Authentic Contexts

Headliners
Last week I stumbled across a collection of youth journalism websites, these should prove useful in the search for authentic learning contexts. I liked ‘Headliners’ the best, this UK programme involves , young people aged 8 to 19 researching and writing stories on issues that are important to them. The story library contains over 1200 articles organised into categories including: Children’s Rights, Family and Relationships, Education, Reviews, Sports, Values and Religion.
Below I have listed some article titles, hopefully these serve as a taster for the richness found within this URL:
**Back to Basics Today's means of communication are wide ranging from internet forums, blogging, instant messaging, emails and texting, but have we lost our ability to communicate on a basic level? Headliners Gavin Moran, 17, explores the topic.
**What do I care? Emmet Barr feels young people need to wake up to the reality of the debts many families face at this time of year.
**Bringing D-D to life What relevance does the Second World War hold for young people today?
**If I were in Charge What would happen if 15-year-old Kauthar Siddique-Parks was in charge?

Perhaps teachers could facilitate a lesson that involves students analyzing some of the articles and determining criteria for a great news report. Many of these sites are screaming out for young people to submit their own articles.

Has anyone stumbled across a NZ equivalent to Headliners???