were eager to learn about the Machinima Camp details. We are very excited to start receiving and processing applications immediately for this program, so make sure to send yours in asap if you are interested.

A Child's War screening_002

Information about the Machinima Camp can be found here.

Application for Machinima Camp can be found here.

Also, please make sure to stop by Global Kids Island and grab a copy of this month’s newsletter to learn more about the Machinima Camp!

June 29, 2007

[vvp] A Child's War released - Year-End machinima project on Child Soldiers

The following video was the year-end project for the Global Kids youth leaders in Queens, New York who spent the year working in Global Kids' Virtual Video Project, at the Museum of the Moving Image, funded by the MacArthur Foundation.

The video is based on research done by the youth about the situation of child soldiers in Uganda and the upcoming trial at the International Criminal Court.

You can watch their earlier piece about digital media and youth at here.

Read the youth leaders blogs here.

To learn what you can do about this issue, go to our recent blog entry about this.

Please help spread the link to the video, either here or on YouTube, and leave your comments for the Global Kids youth leaders below.

June 12, 2007

[VVP/TEEN] Final workshop

Hey everybody, today is our final workshop and it's our 55th meeting. This year has gone by really really fast and im going ot miss you guys. This year went really well. All of our sessions were very productive. I'm glad everybody got their PSAs done. Everybody worked hard on that and everyone's came out really good. Everyone who worked on a PSA should be really proud of their work. Personally, this workshop helped me develop better public speaking skills which would really help me later on. This year, I learned a lot. I was introduced to Second Life and machinima and I actually got to make one of my own. I also learned that there were many more global issues than I expected.

June 7, 2007

[VVP/TEENS] 6 hour workshop

Hey guys, today's 6-hour workshop went pretty smooth. We had plenty of time to work and my group and me got three scenes done. We had ALOT of difficulties getting extra actors, but once we got a hold of them, the filming went pretty well. At first everybody got impatient but everyone in Global Kids Island pulled through for us. The scenes came out pretty good and I hope Tuesdays workshop goes just as well because we're running out of time and we need to get this done fast since regents are coming up for students. Most of my group left me alone to workmad.gif but Idan, Joe and Nafiza came and helped me out with everything and got everything organized to film the scenes. We got more accomplished than I expected and I felt that we made good progress. And hopefully we'll keep making good progress as we continue next Tuesday.

[VVP/Teens] Voice group finished

Hey
This is Brandon. My voice group was me, Angela, Hassan, and Miguel. At first me and Hassan and I were fighting over the part for Anthony, but I won anyway. It was fun though.
This is the end of my blogging history.
See ya
:)

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