Fall Update from TEL.A.VISION

Posted on 16. Dec, 2010 by in All Posts, Story of TEL.A.VISION, TEL.A.VISION News

Up With People
In October I visited Washington DC to watch the Up With People show, then followed the cast to Harrisonburg,   Virginia to teach a select group of cast members and the management team about TEL.A.VISION. Up With People is a group of International students that travel the world bringing a message of peace, hope and possibility. They have been doing this since 1965.
In January I will be training their whole cast in TEL.A.VISION and beginning our vision of bringing vision videos to 6th grade students in communities they travel to. In addition to the 80 cast members we hope to work with the 20,000 alumni and have them bring TEL.A.VISION  to their communities.

Spark.A.Vision
In November I participated in the Big Tent Conference in Houston. We created a new product called Spark.A.Vision. It is a combination of Dr. Peter Benson’s work on Sparks and TEL.A.VISION. Dr. Benson’s research has shown that what every young person needs for a successful upbringing is to find his/her spark in life and have three adults support them. TEL.A.VISION  is a way to help a young person identify their spark and share it with the world. We had a fabulous response in Houston and look forward to collaborating to bring this to the world. W believe this work could be enhanced by proposed regulations to begin Career and College Preparedness with students in sixth grade.
Here is a video where students talk about their experience creating Spark.A.Vision videos.

TIES Conference
In December Bob Dockendorf, Gwen Toppe and I presented at the TIES Conference. Bob is the Principal of Big Lake High School. This fall Big Lake held “Transition Day” for all ninth graders on the first day of school. Every ninth grader began a TEL.A.VISION  video on that day. Teachers created videos that they shared with the students. They talked to the students about the importance of having a vision for their lives. At the conference Bob shared stories of the difference the program has made with individual students and initial results from the vision videos. These results included a 2.6% increase in attendance and a 30% drop in the number of write ups for disciplinary problems.

Foundation Grants
This fall we received a Community Grant from the Best Buy Foundation to fund expansion of TEL.A.VISION in Twin Cities Schools. In 2011 we will be funding research on TEL.A.VISION’s effectiveness and a number of pilot programs for At Risk youth. With a grant from the Rothmann Family Foundation we have funded programs including the use of TEL.A.VISION by youth at the Mercy Center in Bangkok, http://www.mercycentre.org. Mercy Center is a hospital for children with AIDS. They will be creating vision videos to send to their sponsors.
If you know of any foundations or organizations you think would be interested in helping fund TEL.A.VISION please let us know.

Quotes from Nebraska High School Students
This fall we received testimonials from High School Students in Nebraska who had completed vision videos. In this blog post we share some of the quotes. Here is one of our favorites: “Thank you soooo much I was really having a tough time in my life and wasnt really paying attention to anything. I drank and I was even considering joining a gang but now this has really just set me back an my path and I can actually see wer im going so thank you.”

TEL.A.VISION Forms Partnership with Minnesota TIES

Posted on 01. Dec, 2009 by in All Posts, Supporters, TEL.A.VISION News

Alliance Will Benefit TEL.A.VISION, TIES and Their Affiliates

MINNEAPOLIS (December 1, 2009) – TEL.A.VISION, the proven Web 2.0 online curriculum that inspires youth to create and share visions of hope and possibility through personal “vision videos” announced today their partnership with TIES, the Minnesota Education Technology Collaborative that brings together technology and education to create comprehensive, cutting-edge solutions for school administrators, educators and students.

TEL.A.VISION will support TIES’s growth and development by offering preferred services and discounts to TIES members. TIES will promote the benefits and savings of TEL.A.VISION’S curriculum that combines compelling words, images and music to create a vision video of their desired future.

TEL.A.VISION has proven to be successful with all students, but especially those at risk and those receiving special educations services. The program engages students in a meaningful way, allows their voices to be heard, has improved AYP and helps to decrease the dropout rate.

“We have seen what TEL.A.VISION has done for students in Minnesota. We know firsthand that this partnership holds great potential for the districts that we serve,” said Marla Davenport, Co-Director of Learning and Technology. “The TIES and TEL.A.VISION missions speak to increasing the availability of technology and improving learning outcomes for students. Together we can leverage our strengths to further these outcomes.”

“TIES is a leader in providing cutting edge technology and software solutions to schools in Minnesota. Both organizations know that if there ever was a time in history where we quickly need to plant and cultivate seeds of hope, imagination and vision, the time is now,” stated George Johnson of TEL.A.VISION. “We know that TIES is the right partner for us to reach more students that crave the opportunity to build connections to their communities and engage in academics.”

About TIES

TIES was created as Technology Information Education Services in 1967 to provide technology and information resources to school administrators, educators and students. It is now known solely by the acronym TIES. For more information go to:  www.ties.k12.mn.us

TEL.A.VISION Featured on B2E News Alert

Posted on 12. Jul, 2009 by in All Posts, Media, Power of Vision, TEL.A.VISION News

We visited with Anne Wujcik at the National Educational Computer Conference in Washington DC. Anne is, among other things, the Editor of B2E News Alert, Business Education Intelligence from QED and the Heller Report.

wujcik_anneAnne Wujcik —Friday, July 10, 2009

George Johnson, founder and CEO of TEL·A·VISION, is a man on a mission. TEL·A·VISION ‘s mission is to inspire youth to identify and express their unique gifts in service of a better world for all. It does this by providing tools that make it very easy for anyone to create a Vision Video.

The technology is powered by One True Media, a TEL·A·VISION partner and maker of online software that allows people to easily create and share video montages. The vision comes from the hearts and souls of students who use their videos to share their passion, explores the possibilities or frame their dreams.

The TEL·A·VISION web site features six tutorials that walk the user through the process of creating a Vision Video. There is a complete Curriculum Guide to help teachers or adult mentors lead students through the Vision process from start to finish, supported by video tutorials that explain the process of each unit. As George shared some of the Vision Videos with me and talked about the students who had created them, I could see how powerful this tool could be, not only for goal setting and developing communication and technology skills, but for helping educators learn more about their students.

TEL·A·VISION is a technology platform for everyone (I could see myself using this tool, though I have resisted manipulating video and even photos, to date), but its focus is the special ed and at-risk student. George talks about special education teachers who use their students’ videos to help regular classroom teachers see beyond the students’ particular problems to their potential. TEL·A·VISION offers teachers new insights into students’ goals, values and dreams, opening the door to enhanced communication and a better understanding of their needs and how to help them succeed. Check out a few student example videos at http://telavision.tv/student-examples

Wired for 2020 to Feature TEL.A.VISION and DIVAS

Posted on 02. Apr, 2009 by in All Posts, Supporters, TEL.A.VISION Stories

About Wired for 2020

project-divas-working-hard-with-screenTEL.A.VISION  and Project Divas will be at the Wired for 2020 event at the Mall of America from 10-5 on Saturday April 18th. Come and learn how to make a TEL.A.VISION Video and than sit down at one of our interactive stations and make one yourself.  Here is a link to a post about the Divas project.


Mentor and Youth Engagement

Wired for 2020 is the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota’s year long engagement campaign to get more mentors involved with youth in the state of Minnesota. It is our mission to interest caring adults in becoming mentors to youth.  Caring adults who are willing to help young people spark their future career interests and expand their possibilities. Through the Wiredfor2020.com website and event at the Mall of America on April 18th, the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota hopes to provide youth and their mentors with resources, edutainment, and social media tools to engage them in conversations about their future opportunities.

The Wired for 2020 Event is at the Mall of America Event on Saturday 4.18.09 from 10am-5pm in the Best Buy Rotunda and the West Market and is open to the public.

TEL.A.VISION Day Live Event & Contest Winners

Posted on 20. Mar, 2009 by in All Posts, Power of Vision, Story of TEL.A.VISION, TEL.A.VISION News, Vision Videos

TEL.A.VISION Day isn’t over yet but to make it easy for our blog readers, we’re posting this recording of the live segment from the NYLC Conference in Nashville, TN where founder George Johnson showcased the winning TEL.A.VISION vision videos.

If you’d care to watch each of the winning TEL.A.VISION’s individually (they’re easier to see than in the live event video), we’ve included the links below:

Dr. Chinta Mani Yogi Chi and Vision

Posted on 23. Jan, 2009 by in All Posts, Power of Vision, Supporters

george-yogiI just returned from the World Spirit Forum in Arosa, Switzerland. While there I had lunch with Dr. Chinta Mani Yogi Ji (his bio and website). Yogi Chi is from Nepal and is the founder of three schools, an ashram and the Society for Value Education. He is also a patron for the Youth Society for Peace (more here). He is widely known throughout Nepal. Over 500 youth have been part of the  Youth Society for Peace and every year he sends a few youth to the World Spirit Forum.

I asked him what he does with the youth in the Youth Society for Peace and he told me the story he tells the youth. “You can learn mathematics but you can not own mathematics. You can learn science but you can not own science. You can learn reading but you can not own reading. So what is it you can own yourself? The only things you can own yourself are your values and your vision. What I tell the youth is that they must have their own set of values and they must have a vision for their lives.” He told me “This is the key to peace and what I teach the youth.“

I showed Yogi Ji TEL.A.VISION and he loved everything about it. He promised he would bring this to his youth. He shared that there are many obstacles including having only 8 hours of electricity each day and spotty Internet access but that he would make this happen. He also invited me to Nepal to work with his youth.

His comments on TEL.A.VISION and his interest in bringing it to his students was another confirmation that we can make TEL.A.VISION  a world movement.

TEL.A.VISION SHARES VISION WITH PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA

Posted on 07. Jan, 2009 by in All Posts, Power of Vision, Supporters

presobamaThe Search Institute HCHY Conference followed on the footsteps of the history-making  U.S. National election which named Barack Obama as the U.S. President Elect.  What some may not have known is that Barack Obama and TEL.A.VISION share the same goal, defining a new Vision for America.

One of the key elements for which TEL.A.VISION was created in 2006, was to give our youth a means or channel with which to share their visions for America with whomever the newly-elected president would be.  As the Search Institute began, news of Mr. Obama’s new website spread – and within this website was a call to action.  Our President-Elect Obama was asking any and all people to share with him our visions for America.

The TEL.A.VISION website, has a category under our “Watch” tab specifically allocated to “Visions for America.”  The Search Conference leaders partnered with TEL.A.VISION and asked the conference attendees to post their visions for America at the TEL.A.VISION conference room.  Every statement that was shared was compiled into one of four “Vision for America” videos.

To see all four of the Search Conference “Vision for America” TEL.A.VISION’s go to our website here.  You can also make your own Vision for America TEL.A.VISION and send it to President-Elect Obama via his website at Change.gov on this page.  Simply select “Share Your Vision” at the bottom of the site and upload your TEL.A.VISION.  Share your vision . . . Change the world!!

TEL.A.VISION AT 2008 HCHY CONFERENCE

Posted on 06. Jan, 2009 by in All Posts, Supporters, Vision Videos

search-hchyTEL.A.VISION partnered with the Search Institute during their 2008 HCHY (Healthy Communities Healthy Youth) Conference to help share the vision and stories of our communities and youth.  The Search Institute engages local youth as leaders, emcees and facilitator’s for their conference.  Many of these youth led the conference by creating TEL.A.VISION’s of their own.

Taylor Reed, a junior at Blake high school, and Frederick Huballa, a senior at Brooklyn Center high school, were the lead emcees for this 3-day conference.  They opened the conference with their jointly produced video detailing their journey and vision.  Take a look at their work with the United Nations, PeaceJam and the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates.

This was the first video shared during the keynote presentations that piqued the interest of conference attendees to find out how they could share their visions with the world through TEL.A.VISION.  Find out what participants had to say in upcoming posts.

SEARCH INSTITUTE supports TEL.A.VISION

Posted on 05. Jan, 2009 by in All Posts, Supporters

search

When we started out on this adventure, one of the first organizations with whom we met was the Search Institute, headed by CEO Dr. Peter Benson. We are believers in the message contained within Dr. Benson’s new book “Sparks” — which describes a simple yet powerful plan for awakening the spark that lives inside each and every young person and what happens when those sparks are illuminated and nurtured, giving young people joy, energy, and direction — and it was clear that our directions are quite similar.

We both believe the key to healthy youth is for them to find their unique gift(s) and have support for them to grow. We were honored to be able to present at their annual conference as well as have many of their youth presenters create TEL.A.VISION videos for their presentations.

Here are a few quotes from their letter of endorsement.

“We believe TEL.A.VISION and the empowering process of creating visions of hope for the future will be widely embraced.“

“Our current culture is filled with negativity, cynicism, and hopelessness. Our young people are the vulnerable recipients. We know from our work in positive youth and community development that it is not only possible to bring hope into the mix, it is a key to sustainable change.”

“We are delighted and energized by the potential we see in supporting and collaborating with George Johnson and TEL.A.VISION.”

We look forward to working with SEARCH in the future. Click “Continue Reading” below to read the SEARCH Institute endorsement letter sent to us by Dr. Peter Benson. (more…)

Organization Connections

Posted on 14. Dec, 2008 by in All Posts, Supporters

National Youth Leadership Council
We are partnering with the National Youth Leadership Council for their 20th Annual National Service-Learning Conference: Growing Hope Cultivating Change, Mar. 18-21, 2009 in Nashville. The National Service-Learning Conference is the largest gathering of youth and practitioners involved in service-learning, drawing nearly 3,000 attendees from across the United States and many other counties each year.

George will be doing a TEL.A.VISION presentation at the conference and we will also be an exhibitor.

Tel.a.vision Day, a new vision of hope, peace and possibility premiers March 20, 2009….and we will be at the NYLC Conference!

Stay tuned to see what we will have planned for the festivities in Nashville!

Youthrive/Peace Jam
We met with Donna Gillan, Executive Director and some of her youth…what outstanding young people! We are planning on working with them for their Peace Jam festival in the Latino area of West St. Paul this summer. Noble Peace Prize Laureate, Adolfo Perez of Argentina is the guest at Peace Jam this year…what an honor for us to be involved with this fabulous organization!

George has a presentation on TEL.A.VISION at the NYLC Service Conference this March in Nashville and two Youthrive youth, Taylor and Frederick, are going to join him in his presentation. These two youth spoke at the UN last year…so look out NYLC Conference…they are dynamite!

Some of the Youthrive youth will also help Wind Eagle and Rainbow Hawk write curriculum for the First Peace movement.

Urban Ventures
We met with Mark-Peter Linguist of Urban Ventures and learned a lot about their mission to “build successful community in the city.” Urban Ventures is reweaving their neighborhood to once again become healthy, sustainable and safe. We are going to work with Mark-Peter and his staff to help the youth that they serve build vision videos.

We also learned about their fabulous CityKid Java program. CityKid Java sprang forth as a creative business venture to help Urban Ventures’ social programs become more self-sustaining. CityKid Java sells local, roasted-to order coffee from 100% Arabican beans purchased at fair trade prices or higher. Every dollar earned by CityKid Java goes to proven curricula that support disadvantaged children in the Twin Cities. CityKid Java fuels mentoring and educational programs, athletic teams, camps and youth leadership experiences. Each year more than 1,500 inner-city kids get connected to the role models, mentors and life skills they need to succeed – thanks in part to CityKid Java. To learn more about CityKid Java or to order its products, visit www.citykidjava.com.