YOUTH ENGAGED IN TECHNOLOGY

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: 3D GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0210134
• Grant No.: 2003-41520-01572
• Proposal No.: 2007-01175
• Project Start Date: May 1, 2003
• Project End Date: Apr 30, 2008
• Grant Year: 2007
• Program Code: [MC]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
208 MUELLER LABORATORY
UNIVERSITY PARK,PA 16802

Performing Department
AGRI & EXTENSION EDUCATION

Non Technical Summary
The framework guiding the creation of YET clubs is Community Youth Development (CYD). Programs that embrace a CYD framework create environments that provide youth with constructive, affirmative, and encouraging relationships with adults and peers that are sustained over time, while concurrently providing an array of opportunities that enable youth to build their competencies and become engaged as partners in their own development and in the development of their communities (Perkins, Borden, Hoppe-Rooney, and Villarruel, 2003). Thus, in the design of YET clubs, skill development and learning, relationship building, and opportunities to contribute are embedded in the program. The purpose of the Youth Engaged in Technology (YET) program is to enhance young peopleAEs marketable skills (especially those related to information sciences and technology), social skills, and prosocial skills. Technology is the vehicle through which the program creates a developmentally intentional learning experience that fosters resiliency

Animal Health Component

100%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

100%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
802	6099	3070	20%
803	6099	3070	20%
806	6099	3070	60%

Knowledge Area
806 - Youth Development; 803 - Sociological and Technological Change Affecting Individuals, Families, and Communities; 802 - Human Development and Family Well-Being;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3070 - Psychology;

Keywords

technology

youth development

service learning

rural

Goals / Objectives
By participating in Youth Engaged in Technology (YET), youth are anticipated to: (1) increase their knowledge and use of technology; (2) improve their academic skills related to math and science; (3) increase their sense of mattering in the community; and (4) to increase their connection to their community.

Project Methods
The program structure is an after-school club conducted at the high school. The club has access to the high school computer lab, as well as to a classroom. The size of the club averages 20-25 students. New students are being recruited each year; however, approximately 80% of YET members from last year have return to participate this year. By the end of the five years, YET will be a natural part of the school, like other extracurricular activities. The club meets twice a week during the school year. The club meetings are facilitated by the site coordinator. The format for the club includes: snack, team building exercise, business meeting, experiential technology activity or service-learning activity, and debriefing (e.g., journaling or small group discussion). Six clubs meetings each month focus on the technology project (e.g., webpage development, robotics, and GPS/GIS). Two club meetings per month involve a service-learning (or helping others project as labeled by the youth) activity related to technology (e.g., cyberteens/cyberseniors and website development for local non-profits). While the structure and the overarching goal of YET is clearly defined, some of the technology activities and service-learning activities the club undertakes are being identified by the youth members. For example, YET members in Washington are developing a website for the local library that will be a gateway to legitimate research oriented material to be used by students 4th through 8th grades.

Progress 05/01/03 to 04/30/08

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The New Communities Project of Penn State University Extension is the Youth Engaged in Technology (YET) afterschool program. As noted in the market statement above, YET is designed to enhance young people's marketable skills (especially those related to information sciences and technology), social skills, and prosocial skills. YET employs technology as a vehicle through which young people are engaged in learning and contributing. The primary audience involved in the YET program are high school youth. These students are targeted through referrals from guidance counselors, nurses, teachers, principals, and support staff. In addition, through community service activities, participating youth have contributed to others in their community, such as senior citizens and elementary school children. The YET program has continued to keep parents involved as indicated by several parents assisting with chaperoning overnight and local field trips. Throughout the year, YET members were engaged in community service, "Helping Others", projects. The "Helping Others" project for this year were again selected and conducted by the YET members. The helping others projects include, computer workshops for senior citizens, website development for local nonprofit organizations, teaching GPS and GIS workshops at a Natural Resources Conservation Field Days, teaching GPS and GIS workshops a regional 4H camp, teaching GPS and GIS workshops at the Galeton Red Ribbon Day, and presenting GPS and robotics workshops at a regional 4H activities day. These helping others projects have given the YET members a sense of mattering in their community. The statewide capacity this year has been focused on disseminating educational resources developed by the Pennsylvania CYFAR team. The team has presented several workshops related to the educational resources that we developed last year (Behavioral Issues Toolkit and Parent Involvement Guide). Both materials were accepted into the CYFERNet peer review educational materials. Finally, the YET team is providing leadership to a resubmission of a NSF Informal Science Education proposal focused on nanotechnology and youth development. PARTICIPANTS: Washington School District and Galeton School District TARGET AUDIENCES: This work has several target audiences. First, youth are impact by being participants of the project. Second, parents are provided opportunities to see their children succeed. Third, schools are provided with innovative youth program.

Impacts
The YET curriculum focuses on four areas, they include: Website development, Robotics, GPS, and GIS. This year the YET clubs worked on every curriculum area. We have found that shortening the projects keeps the participants actively engaged in the program. Each club updated their club Websites to reflect the projects and activities that they accomplished this year. The updated YET club Websites are located on the Pennsylvania CYFAR site http://cyfar.cas.psu.edu/. The Pennsylvania YET members had a significant increase in scores from pretest to posttest for the Website development this year. Although the increase was not statistically significant, YET members did report increases in scores for overall computer skills along with improved skills in; word processing, spreadsheet use, presentation graphics, and database use The members also had an increase in overall scores for life skill development (decision making skills, thinking skills, communication skills, goal setting, and problem solving skills). The YET program has been sustained in the Galeton site as well as expanded to two other sites in Potter County. The sustainability and expansion comes from a 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant. The YET Program will expand to the Northern Potter and Oswayo Valley. This funding provides a project coordinator as well as two site coordinators to implement programming. The Potter County 21st Century Learning Center Grant will provide funding for three years. The Potter YET site has been working closely with the Potter County Human Services on several projects: one project included an intergenerational component, where YET members, assisted in the setup, training and demonstration of the equipment to Aging staff and senior citizens as part of their service- learning activities. The YET program and Potter County Human Services also worked together to acquire 30 Dell Pentium 4 computers with keyboards, mice and monitors from Time Warner Corporation. The computers were delivered with the help of Potter County Human Services. Several YET members, along with the site coordinators, moved the newer computers into the computer lab and began to install the needed software. There are now 15 working computers with Windows XP in the lab, as well as 9 computers that replaced outdated/disabled computers in the school Library. The remaining computers were disbursed as needed throughout the school.

Publications

• Hoy, P. E., C. Hamilton, P. Webster, C. DiMarzio, T. Batterson, and D. F. Perkins. 2006. Youth Engaged in Technology Curriculum. University Park, PA. Penn State Cooperative Extension. http://cyfar.cas.psu.edu/YET/Resources2.htm
• Perkins, D. F., Borden, L. M., Villarruel, F. A., Carlton-Hug, A., Stone, M. R., and Keith, J. G. 2007. Participation in structured youth programs: Why ethnic minority urban youth choose to participate or not to participate. Youth and Society, 38:420-442.