Brainevent
www.brainevent.com
provides teens with information on a variety of topics, from world news to high school issues. The site’s superior animation complements a diverse content layout. Feature topics include the “Freshman 15” and fur-banning at New York City night clubs. Brainevent also includes surveys and quizzes on teen-related topics and visitor reviews of new CDs, TV shows, movies and video games. The site is run by Knowledge Unlimited, an educational publishing company.
FastWEB
www.fastweb.com
is a well-designed, free service for seeking information about colleges and scholarships. Visitors provide their academic interests, cultural backgrounds and current financial circumstances and get links to relevant scholarships and colleges. FastWEB’s vast bank of updated material makes it a valuable resource for any parent or youth program working with high-school-age youth. FastWEB is a product of Internet job-search engine Monster. Registration is required.
Teens, Crime and the Community
www.nationaltcc.org
strives to inform young people about crime and give them strategies for prevention and victim treatment in their communities. Teens, Crime and the Community programs can be found in schools and in community and juvenile justice centers. The site includes fund-raising ideas to start a local program, and lists materials and examples of people to contact for help in the community. The site is operated by the National Crime Prevention Council and Street Law Inc.
Wishlist Program
www.wishlist.craigslist.org
is an innovative Internet hookup between an online community and a hardware store chain that allows the wary donor to directly provide a nonprofit organization with materials instead of money. Browsers can search for nonprofits in their area, and are provided with a list of materials the nonprofits need. Donors purchase the products online as if they were buying them for themselves. The site is a collaboration of Craigslist, an online community, and Cole Hardware.
Transformational Education
www.tedweb.org
is an online community for people interested in advancing alternative and transformational education. With a database of alternative schools and programs nationwide, and a resource section that features best-practice analysis on the field, TEDweb is extremely valuable for youth workers and educators interested in the progressive educational movement. TEDweb is run by the Academy for Educational Development.
Partnership for Family Involvement in Education
www.pfie.ed.gov
is an evolving blend of resources and propaganda for parents and youth workers from the U.S. Department of Education’s office for educational partnerships and family involvement. Some of the information, like tips on helping children with reading and homework and state responsibilities under the No Child Left Behind Act, is quite helpful. Beyond the self-promoting government rhetoric, the site will be much improved when its “State Information” database is completed in a few months.
Taking It Global
www.takingitglobal.org
provides an international forum for youth interested in dialogue on global events and social issues. The site features areas for posting to ongoing discussions, writing articles, learning about political and charity organizing and becoming a United Nations youth delegate. Taking It Global is updated regularly, and its content is valuable for any youth interested in keeping current. The site is run in partnership with the YMCA of Greater Toronto and numerous international nongovernmental organizations.
