Glossary
This is a master list of terms that need defining somewhere. Some may be Admin or Members only, but they're all here for now.
| Account | A Youth Forum member's customized area listing Projects in Progress, as well as Finished Projects. |
| Available Projects | A list of customized projects that have been defined on the Youth Forum, which teachers can apply to. The list is viewable only in the Members area of the site. |
| Collaborative Project | A project that includes activities that involve working with teachers and students in another school. |
| Finished Project | A project instance that has been marked "finished" by the participant working on it. Finished projects may be moved to the Project Showcase. |
| Forum Project | A project that allows students to exchange views on a given topic through a message board. When you create this project, you will provide the starting topic for discussion - students may post messages which respond directly to the topic, or may reply to messages posted by other students, initiating a variety of discussions all stemming from the original starting topic. |
| Independent Project |
A project designed for use in your classroom that does not require partnership with another school. |
| Memo |
An area of the Project Report that you can use to communicate with other people working on the project. |
| Newsletter Project | A project that allows students to create a collection of written pieces: stories, essays, reviews, interviews, etc. These pieces may contain any type of written material, and one image or downloadable file each. You will provide a "masthead" for this project - a headline which should indicate what the project is about, and what type of content it should feature. |
| Project | A set of activities to achieve a goal. All projects include teaching ideas, resources and templates for your class to create a newsletter, timeline, storyboard and much more. |
| Project Broker | The Admin process of matching applicants who have applied for a collaborative project. |
| Project In Progress | A project instance that has been set up and is currently active for a given member (or members if it's a collaborative project). |
| Project Instance | A copy of a project which is made in the participating member's account when the member signs up for the project. In the case of collaborative projects, there is one project instance created for the matched applicants. When members work on a project, they are working on a project instance. Project Instances are differentiated from each other by unique ID numbers. |
| Project Report | A page where where you can manage your project (instance) and communicate with everyone who is working on it (by sending a Memo). From this page, you can open a project for viewing or editing or end a project. |
| Project Showcase | A page where finished projects can be displayed to the general public. |
| Project Template | Pre-defined project models which
can be customized with different themes to suit different curriculum
needs. Youth Forum currently supports three types of templates for:
|
| Project Type | Projects are either Independent or Collaborative. |
| Skills Toolbox | A number of on-line activities and handouts designed to help students practice critical thinking and analytical skills. There are simple steps that - with enough practice - will help students gain the necessary knowledge and skills for the information-driven world of the future. |
| Teachers' Modules | Curriculum materials that explores cross-cultural perceptions, global environmental action and other issues at the nexus of global economic movement, international security, and cultural growth. The modules can be used in whole or in part. Each module includes teaching ideas, background readings, student handouts and ideas for school-to-school exchanges. |
| User Profile | A page that contains all the information related to an individual user, including status (Pending, Approved, Banned) |
| Virtual Gallery Project | A project that allows students to create a linear sequence of "slides," each of which can contain text and an image or downloadable file. Examples of exercises this format could be utilized for might be a virtual gallery, a narrative, a photo essay, a digital tour, or online manga/comics. You will provide the overall theme or goal of the project to indicate how it should be used. |
The Youth Forum website is a web-based exchange program that allows youth around the world to work with one another on topics of mutual interest. It consists of a Project Showcase and Skills Toolbox, as well as a [Members Area], accessible once you have registered with the Youth Forum.
Project Showcase page
The Project Showcase highlights completed projects from the Youth Forum. You can use it to get ideas for creating your own projects or as a reference tool on the topics covered by the projects. You can also develop your own language lessons (outside of the Youth Forum) by sending students to review both the English and Japanese versions. For example:
Sample Assignment using Project Showcase
- Read the Discovery Project Kanji in English and Japanese.
- Answer this question in both English and Japanese:
When and why did the Japanese borrow the kanji script from the Chinese and Koreans?Skills Toolbox page
The Skills Toolbox features a number of on-line activities and handouts designed to help students practice critical thinking and analytical skills. You can use these activities during lesson planning or to enhance lessons in the classroom. For example,
Sample Assignment using Skills Toolbox
- Read Analyze This: Six Ways to Read Faster and More Effectively.
- Answer this question.
What are two ways to determine cause and effect?Your Youth Forum Account page [Members Area]
When you log in to the Youth Forum, Your Youth Forum Account page displays, showing all of the Projects you have signed up for. Projects are grouped as In Progress or Finished. You also gain access to the Teachers' Modules and Available Projects pages.
Project Report page [Members Area]
When you select a project from the Projects: In Progress list, the Project Report page displays. From this page, you can ADD A MEMO, OPEN THIS PROJECT, or END THIS PROJECT.
Project detail pages [Members Area] - not sure what to call these
When you select OPEN THIS PROJECT from the Project Report page, a Project detail page displays. The type of page depends on the template used to create the project (e.g., Forum, Newsletter, or Virtual Gallery). From this page you can add new content or edit existing content. For example,
- On a Forum project, you have the option to SEND NEW MESSAGE or VIEW messages BY DATE or BY SUBJECT. On the NEWMESSAGE page, you complete the FROM and SUBJECT fields and your MESSAGE text (the date is automatically supplied).
- On a Newsletter project, you have the option to ADD A NEW STORY or to select an already posted story from the list displayed. On the ADDNEWSTORY or EDITSTORY page, you enter or change the story's HEADLINE, BYLINE/AUTHOR, and BRIEF SYNOPSIS fields and your STORY TEXT. You can also ATTACH AN IMAGE OR FILE with a CAPTION, if you like. (Clicking the Browse button allows you to search for the file on your computer.)
- On a Virtual Gallery project, you have the option to ADD A NEW SLIDE AFTER THIS or EDIT THIS SLIDE. On the ADDSLIDE page or EDITSLIDE page, you enter or change the slide's TITLE or TEXT. You can also ATTACH AN IMAGE OR FILE, if you like. (Clicking the Browse button allows you to search for the file on your computer.)
Teachers' Modules page [Members Area]
Teachers' modules explore cross-cultural perceptions, global environmental action and other issues at the nexus of global economic movement, international security, and cultural growth. You can use the modules in whole or in part. Each module includes teaching ideas, background readings, student handouts and ideas for school-to-school exchanges. Need more description of what to do with these.
Available Projects page [Members Area]
The Available Projects page lists all projects that have been set up and are available to participants. You can choose to apply for either an independent project or a collaborative project. Select a project to read more about it and if it interests you, fill out the simple application form below the project description. On the APPLY TO THIS PROJECT, fill in the Grade, Size of Class, and Class Subject for the class that will be participating in this project. (The school and other contact information will be taken from your User Profile.) We will send you a confirmation and let you know what to do next. Might be nice to add some tips. For example, should they include the class period in the Class Subject if they might be setting several up, e.g., Japanese 1 - 2nd period; Japanese 2 - 3rd period.
Note: It doesn't seem like there's much descriptive info about the projects currently listed...