Take time to rest. It's not going anywhere.

Educators work so hard

The one thing any educator will tell you is that we do not do this for the money. If you find one that does, give me their number.....we need to talk. Educators are always looking to find ways to best deliver material to their students. Even those educators that have somewhat given up, still put in effort to bring students their daily routines. Now, my philosophy is, if you are going to put forward any effort at all....why not make that effort produce the most positive and influential outcomes that you can. This is with anything in life. 

I would like to share with you a couple of examples that I found this past week as I focused on building my PLN (Personal Learning Network). I knew that I had a vacation coming up so I wanted to focus on some connectedness activities based on some things that I want to do over my vacation. Enjoy these examples of educators putting in that extra work.

First up, Claire Tamayo. Visit her YouTube page and like the videos if you think she is doing a great job. I have to admit, I was not sure that I was on board until I started to consider her audience. Watch the second YouTube video below and see how her students are orderly and on task. She has found a model that works for her and her students are getting much out of it. What are her EOG scores? I really don't care. She has her students on task, working in teams and challenging them to think on a higher level. 

Democracy Is Gonna Work

Ancient Roman Rap

If this approach is not your flavor, that's OK. Find what works for you. More importantly, find what works for your students. If you are going to put forward any effort, why not make it count?

My second example is one that you may already be familiar with. I spent some time reaching out and connecting with staff at Ron Clark Academy. This staff are using so many cool tools and engaging the students that they are serving. This approach may not work for all kids. The key is to place children in environments that they can be successful. How on earth could that ever look the same? 

Welcome to the Ron Clark Academy

Did you hear what the kids said about the school? In the video below, think about classroom space like Hope King's.

My Classroom Tour at the Ron Clark Academy 2015

Did you hear Hope say that she brought the chair from home because she is never there. She is always at work. How many educators feel that way, particularly those teachers in small private or charter schools. Educators work hard!

All work and no play.....take time to rest

As I was taking time to work through this weeks blog, I came across another great peace of advice.

Purposeful Rest

Twitter motivation

Sometimes we get so caught up in the moment that we forget to slow down and take a break. I believe that teachers can be some of the worse offenders of this. My thought today is...why? Given the technology that is available, all of the materials and tools that are already developed, why do we not share and glean necessary materials from others that would allow ourselves a moment to just take a purposeful rest. 

I cannot answer that question fully this week, as I am on vacation and have decided that I need to take a purposeful rest. I will not totally turn away from the things that are on my calendar, but I will most definitely work in some moments of peace and tranquility. I hope that you enjoy the videos and links that I have shared from this weeks work for my practicum. I sure have.

Building a business in education.Good Luck!

Up against the wall

Anyone looking to build a business in education, I say to you good luck! I have been at this for some time now and I still love it just as much as I did twenty plus years ago. The only difference today is that I am no longer checking my 8oo number voicemail and calling students and parents to schedule hour long sessions at the Public Library, University study rooms, and anywhere else that I could keep my overhead down. Today's tutoring consist of Skype, Hangouts, E-lecta live and so many other virtual options. So one would think that my job has gotten easier, right? I am sad to say that the times of folk looking for a good quality tutor have gone cold. The big business of the Public Educational system has taken over and it continues to fight hard to monopolize all educational services. Money for non-profits and small businesses are very scarce. Parents are not willing to pay for services when they can get them for free. Regardless the quality of those services.

Here I am

I am not bitter and will never quit this endeavor that I have embarked upon. I am completing my second week of my practicum and continue to gain steam, resurrecting Mind Over Tutors. This practicum is a perfect culmination of many things for me.

1. Completing graduate school with a degree in something that I love
2. An opportunity to serve the community
3. Operating a business that I would do for free
4. Able to talk, share, and mentor

Although the landscape has changed and people care less and less about education (actions not words), I hold tremendous hope that technology will allow us to reinvigorate a community of people to strive for excellence again. It has to come from the community being served, not from those that want it for that specific community. 

My contributions this week

This has been an incredibly busy week. As I work to meet my August 15th deadline, I find myself up until 2am, working through new material for my virtual streams. Here are some samples from the week.

I took on two podcasts this week. I know that they are not great yet, but I have to start somewhere. I have no fear! Take a moment to listen and share with me your thoughts.

In doing the podcasts, I thought.....some people are visual learners and may need more. Therefore, I created YouTube videos to go along with my podcasts, just in case.

Mind Over Tutors will also be designing supplemental educational courses that will be accessible through our website. I posted a link for users to join and enjoy a free demo for an Algebra 2 course.

Sign up for demo Algebra 2 course

Like I said, this has been a busy week. I hope that if nothing else, you can see my passion and motivation for education. 

As I am discovering, the most difficult part of any business is building a client base and network. I spent lots of time on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube this week. I even created a series of 5 Vines videos for another class this week that was advertising for Mind Over Tutors. Check that out as well.

Watch the Vine in TV mode

OK.....to wrap this all up, I would like to share with you Smore! This is another powerful and awesome tool that would great for students. I was able to design a very professional flyer with lots of details and information about the business.

Whew! I am tired.

Is it all worth it?

I think so. 

My Graduate School Practicum experience

EDU 670 – Practicum in Online Teaching and Instructional Design – Week 1 Reflection

Finally

Well….the time has finally come! I have reached the practicum of my Master of Science degree in Online Teaching and Instructional Design. It blows my mind that I took my first class January 2015 and now, here I am. It is time to culminate and condense all the things that I have learned into one final graduate school experience. If you know me, then you know that I am up for the challenge.

A quick look back

As I met with my supervising instructor to start the week, I realized that this will be a highly anticipated yet emotional end to this program for me. The last time I attempted to go back to school was 2000 timeframe. My son had just been born and I was motivated to go back to school and make a better future for my family. Newborn! Yes, the X-Ray Diffraction and Crystallography course ate my lunch.

This time, things have been totally different. Years of experience and dealing closely with my children’s education, I found a graduate program that I see as cutting edge and something that I am not only passionate about, more importantly, it is something that I am good at. God had a different plan for me and I am so happy that I was obedient to follow and I am eager to share this final graduate school experience with you.

Week 1 Reflection

Week 1 has gotten off to a great start. As I mentioned before, the week started with a synchronous meeting with my supervisor to talk through guidelines and purpose of the practicum. As always, Dr. Linton made sure that I was clear on my assignment and answered any questions that I had.

Here is a brief look at week 1……I submitted my practicum description using blendspace. Awesome tool!

I also created a Facebook event to market the official launch of my company website.

https://www.facebook.com/events/521431138043734/

Yes I have been busy, but this is so much fun! As a student, having the ability to create and share work by means other than just words, is empowering.

I have a second course this summer where I needed to create Personal Learning Plan. This was an excellent opportunity for me to share and put my skills to use. So, I created this YouTube video and posted to my Mind Over Tutors website. This is an instructional type video of work that I completed in Prezi. So much cool stuff! Students of any age will love it.

To wrap up my week 1 activities I figured that I needed practice driving folks to my Facebook page and website. What better way than to start with friends.

What do you think?

All in all I feel that this has been a very productive week 1. I was very excited to get off to a good start and do everything I can to be ready August 15, 2016. I did not have any bad technology experience this week, which is very positive. I really see my skill level increasing at a very rapid pace with each project. I cannot even began to tell you how many new cool tools that I have been exposed to in the last year and a half. I believe that everything is making sense to me and I am excited to share with all of you.

Conclusion

I expressed to my supervising instructor that I was going to share my reflections on my blog. I want this experience to be shared and I am hopeful that you will find something of use here. That is the whole point of Mind Over Tutors Online Academy. As I go forward, I will continue to post my weekly reflections here. This way, everyone can see not only the tools but most important, the application and implementation of the tools. Please feel free to post your comments. I love this work!

www.mindovertutors.com

http://mindovertutors.podbean.com/

Education Globalization through Online Learning

Note: This blog was originally posted on Sunday, March 29,2015 on http://theanswerbydariusgrissom.blogspot.com. I wanted to capture this same content and share with my Mind Over Tutors readers. Enjoy!

The Challenge

May 26, 1994, I had the extreme pleasure of becoming a father for this first time. As with everything in my life, I welcomed the challenge and looked forward to mastering the art of parenthood, just like I had done with my education and career to that point. Little did I expect that my greatest challenge as a parent was going to come in the form of ensuring my children receive a quality education. Fast forward to today and that same daughter that was born on Memorial Day weekend back in 1994, will be graduating this May, 2015, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, after just three years of studies. I am proud! However, my son, that is less than 6 years younger than my daughter, faces a totally different landscape and set of challenges as a freshman in high school in 2015.

The Change

Education is changing at warp speed these days. What are the causes of these changes? Is it the instruction? Is it the students? Is it the parenting? Or is it something that is much more complicated than all of these things put together? I believe that it is the latter. Education, especially in the United States, has become prisoner to our own tendencies to seek perfection and our fascination with technology and growth. These are things that has moved our country forward for years and will continue to do so. But at what cost? My example here is to say that we have been very successful in moving forward with technology and we have often perfected its uses. However, I believe we have done so in the absence of ensuring that education mastery remained a part of that growth.

The Problem

It does not take but one simple google search and we can find a list of sources and articles that will support that education is lacking in many countries today, including the United States.

http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/111016/chapters/Globalization-and-Education.aspx

As a matter of fact, the ASCD (Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development) has many resources, including the link above, that addresses my position. So the question becomes, “what are we going to do about it?”

The Answer

Given the fact that we have already invested in the technology, what better way to move education mastery forward than through using that same technology. Computers, console games, iPads, tablets, smartphones……what did I leave out…..are all staples in the daily lives of students, parents, teachers, and administrators. It is hard to visit any location that I could give as an example and not picture people on their electronic, online capable, devices. Think of all the possibilities that come into play when we think of the internet and online communication. What are the limitations that are placed upon us at that point? What information can we not find? It sure beats driving to the public library to find an answer. It also is faster than going to the glove box in my car to break out a map for directions. Think about it…..true globalization! We can find locations down the exact latitude and longitudinal coordinates. Breaking news is delivered to us within minutes of it happening. Is this not all educational?

The Proof

The power of connectivity has given us a new opportunity in education. It has given us an opportunity to be great! It has given the United States, just as an example, an opportunity to raise its standards back to the "Global Power" status in education. Note here that when I say standards, I am not talking about test scores or standardized test. I am sharing the standards of great orators, thinkers, and discoverers.

I would like to leave you with a great example that was just forwarded to me by Facebook messenger this morning.

"The World Is As Big Or As Small As You Make It" | Sundance Institute from Sundance Institute on Vimeo.

I had to share because I think it defines everything I would ever want to say about “Education Globalization through Online Learning”. What a powerful example of real learning and discovery. The level of abstract thinking that comes from this type of education is limitless. This is what our new generation of learners are expecting and require…..if we want to engage them.

If Americans are to continue to prosper and to exercise leadership in this new global context, it is imperative that we understand the new global forces that we have both shaped and had thrust upon us. The alternative is to be at their mercy. —Edward Fiske

References

http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/111016/chapters/Globalization-and-Education.aspx

http://theanswerbydariusgrissom.blogspot.com

https://vimeo.com/116915456