Big News From TEL.A.VISION

Posted on 05. Jun, 2009 by Ringmaster in All Posts, Media, Social Media and Vision, Supporters, TEL.A.VISION Stories, Web 2.0

5th Graders at Clear Springs Elementary on Parents Night

5th Graders at Clear Springs Elementary on Parents Night

The BIG news is that TEL.A.VISION  is becoming a non profit. Actually, it has always been a not for profit but we are just making it official. This will allow us to seek funds from foundations and individuals. I know that we will probably be rejected 10 times before we find someone willing to help fund us so if you know any organization or individual willing to be one of the first to talk to us let us know.

It’s hard to believe we launched only 8 months ago. In that time our partner Haberman has done a great job of getting us in all of the local press as well as the Christian Science Monitor. We had a successful TEL.A.VISION Day with a 24 hour broadcast of TEL.A.VISION videos on the Internet ( Thank you Steve). In May we did our first NYC press tour and from that will be covered in a 4 page spread in District Administration (Thank you Sue), a feature in Family Circle and have been told we will be in Scholastic and Time For Kids.

We have some exciting partnerships we are  working on.

  1. Having 6th, 9th and 12th graders in the Minneapolis Schools create vision videos as part of graduation requirements,
  2. Working with TIES Education,
  3. Partnering with Youth Services of America to create Service Learning videos,
  4. Working with The Discipline of Peace and Culture of Peace Initiative to create Peace videos,
  5. Discussions with SEARCH Institute and Templeton Press on creating a Vision Curriculum with Dr. Benson’s New book “Vision“
  6. An invitation to visit the staff of the Fetzer Institute.

While all of this holds great potential the most rewarding work has been to see the difference TEL.A.VISION  is having on youth. Three projects stand out.

  1. Working with the Divas of North Minneapolis. The Star Tribune did a nice article on them.
  2. Spending a day at Angelo Patri Middle School in the Bronx with 18 young people creating a new vision for their school ( The video is below). Their Vide Principal cried when she say it.
  3. Parent night at a Clear Springs Elementary in Minnetonka, where 75 people showed up to view amazing videos created by 5th graders .

We’ve started a new contest called “100 words for $100“. Tell us how you have used TEL.A.VISION and win a chance for $100.

Thank you all for your support of TEL.A.VISION. If you would like to receive regular updates on TEL.A.VISION sign up in the upper right hand corner.

http://www.onetruemedia.com/media/22/5f91fe900f19f6ff/5e1a2196f0735bb8.flv


Parents React to TEL.A.VISION

Posted on 18. Feb, 2009 by Colleen Matschi in All Posts, Vision Videos

business man giving a conferenceAmidst the excitement of creating their TEL.A.VISION videos, there is also an anticipation to see the work and vision of other students. As part of the program students are required to share their video with their teacher to ensure completion. We suggest that teachers set aside some time for students to share their videos with the class, if they choose to. While many students may be tentative to share at first, by the end of the session, most students are found hoping there is enough time to share their video.

The most common response from students as they watch their peer’s videos is, “Now that I’ve seen other videos I realize I have many more dreams I want to add to my life/video.” By seeing what others see as possible, it becomes possible for them as well.

In addition to sharing with their teacher and class, students are asked to share their TEL.A.VISION videos with their family and friends. Via the website, students are able to send their videos via email, download them to an iPod and share them in multiple other formats. Here are just some of the reactions to the TEL.A.VISION videos we heard:

  • “My parents liked seeing my hopes and dreams and my Grandma started to bawl”
  • “My mom told me that she never knew some of the dreams that I had”
  • “After I showed my dad my video, I felt like a movie producer and I wanted to show everyone”
  • “My family was amazed at how much thought I had given to my future”
  • “I hope everyone shows their parents their video so parents can get to know their kids better.”

Upon completion of the first class to participate in TEL.A.VISION, we celebrated by putting on a “Movie Night,” where every student and their parents were invited to watch each student’s TEL.A.VISION video, while enjoying popcorn, of course. See the video below for the parents’, teachers and kids responses to TEL.A.VISION.

http://telavision.tv/wp-content/videos/teachers.flv