March 2013 Newsletter Vol 5: Issue 9 - World Wide Workshop March 2013 Newsletter

Dear Partners and Friends, In his 2013 SXSWedu address, Bill Gates declared, "This is a special time for technology in education," citing "the historic low cost and availability of edtech tools making it possible to transform education. I could not help but realize that we have been doing this transformative work with Globaloria-tech for seven years! By removing barriers of access and entrepreneurial imagination, particularly for low-income students and underrepresented minorities, the Workshop team and our network of educators have been building an innovative system of blended learning, customized to each student's pace and proficiency while meeting Common Core State Standards. Read on to see how Globaloria brings technology knowledge and skills to the forefront, paving the way for college and career readiness for all. Cheers, Idit

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In this Month's Issue:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Welcoming New Advisory Board Chair: Jennifer Argello Students Mingle with STEM Innovators in NYC and San Jose Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Recognize Globaloria Students SXSWedu Features Globaloria Steve Hargadon Interviews Dr. Idit Harel Caperton Adobe Supports Digital Literacy for All Kids Overfelt High School Gets a Jump on Globeys with "Hackathon"

1. Welcoming New Advisory Board Chair: Jennifer Argello We are happy to welcome Jennifer Argello to the World Wide Workshop Advisory Board. Jennifer has over a decade of experience in technology companies creating products and consulting with early-stage startups. She believes in earning time on earth by adding value to it, which she does through her wo rk to advance Latinos and women in tech fields. Jennifer co-founded Latino Startup Alliance, mentors high school girls in the Technovation Challenge, and is active in the alumni advisory board for the Computer Science and Engineering Department at UC San Diego, where she graduated in 2000. She is also a member of Latinas in Computing and the Regional Vice President for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Jennifer has won several industry recognitions, including being named a 2013 Silicon Valley Latino 40 under 40 Latinos2Watch in Science and Technology, a 2011Femmeonomics Top 50 Women to Watch in Tech2010, and the 2010 National Association of Professional Women: Professional Woman of the Year. This month Jennifer became the Chair of theSilicon Valley Globaloria Board on CS-STEM Education and a Judge of the San Jose/Silicon Valley Globeys. Welcome, Jennifer!

Jennifer encouraging students in Austin, TX (left) and San Jose, CA (right), predominantly Latino communities, to pursue studies in STEM and Computer Science

Jennifer accepting the 2013 Silicon Valley Latinos 40 under 40 Latinos2Watch Award from Alex Ontiveros, CEO and Founder of Silicon Valley Latino.

2. Students Mingle with STEM Innovators in NYC and San Jose On March 20, forty Globaloria students from The Young Womens Leadership School of Astoria (TYWLS) visited Google NYC headquarters to see how their game design work today can help them become the engineers and IT leaders of tomorrow. The students toured the Google offices, demoed their original web games for professional feedback, and met with Google employees to learn about their jobs and how they got interested in the field of computer science. "Visiting the Google headquarters gave our girls the valuable opportunity to see first-hand how a technology company operates. It also emphasized the importance and benefits of their developing a STEM-based skill set so that someday they might work for an innovation leader such as Google. It was a truly inspiring experience," said Laura Mitchell, principal of TYWLS.

JuAnne Ng of Google discusses with TYWLS students their Globaloria games at the Google NYC headquarters this week.

Overfelt High School in San Jose recently received a special visit from Adobe Systems' Community Relations Manager, Claire Erwin. Erwin attended Veronica Davis' Globaloria Algebra and Geometry classes to watch the students in action creating their educational games on a variety of math topics. The students benefited from Erwins comments and advice on the importance of CS-STEM education and digital fluency for their future careers in Silicon Valleyregardless of whether they want to become lawyers, educators, creative artists, or software engineers.

Claire Erwin of Adobe with Overfelt High School freshman Marco D. during her visit..

3. Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Recognize Globaloria Students This month the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers awarded several Globaloria game submissions with Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the countrys longest-running and most prestigious awards program for students in grades 7-12. In the Video Game Design competition, six Globaloria teams were awarded Gold Keys recognizing the highest level of achievement in their region, and eleven won Silver Keys for outstanding achievement in their region.

And one Globaloria teamMatthew S. and Brittany S. of Tygarts Valley High School in West Virginia won a National Silver Medal for their game, "Carl and Carlys Big Day," which teaches the user about Ancient Greek gods and goddesses. The national medalists will be honored on May 31 at a special ceremony at Carnegie Hall. Congratulations to all the winners from Globaloria!

4. SXSWedu Features Globaloria World Wide Workshop team and Globaloria students, educators researchers and partners attended2013 SXSWedu in Austin, Texas, to spread the message of game-based learning. Dr. Idit Harel Caperton moderated a panel, Preparing High-Tech Innovators through Game Design, featuring Jennifer Bergland of TCEA, Anne Fertitta of AMD, and Dr. Joe Gonzales of East Austin College Preparatory Academy (EAPrep). They discussed the STEM education crisis facing Texas and the nation and how game design education can be a solution to get thousands of students into computer science and engineering. As a testament to this, the panelists shared a new video by Globaloria partner Southwest Key Programs that illustrates the positive impact Globaloria has on the entire EAPrep community. In a separate session, Game Design as Required Class: A Case Study, Globaloria research managerLaura Minnigerode presented a case study of the EAPrep Globaloria program. Her findings include students increased self-efficacy with regards to problem solving within technology and sustained interest in STEM-related careers, especially among girls. The study also found the effects were more pronounced the longer students participated in the program. And to cap off a great week focused on education, a group of EAPrep students demoed their Globaloria games at the SXSW Gaming Expo alongside gaming professionals, showcasing the deep learning and professional skills developed through game design.

Left to Right: Idit with SXSWedu panelists; with Charlie Owen and Laura Minnegerode; with Drew Scheberle, SVP of the Austin Chamber of Commerce.

Left to Right: VentureBeat interviews Idit; Laura presenting; Globaloria students featured in SXSW Gaming Expo.

5. Steve Hargadon Interviews Dr. Idit Harel Caperton Social learning futurist Steve Hargadon interviewed Dr. Idit Harel Caperton on his Future of Education podcast this month. The interviewreviewed the early days of social and Constructionist learning, which Dr. Caperton participated in at the MIT Media Lab, demonstrating the future potential of new media technology in Constructionist classrooms. "Social learning networks are underutilized in education today, and we know how these can cultivate the best learning theories we have in the history of the field of learning sciences, as well as cognitive, social, and developmental psychology," commented Dr. Caperton in the interview. Read more on Steve Hargadons blog. 6. Adobe Supports Digital Literacy for All Kids Since 2011, Adobe has partnered with World Wide Workshop to provide youth with access to the tools and opportunities needed for success in today's digital world. In an effort to enable us make digital literacy a reality for all students across the nation, the Adobe Foundation introduced a 100% gift match program up to $50,000. Please donate now to help Globaloria reach more students. We thank Adobe for its support and commitment to digital literacy for all students.

7. Overfelt High School Gets a Jump on Globeys with Saturday "Hackathon" On Saturday, March 23, forty-five students and three teachers at Overfelt High School in San Jose put in extra hours of programming to accelerate the development of their individual Hidden Object games. Spirits were high all around-- fueled by software engineers favorite food, pizza --and the very successful Hackathon resulted in completion of many milestones. Bravo to these hard workers!

Teachers Veronica Davis (left) and Jenny Kim (right) consult with a student at the Overfelt High Schools Globaloria Hackathon.

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