Computers in Youth Ministry

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Computers in Youth and After-School
Programs Mary Margaret Pavan PREP Community
Computer Center After-School Technology
Coordinator AmeriCorps VISTA Member May 5, 2001
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• Workshop Agenda
• Why include computers in a youth or after-school
  program?
• How do you want to use computers for youth?
• Brief overview of PREP programs for youth
• PREP curriculum
• Additional PREP projects for youth
• Outside resources
• Question Answer/ Discussion

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Why include computers in youth and after-school
programs?
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• Why include computers in youth
• and after-school programs?
• To give children computer literacy
• To overcome cultural barriers
• To encourage youth to find their gifts
• To help students with reading and math skills
• To get youth excited about technology
• To give children skills necessary in later
  education and careers
• To build relationships with youth around their
  interests

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• Questions to Consider Before Using Computers in a
  Youth or After-School Program
• What is our purpose in teaching children
  technology?
• Are we to help them discover potential gifts
  that may not appear in a typical classroom?
• Are we just to get them excited about using
  technology?
• Are we to teach them basic or higher level
  skills?
• How much can we assume they already know?
• Are we supposed to use computers to help them
  with their basic reading and math skills?

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• PREPs Answers to Those Questions
• In Project 21 and Brengle Academy, PREP seeks
  to equip the students with computer tools that
  will help them in high school and beyond.
• PREP wants to encourage youth that may not have
  regular access to computers to get excited about
  technology and discover their technological
  gifts.
• PREP uses educational games like Knowledge
  Adventure JumpStart to reinforce young
  childrens reading and math skills.
• PREP seeks to build relationships with youth by
  engaging them in technology.

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• Successes
• Relationships and trust growing between youth
  and teachers.
• Time is created for youth and adults to
  interact in areas that youth enjoy.
• Youth get excited to do what they have learned.
  They loved getting the CDs they made and
  inserting ClipArt into everything!

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• Challenges Ive Faced
• Maintaining Discipline Youth get very excited
  around computers!
• Deciding between short-term and long-term
  projects. Finding long-term projects.
• Finding appropriate projects for young
  children. If they cannot read, their options
  are limited.

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Computers in Youth and After-School Programs
How do you want to use computers for youth?
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Computers in Youth and After-School Programs
Brief Overview of PREP Youth Programs

• Project 21 After-School Program Computer Class
  (K-8th grade, once a week)
• Brengle Academy Computer Class (Middle School,
  once a week)
• Computer Club (4th-8th grade, once a month)
• Video Production class for girls (12-21 years
  old)
• Digital Music Studio class (all ages, but
  targeted at youth)
• Re-aligning our multimedia classes for youth
• PREP Enterprises

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Computers in Youth and After-School Programs
PREP Curriculum Computer Basics Goal To
prepare students with basic computer literacy.
To prepare them with computer skills necessary
for high school. Step 1 Students learn about
networking, saving, typing, spell check, and
editing by typing a short document using
Microsoft Word. Step 2 Students review
concepts. They learn about opening, printing,
saving on a floppy disk by making name signs for
their bedroom doors at home.
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PREP Curriculum Encarta Africana Scavenger
Hunt Students are introduced to Encarta Africana
by doing a scavenger hunt through a portion of
the programs interactive, multimedia timeline.
They enter their answers on a worksheet.
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PREP Curriculum The Internet Planning a
vacation Step 1 Students pick a place to visit
and find basic information about it on the
Internet. Step 2 Students plan their five-day
vacations, including choosing flights (day,
times, and flight numbers) using the Internet.
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PREP Curriculum Research Encarta Africana
Heroes Step 1 Students find a hero using
Encarta Africana. They answer questions on
worksheet.
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Step 2 Students use Microsoft Word to make
posters of their heroes. Posters include details
from worksheet and pictures of heroes (copy
paste is learned!).
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PREP Curriculum Research Poetry Step 1
Students find a poet in Encarta Africana.
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Step 2 Students search for their poets on the
Internet. They print out poems written by their
poets. Step 3 Students take one line of their
poem. They write their own poems using that line.
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PREP Curriculum Research The History of Hip Hop
Step 1 Students learn some Hip Hop history
using specified web sites. They answer worksheet
questions.
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Step 2 Students find a Hip Hop musician on the
Internet. They print out the lyrics of three of
their songs. Students think about what these
songs say and their deeper message. Step 3
Students summarize their research (history and
lyrics) with analysis in a six slide PowerPoint
presentation. Students present their slide show
to the class.
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• PREP Curriculum Additional Projects
• Making music CDs using Hip Hop Ejay
• Typing using Mavis Beacon Typing (Version 9)
• Knowledge Adventure JumpStart Game
• Making cards and posters using Microsoft
  Publisher

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• Additional PREP Projects for Youth
• Computer Club
• Goal To encourage walk-in lab visitors and
  give them constructive and organized time in the
  computer lab.
• Meet once a month
• For 4th-8th graders
• Take club members on field trips to science
  and/or technology sites (Science Museum, Roxbury
  Multimedia Center, etc.)
• Engage members in new computer activities
  (making CDs and CD covers)

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• Additional PREP Projects for Youth
• Video Production Class for Girls
• For girls, 12-21 years old
• Girls learn about digital video production
  (filming, editing, etc.) by designing and
  creating their own movies
• Emphasis on mentoring the students

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• Additional PREP Projects for Youth
• Digital Music Studio Class
• For all ages, but focused toward youth
• Teaches youth how to use Hip Hop EJay to mix
  their own songs, but most of the time is spent
  in mixing, not in teaching

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• We have taught Hip Hop EJay to both Project 21
  and Brengle Academy. They have also learned how
  to design CD jacket covers using Microsoft
  Publisher.

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• General Resources
• AC4 website will have a link to this
  presentation and my research. In addition, we
  hope to start a web page where others can post
  their curriculum ideas. http//www.acccc.org
• CTCNet. http//www.ctcnet.org
• My report on resources Curriculum and
  Resources for Youth, a review of the CTCNet
  archives and other resources.

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• Resources Project-based Curriculum
• Multimedia Projects
• Whats My Anti-Drug Campaign. Ages 12-17. See
  an example at http//www.whatsyourantidrug.com/o
  ndcp/show/launch.html.
• Video production idea create a commercial for
  an imaginary product, Motivation. An example
  is at http//stories.simplenet.com/motivation.mov
  .
• LEGOs Mindstorm product. This is a
  computerized LEGO set for building robots. Then
  students program their robots using a computer.
  http//mindstorms.lego.com/

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• Resources Project-based Curriculum
• Multimedia Projects Web Page Design
• Look Smart. http//www.looksmart.com/eus1/eus53
  832/eus53833/eus328722/ eus55260/r?ispzaecomefro
  mizae-explore
• Operation MEDIA. Program overview and specific
  curriculum for each lesson. Focus on web design
  and personal growth. For high school students,
  but adaptable. http//www.rtpnet.org/blc/media2/
• Web Monkey for Kids. http//www.hotwired.lycos
  .com/webmonkey/kids

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• Resources Project-based Curriculum
• Multimedia Projects Web Page Design
• Page Tutor. HTML for the rest of us.
  http//www.pagetutor.com
• W3Schools. Free web building curriculum.
  http//www.w3schools.com/
• Web Teacher. Includes a Spanish version.
  http//www.webteacher.org/winexp/indextc.html

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• Resources Project-based Curriculum
• Multimedia Projects Software
• Hyperstudio. http//www.hyperstudio.com
• Microworlds. http//www.microworlds.com
• Stagecast. http//www.stagecast.com
• Macromedia.com or Infini-D. Animation
  software.

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• Resources Project-based Curriculum
• Art Technology
• Projects from Sarah Smiley. Interactive
  self-portraits, An Imaginary House, Water
  Portraits.
• Boston CyberArts Festival CyberFaces.
  Includes many different events, one of which is
  showcasing portraits by students on-line.
  http//www.cyberfaces.org/
• ArtTECH. A program for youth in tech and art.
  Nettrice Gaskins (nettrice_at_onebox.com) is doing
  this in Boston. For curriculum ideas and
  recommendations on hardware and software, see
  http//www.geocities.com/arttechycp/index.html.

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• Resources Project-based Curriculum
• Art Technology Music Software
• Hip Hop EJay. A software program for 2nd grade
  and up. Children and adults can mix their own
  songs. http//www.voyetra-turtle- beach.com/site
  /product_menus/music_software.asp
• Music Ace. Music software by Harmonic Vision.
• Dub It. Example of what it can make at
  http//stories.simplenet.com/dubit/

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• Resources Education
• Science Quest. Middle school students research
  a science question and document their
  discoveries on a multimedia web site. Contact
  Jennifer Dorsen, jdorsen_at_edc.org.
• Web Pages for Teachers http//www.SchoolOne.co
  m, http//www.quia.com, http//www.sil.org/ched.e
  dsoft.html, http//EDNOW.com

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• Resources Education
• For Children
• The Learning Network. An interactive site for
  K-12th grade students. http//familyeducation.co
  m/k12/Student/
• Virtual Explorers. For 5-12 year olds.
  http//www.virtualexplorers.org
• Discovery Online for kids. Grades K-12.
  http//schooldiscovery.com/
• I Know That. Ages 2-12. http//www.iKnowthat.c
  om/
• Homework Assistance Web Sites, Pen Pal Web
  Sites, On-line Reading Sites, Software
  Programs.

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• Resources Black History
• Encarta Africana. A multimedia encyclopedia.
• AFRO-Americ_at_s Black History Museum. This is a
  site for teens and adults with a link to a
  fabulous kids page. The main site is
  http//www.afroam.org/history. The Kids Zone is
  http//www.afroam.org/children/children.html.

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• Resources Especially For Girls
• Cybergrrl.com. Free e-mail and chat rooms.
  Also has a Woman of the Day and a tech
  section. http//www.cybergrrl.com
• Girl Tech. Chat room, games, links to other
  girl-friendly sites, info about women around the
  world, sports, news, and an invention page.
  http//www.girltech.com

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• Conclusions
• Computers can add depth to the education and
  relationships of children in youth and
  after-school programs.
• Know your priorities and goals for using
  computers in a youth or after-school program.
• There are many resources available for teaching
  computers, but they are spread out and
  overwhelming to sort through.
• Ministries need to work together to share and
  centralize resources for using computers (AC4).