Examples of Remote Learning

Over the past few months school and non-school programs have had to move their activities on-line and it's been a struggle and learning experience for almost everyone, including students. That will likely continue into the fall. Below I point to two videos where two groups from Chicago are describing their on-line work this summer.

Lyric Opera Empower Youth Program

Lyric Opera - ChiHackNight

Last week's ChiHackNight featured a presentation by Crystal Coats and Angela Hamilton, who lead a creative Empower Youth program at the Lyric Opera.  Their presentation begins at the 9 minute mark of this video.

As I listened to Crystal and Angela I could feel the passion they have for supporting the teens in their program and in my mind visualized a map of the Chicago region with icons in every neighborhood representing people like them working with youth.

Project SyncERE - video

Project SYNcERE  - link - virtual programming in engineering education.  At the right is the MyChiMyFuture webinar featuring Project SYNcERE.  In it you can hear Jason Colemen and Emily Constantian describe the challenges they faced this spring as they moved their learning on-line and find examples that you might include in your own efforts.


You can also find discussions of remote learning on Twitter.  Below is a Tweet from a #RemoteLearning conversation.

With #RemoteLearning, #K12 educators and students need to connect and “engage in exciting learning opportunities,” says @EileenBelastock. https://t.co/bTdZqAEkyC

— EdTech K–12 Magazine (@EdTech_K12) July 23, 2020

While the two examples above show how Chicago non-school youth programs are reaching student learners, they also are models that I hope others are learning from. If you search Twitter or other social media, you'll find similar presentations from other organizations, and possibly some people who are aggregating these, making them easier to find.

Shaping EDU

Last week my friend Paul Signorelli, who I met through the ETMOOC in 2013, posted this article, describing a week long summer camp "that will convene a global community of education changemakers to push the creative envelope for how we serve students and advance learner success." This was hosted by the Shaping EDU program at Arizona State University.   While the live event is over, the archived videos are still available.

ACT Holistic Framework

In another conversation from last week, an Acacia Fraternity brother who I met recently on LinkedIN sent me a link to the ACT Holistic Framework page.

The graphic at the left is from a short video that I found on the home page. It's one of many animations in the video that visualize the birth-to-work learning needed to help youth prepare for adult lives and future jobs and careers. I encourage you to visit the site and view these videos.  It's a vision many need to share.

my birth to work graphic

At the right is my own "mentoring kids to careers" graphic, which I've been using since the 1990s.  It's not nearly as creative nor is it animated, but it focuses on the same need for a pipeline of age-level supports that need to be consistently available to kids in every high poverty neighborhood.

While the first two videos show ways to engage youth and adults, the second two links that I point to are intended to engage adults in an on-going conversation aimed at creating better learning opportunities for kids in every zip code, rich and poor, that help them build the skills and habits that the ACT Holistic Framework communicates in such a creative fashion.

Learning circles

I aggregate links to these articles in my web library and share them via this blog, my email newsletter and social media, to encourage others to use them in their own on-going learning.

That's the idea shared in the graphic at the left, created by an intern from South Korea about 8 years ago.  Learning circles consisting of people who share common backgrounds, the same geography, and/or the same goals, need to be digging into these knowledge libraries on a regular basis.

If you think of all of the information in my library, blog and websites as SCRIPTURE, then there should be big and small groups all over the world digging into this information every week.

If you think of it as CURRICULUM for a PhD in HELPING KIDS, then it's content that you need to read, review, and then discuss with others.

knowledge networkers needed

Today my journey through Twitter led me to this article, talking of ways companies can get employees and customers engaged with the United Nations' Global Sustainability Goals (SDGs).

The graphic from the Tweet below was also in my Twitter feed today.

Exploring the role of knowledge networks in creating new knowledge and not just sharing existing knowledge - @KhalidiAlmadani continues to evolve his own thinking, weaving together many different ideas https://t.co/cORyJQHSNX

— John Hagel (@jhagel) July 27, 2020

This article talks about the role of "knowledge networks".  That's what I've been describing for many years and supporting with the library of ideas I've been sharing on this blog and the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website.

Goal: Helping kids through school

In the pre #covid19 days we talked about school and non-school learning opportunities. Now we need  to add virtual, where learning is open 24 hours a day. 

However, the goals remain the same. We need to innovate ways to create and sustain more and better learning opportunities for ALL kids living in poverty and kids with disabilities. 

If you take time to look at any of this, thank you.  If you take time to share what you're looking at, with a Tweet, a blog article or a video, you've become part of this knowledge network. 

Share your ideas with me on one of these social media platforms. Let's see if we can help make the world a better place for everyone.

8-21-2020 update - Read how Midtown Achievement Center boys and girls programs engaged students in summer e-learning.  click here

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