Guest article by students Rosanel R., Dezires O. and Micely C.

In Bob Leibow’s Graphic Design class at the Academy of Visual Arts, which is part of Manhattan's High School of Graphic Communication Arts, seniors use Blender, a free, open-source program for making 3-D objects. As you can see in their on-line slideshow -- http://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=dgcn78ch_115d2pg7jj6 -- these students created images they thought were fun and simple. For example, Emely R. chose to create “The Powerpuff Girls," while another student, Andrew G., created the school mascot, a little devil.

We interviewed four students, all seniors, and they all agreed that the program was fun and a great experience. As one student, Dennis, said “If you like comic books or animated things you will pretty much like Blender.”

According to the students, Blender is very tricky, time consuming, and powerful, but with patience you can produce a very promising piece of art work. They recommended that anyone interested in the program should at least have some understanding of Adobe Photoshop. In this program, they said, if you don’t take your time and you make a mistake, you’ll end up having to start ALL over again.

If you would like to leave a comment for us or for these students, please visit our school's blog: http://academyofvisualarts.edublogs.org/.
Please tell us, What are some things that you really like about the work? What did you find interesting about it? What questions do you have about the work or the process? Would you like to try it yourself?

(You can download Blender at: http://www.blender.org/)

NEW YORK, April 19, 2010 – Five students from the Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical Education High School in the South Bronx spent Spring Break in Stockholm, Sweden, thanks to the generous support of the New York Building Foundation, a nonprofit building coalition, and Skanska, an international construction firm with headquarters in Stockholm and major operations in New York City.

The five 10th Grade students from minority backgrounds are studying for careers in building construction and engineering. The students, three boys and two girls, were selected randomly from a pool of 30 interested students who have excelled academically and maintained strong attendance records.

The five-day trip, which began on March 30th, was made possible thanks to financial contributions from the Building Foundation and Skanska, as well as logistical support from both organizations.

Highlights of the trip included a VIP tour of Skanska’s headquarters, visits to Swedish vocational schools, as well as cultural exchanges with their Swedish peers, including a traditional Viking meal, basketball games and cultural activities. The trip also included boat tours of Swedish islands, museum visits and sightseeing walks.

It’s All About the Kids! Founded in 1997 by entrepreneur Andrew Rasiej, MOUSE began as a volunteer-driven project aimed at servicing schools with particular needs, specifically with technology accommodations. Thirteen years later, Mouse has become a leading innovative program preparing students with industry skills and a familiarity with cutting-edge technology. Mouse has been incorporated within schools all throughout New York City, providing student opportunity

Students at Art & Design High School were targeted by Junior Achievement League of New York to participate in a pilot with Fashion Fantasy Game (http://www.fashionfantasygame.com/). This Internet game requires students to use their entrepreneurial skills to run an internet business. The students had to design garments, design space and market their wares. It was a mini lesson in entrepreneurship in the fashion world. The program concludes today with the announcement of the winners. The winners will have their garments constructed and a runway show will be held at Lim College on June 1. The students will also shadow at Diane von Furstenberg during the summer.

The students were interviewed on April 13th, answering questions about their involvement in the game. See the ABC story online: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=7384271

Log on to the Online Cisco Virtual Forum for Education Leaders: The Connected Learning Society: Inspire, Engage, and Empower

11:00 am to 4:00 pm  EDT on April 28

The world of learning and the places of learning in our world are changing in exciting new ways. Innovative technologies are inspiring this change. See how schools, colleges, and universities like yours are transforming the learning experience at this online education forum, The Connected Learning Society: Inspire, Engage, and Empower.

Join us to discuss the future of learning and be part of this momentous change. See the Agenda, learn about the speakers, and register on-line at:

http://events.unisfair.com/microsite21.jsp?eid=543&seid=25&language-code=en&country-code=US&page=1267574860149&code=Direct%20Access

The Northeast Cisco Academy Training Center is hosting a two-day Regional Conference for Educators June 21-22, 2010 at Westchester Community College in Valhala. Topics include: IT Essentials curriculum updates, CCNA-Voice, CCNA Super Labs CCNP Routing, and tours of the CISCO Network on Wheels. See the attached flyer for registration details.

Four New York City high schools made it to the state Finals of the We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution competition in Albany on March 17, 2010. Students from Edward R. Murrow High School, Forest Hills High School, James Madison High School and Townsend Harris High School studied for months to prepare for their roles as experts testifying on constitutional issues in simulated congressional hearings. A panel of 19 judges rated the students on their knowledge of the Constitution and their ability to relate today’s news and court cases to various constitutional principles.

Townsend Harris Takes Second Place, Forest Hills Takes Third

Nine schools from around the state entered the Albany contest, and the First Place winner goes on to the national competition. The New York State Finals results show city schools in good position:

NY1 News' Roger Clark reported from this week's Virtual Enterprises gathering of VE students, teachers and even some parents from around the world:

The 13th annual Virtual Enterprises International Trade Fair at the 69th Regiment Armory on the East Side hosted 143 businesses Wednesday, but not one product was sold. Rather, it was the end result of a program that allows city students to create and manage a fake business and virtually trade with worldwide customers through an online bank.

View Roger's report.

A new graphic design textbook from Davis Publications uses web sites and print layouts created by Chelsea CTE High School students as examples of effective design. In Communicating through Graphic Design, co-authors Kevin Gatta and Claire Mowbray Golding provide a comprehensive guide to the skills and techniques covered in a graphics curriculum. They include three examples of student work: e-portfolio web sites designed by Vicky Xu and Suleidy Baez, and a Harlem Week promotional poster created by Erika Loyola...

Ms. Loyola's poster also appears on the back cover of the textbook. The work is familiar to New York graphics educators since it won Second Place in the Annual Citywide Graphic Arts Competition in 2008. Ms. Kiri Bermack, Chelsea Commercial Art teacher, is listed as a senior educational art consultant in the text. Davis Publications is planning a reception to promote the book at Pratt Institute's  Manhattan campus this Spring.

The New York City District Council of Carpenters Labor Technical College holds its 41st Annual Graduating Apprentice Event on Wednesday, April 21, 2010.

See exhibitions and demonstrations from world-renown manufacturers utilizing the latest technologies equipment in the industry.

Learn what's happening in the industry or simply come and enjoy an interesting day. (Guests welcome.)

Download the attached PDF flyer for details.