This document outlines the Week 1 assignment for an education course. Students are asked to write a 2-3 page analysis of youth programs in their community. They must include an infographic with community statistics, summarize key youth issues, and create a table of existing youth programs that lists the program name, mission, how it engages youth, and which developmental assets it focuses on. Students are also asked to brainstorm how they could get involved in one of these programs. The instructor provides guidance, emphasizing exploring community strengths and culture, identifying the 40 developmental assets, and reviewing resources to complete the assignment and discussions.

1. Week 1 Assignment First Steps
Write a two- to three-page analysis of your community and the
existing programs for youth within this community using the
following guidelines:
1. Using your research from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American
Fact Finder (Links to an external site.), Pew Research
Center (Links to an external site.), and the National Center for
Education Statistics (Links to an external site.), create an info-
graphic picture of your community to support your written
analysis. Embed the info-graphic picture into your analysis as a
chart illustrating the written analysis. Your info-graphic and
analysis should illustrate those statistics that have direct
bearing on the 40 Developmental Assets identified by the
Search Institute which can include, but are not limited to:
· Population demographics, including ethnicity and special
populations
· Economic status
· Housing and household demographics
2. Summarize youth-related issues that seem to be at the
forefront of your community. Use specific examples to support
your observations (newspaper headlines, community meetings,
political platforms, etc.) and cite your text when appropriate.
3. In support of your written analysis, create and embed a table
that identifies the resources for young people that already exist
in your community. Your table should include:
· The name of the program
· A short description of the program’s mission
· An analysis how the program engages with the youth they
serve (Are they partners with adults?)
· Summarize which of the 40 Developmental Assets the program
focuses on or attempts to meet with their program
Conclude your analysis by brainstorming ideas on how you can
plug into one or more of the existing programs using the Asset
Building Framework. Focus specifically on where you can make

2. an impact in strengthening relationships within families, among
peers, within schools and other institutions, in programs and
outside of programs, and across generations. Your analysis must
be two to three pages in length (excluding the title and
reference pages), double spaced, and be formatted according to
APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Two
references, charts, and tables should be properly cited. Your
info-graphic and analysis will be used in your Final Paper and
presentation.
Instructor Guidance
Week 1
Welcome to week 1 of EDU 635. In this week we begin our
learning about communities and the youth that live and play in
those communities. We will be looking at the communities and
the culture of those communities, and looking at data about our
communities to try to build a synopsis of what’s going on there.
With all that, we are hoping to identify what role youth
programs play in our community, and the roles that adults play
in providing those programs.
In your introductions for the week, you will of course be telling
us a little bit about yourself. I encourage you to use one of the
digital tools listed as options. Later this week and in the future,
you will be required to use certain digital tools to help present
your messages. So, take the time now to experiment with the
tools if you have not used them before. Be sure that you respond
to at least three of your classmates’ introductions
The first discussion for this week is labeled “strength oriented
action.” When we think about strengths, of course there is
physical strength. But that’s not what we’re talking about here.
In this discussion, you will be exploring the concept of a
“strength message.” In particular, you will want to identify the

3. strengths you see in your own community and in the adults that
are providing programs of some sort to the youth of your
community. You will also explore the concept of your
community’s culture. There is a handy tip sheet listed in the
required reading for the week. That will be really helpful for
you.
In the second discussion for this week, we’re talking about
assets or building blocks for the healthy development of young
people in your community. It is really important that you read
the required resources for this week to identify those 40
developmental assets. There are also some other resources listed
to find information about your particular community, if you
don’t already have that. In the discussion posts you should
create a table that identifies those eight categories of human
development and summarize their importance to the
development of youth. This is an important discussion for you
because we come back and use this information in a later week.
The written assignment for this week asks you to use the
information from the two discussion forums. Please be sure you
review what you wrote in the discussions, what your classmates
wrote, and comments from your instructor. For this paper you
are creating an infographic and summarizing issues in your
community that are related to the development of youth. You
will also include a table that identifies resources for the young
people in your community. At the end of the assignment you
will see where you are asked to brainstorm ideas about how you
could participate in one or more of the existing programs. For
some ideas about how you can get involved, check out this
video (approximately 2 minutes): Military Community Getting
Kids More Involved (Links to an external site.).
Please be sure you read and follow the outline that is posted.

4. It’s a great week for learning!
Reference
Department of Defense. (2015, February 2). Military
Community Getting Kids More Involved (Links to an external
site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYvetTd869k
Required Resources
1. Read from your text, Assets in action: A handbook for
making communities better places to grow up.
· Introduction – The Vision for Asset-Building Communities
· Chapter 1 – Beginning the Process of Change
· Chapter 2 – Getting Started: What Needs to Happen First
2. Read from your text, Quick-start guide to building assets in
your prevention program:
· Pages 2-11
3. Glogster (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from
http://www.glogster.com/
· Glogster is a tool for creating introduction activity. Glogster
is a free web based postering and presentation tool that allows
its users to embed or share their creations in other formats.
4. National Center for Education Statistics (Links to an external
site.). Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/
· The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the
primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related
to education.
5. Pew Research Center (Links to an external site.). Retrieved
from http://pewresearch.org/
· This is a public data bank for information regarding trends
shaping the global perspective.
6. Prezi (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from
http://prezi.com
· Prezi is a tool for creating introduction activity. This is a free
web-based presentation tool that allows its users to embed or
share their creations in other formats such as slideshows, web
pages, etc.
7. U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). American Fact Finder (Links to

5. an external site.). Retrieved from
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
· This is the U.S. Census Department website for demographic,
community information, and household information
Recommended Resources
1. CHEVAL99. (2011, December 30). Step-by-Step Tutorial on
Prezi Basics Prezi Learn Center (Links to an external site.)
[Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEc5w9g0pPc
2. FastCompany. (2011). The 5 best free tools for making slick
infographics. Retrieved from
http://www.fastcompany.com/1749649/5-infographics-tools-for-
business
· This is a resource for researching and creating infographics.
3. Google Chart Tools (Links to an external site.). Retrieved
from http://code.google.com/apis/chart/ (Links to an external
site.)
· This site contains free graphing and charting tools to use in
the development of infographic images.
4. Inspiredtoserve. (2009). AssetReview (Links to an external
site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPY67eea5h4&feature=youtu
.be
· This is the Asset Video introduction.
1. Newlearninguk. (2009).Glogster in 90 Seconds (Links to an
external site.)[Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvC47fUANLk&feature=you
tu.be
· This video provides support for using Glogster.
6. Search Institute (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from
http://www.search-institute.org/
· The Search Institutes website with includes additional
resources.
7. TEDxTalks. (2011). Peter Benson- Sparks: How Youth
Thrive (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqzUHcW58Us&feature=you

6. tu.be
· This video is presented at TEDx by the founder of the Search
Institute.
8. Visual.ly (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from
http://visual.ly/
9. Yrysdaulet Zhautikov. (2013, April 6). Why the Best Prezis
Use Grouping and Layering (Links to an external site.)[Video
file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_W4tGUQHoo