I used the graphic above in an article I wrote in 2014, which was part of a series of articles showing uses of concept maps that focus on ideas and actions that need to be applied in efforts to help cities move from the current level of youth serving programs in high poverty areas (here) to a future with k-12 programs in every poverty neighborhood that each have strategies that help kids expand the network of adults who are helping kids move through school and into adult lives (there).

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This morning I watched a session (see video) from the #collectiveimpact forum, featuring Marshall Ganz, who is somewhat of an expert in this arena. Much of what was said echoed my own efforts, through the Tutor/Mentor Connection, between 1993 and 2011, and that I continue today.

He talked about leadership, building relationships, networks and communities of practice, the challenges that are involved, and how small actions in different places need to connect into larger networks of action, and involve political leadership.  If you search #collectiveimpact on Twitter  you can follow the thread.

Part of the benefit of such a growing network is how others share ideas that you can apply in your own efforts.  Recently my Connected Learning MOOC group (#clmooc) friends, who I first started meeting on-line in 2013, shared a site called Lumen5, which enables you to convert blog articles into videos.

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Recently I have been creating some new videos to show animations created by interns between 2008 and 2012, such as this one.

So last week I converted this blog article, with reflections about the May 16 #onthetable2017 event, into this video.

Then yesterday, I converted this “here to there” article from 2014, into this video.  (I don’t have an upgraded membership to WordPress, so I’m not embedding the videos.)  I like the first one a little better than the second, but they both communicate the ideas the blogs were sharing.  While I will try to do more of these in the future, I’ve more than 1000 blog articles that could be converted into videos by students and volunteers from any place in the world, applying the ideas to their own communities, not just Chicago.

That’s my goal and my purpose for sharing the videos on this blog. It’s part of the network building that community organizers need to be doing every day of their lives.

BlogNetMap2017 I want to thank Terry Elliott and Kevin Hodgson for their inspiration.

If you open the nodes on this concept map, you can see how I’ve been connecting with Terry, Kevin and many others over the past few years in my on-going effort to build a community of practice.

If you start writing blogs or creating videos that use Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC articles as raw material, just send me your link and I’ll add you to the map, too.