Calling all Clubhouse creators! The Scratch Team would like to include more images and audio from Clubhouse members (and alumni) in the Scratch media library.

Add the projects to the Scratch Clubhouse Media gallery. It can be new projects, or projects already on the Village. Let me know if you have any questions.

On behalf of the whole Scratch Team – thanks!

–Chris G.

The Flagship has also been busy planning some C2C opportunities as well. On February 18th, some of our Flagship members made a trip to Soup2Nuts.  For more than twelve years, Soup2Nuts has created award-winning animated programming for the major television and cable networks. Best known for its smart humor, unique animation styles and improv-infused dialogue, Soup2Nuts’ productions stand out in the television landscape. This was a great way to expose some of our youth to the professional world of animation and we were very fortunate to have been able to plan a trip there. Check out some of the photos from the trip.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30501014@N02/sets/72157623266469723/

Hopefully we have the video up soon for your pleasure! Thanks to everyone who attended and helped out with the event!

We chose to hold educational workshops themed around Harry Potter™: The Exhibition. We would take the outside groups through the exhibit then back to the Clubhouse for some dinner and break them out to 3 different workshops. So we picked  2 dates, January 29th and February 12th to hold them. Well that brings us up to date, where we have already had 1 of these workshops . We had 24 youth attend and we broke them up into 3 different groups, 1 group did a Design Squad/Green Screen workshop, another did a 3D Modeling Google Sketch-up workshop, and the last doing an LED wand workshop.  (Photos of the event will follow shortly).

They all went over extremely well and we had incredibly positive responses from the youth that participated. We had a great mix of ages ranging from 6-18 year olds (We had only asked for 10-18 year old youth, but 1 group neglected to acknowledge that).  Regardless, all the youth enjoyed their time here at the Museum and the Computer Clubhouse.  It was a great chance to explore new ideas, and we found it greatly successful to try and theme some group activities around Pop Culture and movies. Once we get the pictures and video up of the event it will be easier to explain and see how well these workshops went. If you are interested in hearing more about these workshops or want to know how we went about making the LED wands or anything else that went on, please feel free to comment and let us know!

I hope this year has been treating all of you well, and keep your eyes open for more blog postings and pictures coming soon!

2009 has come and gone, lots of great memories and projects created and shared. Our Network has continued to grow, expand, create, and learn. With nothing but high hopes for this coming year, 2010 looks as though it will be an exciting year for all of us here at the Computer Clubhouse Network. We have yet another Annual Conference coming up this spring, which will take place in Atlanta, GA this year, and all of us here on the Network staff are incredibly excited to leave Boston and see all of our coordinators from around the world.  This will be a great chance for all of our coordinators to come together and share ideas, experiences, and build connections amongst our community. But that is just a small part of what else we have coming in 2010. We can’t forget about Teen Summit coming up again this summer, which will take place here in Boston as per usual. It is a very exciting time; new year, new faces, new Clubhouses, and events to look forward to.

We are greatly looking forward to 2010, but 2009 brought us a great year at the Computer Clubhouse Network. Wrapping up 2009 we completed another year of C2C scholarships for members and alumni. With that being said, a large congratulation goes out to all of the receipients for our 2009 C2C Scholarship. Members and Alumni from all over the world  were represented in the selection process and will benefit greatly from the $140,000 given away in scholarships.

From all of us at the Computer Clubhouse Network staff and the Flagship Clubhouse, we wish you all a very Happy and healthy New Year!

Media That Matters 10

OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS!

Media That Matters: Screen. Act. Impact.

The Media That Matters Film Festival is the premiere showcase for short films on the most important topics of the day. Local and global, online and in communities around the world, Media That Matters engages diverse audiences and inspires them to take action.

From gay rights to global warming, the jury-selected collection represents the work of a diverse group of independent filmmakers, many of whom are under 21. The films are equally diverse in style and content, with documentaries, music videos, animations, experimental work and everything else in between. What all the films have in common is that they spark debate and action in 12 minutes or less.

Arts Engine celebrates ten years of Media That Matters — the premier showcase for short films with big messages.

“We no longer have to rely on major corporations for things to be seen — we have Media that Matters to distribute new material and new voices and new points of view.”
— Tim Robbins, Actor

Submit your film for the chance to work with us in creating social change through film. If selected, your film will take become a part of Media That Matters — an international, multi-platform campaign streaming and playing to thousands of people at screenings across the globe. Media That Matters creates discussion guides and screening materials to promote conversation and encourage educators, activists and organizers alike to Take Action around these films. Join us in our TENTH year and submit your film now!

CRITERIA:

* Short films — the shorter the better—no longer than 12 minutes max, but 8 and under would be great!
* Social issues — Any and all issues will be considered. This year we are focusing on Media Literacy, Human Rights, LGBTQ & Sexual Identity, Youth Activism and International issues in particular.
* The film should encourage the audience to be engaged and take action around the issue.
* All genres — Documentary, animation, public service announcement, narrative, music video, drama, comedy. Creativity is encouraged — but your film must focus on a social issue.
* Open to all ages — Youth-produced projects encouraged!

BEFORE SUBMITTING:

* The film you are submitting must be cleared for NON EXCLUSIVE home video, educational, online, broadcast and theatrical distribution. If you have signed a contract with any other entity for this film that includes EXCLUSIVE rights to this film, please review prior to submitting to our festival. Media That Matters seeks the widest possible audiences for your film. To do this effectively, we use a non-exclusive contract, so unlike many media entities, we do not ask for exclusive rights. This flexibility helps our outreach team go further with your film, creating even more opportunity for distribution and exposure of your work.
* All footage — including music and other referenced video pieces — must have all rights cleared and secured. Please refer to the Center for Social Media’s set of Best Practices for more information on how to use licensed materials. Creative Commons is also a great resource for license-free or flexi-licensed music and media alternatives.

HOW TO SUBMIT:

Step 1: Choose submission method:

*Submit via URL
This year we will be accepting online submissions. We prefer a link to watch online. Please remember to send us a password if necessary to view private videos. You can follow guidelines on Vimeo or Youtube for this.
* Submit via DVD
Submissions must be sent to us on DVD and programmed to play as a DVD Region 0 (region free) or Region 1 (US, Canada, US Territories) Please note that the following formats will not be considered this year: PAL, VHS, mini DV or CD-R (QuickTime MOV or MPG files).

Step 2: Fill out details in the film submission form for each film.

Step 3: Process payment (see submission fees below):

* Individual Filmmaker: $25 / each film submission; Max: 2 submissions
* Student Filmmaker (18+): $10 w/ Student ID; Max: 2 submissions
* Youth Filmmaker (18 & under): FREE w/ proof of age; Max: 2 submissions
* Non-profit / Youth Media Organization: FREE; Max: 5 submissions

Step 4: Your submission will be complete once you receive a confirmation email including a reference number for each film and any further instructions.

Regular Deadline Postmarked by: January 22nd 2010

Questions?
Contact festival@artsengine.net

For more information: http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/submit

Some of the Coordinators and Clubhouses that were here this week include…

Paballo- Sowetto in South Africa
Huss- Meadow Heights Australia
Jamie- New Zealand
Joevaughn- FBR Branch in DC
Franklin- South Boston
Jenny- Worchester
Betsy- Blue Hill
Matthew- Eastmont

This weeks training consisted of a lot of our training week staples.  Starting our week off with a series of introductions to the staff and trainees as well as an introduction to the History of the Computer Clubhouse from Gail and Clubhouse Co-Founder Mitch Resnick from the MIT Media Lab. All of this followed by a trip to the brand new MIT Media Lab building to see their new space and some of the work they are doing over there, and our traditional dinner at the Royal East Restaurant in Cambridge.

The days to come would be filled with a great deal of explanation about their roles as coordinators and how to deal with certain issues. But probably the most interesting things throughout the course of the week are the training sessions on all of the software available in the Clubhouse for their youth to use.

Some of the workshops included:
- Photoshop by Jeff
- LED Throwies by Keith
- Basic Web Design by Patricia
- Scratch by Jay Silver from the MIT Media Lab
- Flash by Jeff
- Introduction to the Music Studio and video production by assistant Coordinator Roy
- Free tools & Open ideas by Keith

Although this training may sound like a lot of time sitting in front of a computer screen, there was actually a great deal of discussion on topics regarding marketing, measuring the impact of the Clubhouse, caring for your technology, responsible internet usage, and our first ever attempt at quick session on Social media; more specifically Twitter.

Probably the most important thing that everyone seemed to pull out of this past week are the friendships that were formed. As you can tell from the coordinator list above, there was a very large diverse group of coordinators that arrived here to Snowy Boston. Maybe it was the weather, or maybe it was all the free toys we gave them, but something brought this group together. Everyone got a kick out of all of  stories “The General” (aka Paballo) told, Joevaughn had a blast at the Celtics game, and everyone seemed to have a good laugh about getting lost so many times with Franklin. Overall, even though half the people came from warmer climates, they all kept their enthusiasm going through the bone chilling cold weather Boston brought our way this past week. This group definitely came together this week, and hopefully they can inspire each other and provide a great deal of resources to each other and collaborate across the world.

Overall, it was a tremendous week of training and a very productive and successful one as well. To celebrate we once again headed to Il Villagio in the North End for our graduation dinner. Laughs, stories, food, and good times were shared by all. It is always incredible to see all these people from all over the world come together and find so many things they have in common as well as learn from each others differences. It is a true testament to the spirit of the Computer Clubhouse Network.

A lot of photos were taken, so hopefully as soon as we are able to get those up, you can check out this amazing group for yourself. Thanks to everyone who came to Boston this week for the training, all who helped throughout the training, and everyone in this Network that has helped us get to where we are today.

A great thing about our network is the willingness of others to go out and share their knowledge. Thanks to some folks over at the MIT media lab, the Clubhouses on the other side of the country in the bay area were able to take advantage of a workshop held specifically for them. This workshop was for the program Glow Doodle, and was instructed by two of MIT’s finest, Eric and Jay, who have held other workshops for the Clubhouse Network.

Eric was able to blog about their experience in California, and the workshop they had with the Computer Clubhouses out there. Which you can check out here.

It was a great workshop, and a great new piece of software that our members will be able to explore and create with. The MIT Media Lab, and the Life Long Kindergarten team certainly deserve a huge thanks for taking time of their schedules to work with our members and introduce them to a world of creativity and lifelong learning.

So log onto the Glow Doodle website and get started on some of your own pieces of artwork. Let us see your creations!

Nick Huertas
Alumni Coordinator

While we are on the topic of Anniversaries, the Zabota Clubhouse just celebrated their 4 year anniversary. All of us on the Network Staff would like to send them a warm congratulation. If your clubhouse also recently celebrated a momentous occasion, please let me know I would love to post about it here on the blog and let everyone in our Network know. Happy 16!

-Nick Huertas
Alumni Coordinator
nhuertas@mos.org

Last week marked the 16th Anniversary of the Computer Clubhouse Network, this is a great milestone for all of us associated with the Clubhouse Network. Since its founding in 1993, we have grown from 1 Clubhouse to over 100 Clubhouses located all over the world. We have reached locations as far away as South Africa and New Zealand, impacting thousands of lives all over the globe. This year we continued our annual tradition of purchasing a computer cake, showing off some great member work, and inviting all of our friends, mentors, members, and their families. We had a great showing of guests and we all enjoyed a lot of great conversations and company.

As soon as you entered the Computer Clubhouse you were greeted at the registration table, but something unique this year was the demoing of our ‘graffiti’ wall; which was set up at our entrance and allowed everyone to take part in a hands on experience immediately. Which is a true testament to the mentality of our Network, and how we support hands on learning and experience. Once they headed down to the Clubhouse everyone was able to help themselves to some drinks and snacks. It was a very relaxed celebration, where current members and alumni got to sit down at computers and show off some of the software and projects they have been working on.  There was a terrific demo of some augmented reality set up, that everyone seemed to get a kick out of as well.

Once we had a fairly full Clubhouse we began the ‘formal’ portion of our celebration where Gail, Computer Clubhouse Director, gave her speech thanking all of our staff, friends, mentors, and especially our members for all they have contributed to our Network. It was great to recognize how great of an accomplishment it is to have been around for so long, and have affected so many lives. After a harmonious singing of ‘Happy Birthday’ by all, we cut into our beautiful and delicious computer cake, and dug right in. By the end of the night, there was just a tiny bit of keyboard and monitor left.

After a few more conversations, and a raffling of some Harry Potter exhibition tickets, the night had come to a close. It was yet another successful celebration of a job well done and milestone for all of us. We also managed to capture some great video footage of our anniversary party, which I will post up here on the blog once it makes its way through our editing software in the Clubhouse by some of our alumni and members.

On Behalf of the rest of the Network Staff, I would like to extend a sincere thank you for all of you alumni, mentors, coordinators, and especially to all of our current members for allowing us to do what we do and make the impact on communities we have been making for the past 16 years. Here is to another 16 years of exploring, developing, and using technology to help express ourselves.

For more photos go to:

http://www.clubhousevillage.org/photo_albums/show/6701

-Nick Huertas
Alumni Coordinator