Use AI to understand and share Tutor/Mentor ideas

Below is a graphic I've shared for over 25 years. It encourages people to read my newsletters, blog articles, PDF visual essays, etc., then create new media that shares their interpretations with their networks, so more people become strategically engaged in building and sustaining programs that reach K-12 youth in high poverty areas with support and learning opportunities that help them through school and into jobs and careers.

If you browse through articles posted on this blog since 2006 you'll see many examples of interns taking this role. I continue to encourage high schools and colleges to set up formal programs where students learn to do this as part of an active community-building effort, focused on the area surrounding the campus where they are located.

Last week a retired college professor from Western Kentucky demonstrated this.  The graphic below is from a blog article he posted. Included in the article was a podcast where two people discuss the material Terry was reviewing. 

In his article Terry introduced me to an artificial intelligence tool called Google Notebook LM.  The podcast has a man and a woman talking about the information being reviewed. They sound real.  In fact, I had to ask Terry if they were real. No.

I tested this over the weekend, asking it to look at some of my blog articles.  Yesterday I asked it to look at two article I'd written in past years about the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.  

I posted the notes created by this review in this article on the Tutor/Mentor blog.  In it, I included a link to the podcast where that material is discussed.

The podcasts have some inaccuracies.  They often over-state what I've been doing and add in extra thoughts that were not part of the blog articles being reviewed, and were not part of any work I've been able to do.  

Yet, they demonstrate a long-term goal, that groups of people would look at the information I share and start discussions that create a better understanding, and support actions that build and sustain youth-serving programs in high poverty areas of Chicago and other places with concentrations of persistent poverty.

I encourage you to test this out. On the www.tutormentorexchange.net website are links to blogs, videos, PDF essays, past newsletters, etc. that I've created since 1993. 

They were seen by too few people. You can bring them to life and to more people and perhaps create the movement needed that changes what communities, businesses, philanthropy and government does to make high quality, mentor-rich programs available in more places.

Share what you create with me on one of these social media channels. 

I continue to depend on contributions from a small group of people to keep sharing these ideas. Visit this page and add your support if you're able. 

Visualizing ideas. The Role of Intermediaries

I encourage you to view this animated video, highlighting ideas from Robert Putnam's book titled Bowling Alone.

Once you've viewed the video, visit the Macat.com blog and see how they are creating a wide range of videos and blog articles to share big ideas.

Then look through the blog articles posted here, and think of how students, volunteers and professionals could repackage some of the work done by interns, and other ideas shared on the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC web site, so more people would understand and apply these ideas in their own communities.

Work done by young people in middle school, high school and college, and by volunteers with professional communications skills, could draw more people to information libraries where they create a deeper understanding of complex problems and begin to look at how some people are solving those problems in some places, which are ideas that could be borrowed and applied in other places.

If you're interested in doing this work, why not join and introduce yourself in the Tutor/Mentor Connection forum.

Unleashing Power of Young People

This video has had 19 million views. If you browse the articles on this blog you'll see that interns and volunteers from a variety of universities have been creating graphics, videos, blog articles, etc. intended to show adults ways to help kids in poverty neighborhoods. This needs to be an ongoing effort by young people and adults in many neighborhoods, cities and countries. It needs to support a year-round mobilization of people, ideas and resources that are distributed to thousands of places around the world. This graphic illustrates how events that repeat year-after-year can increase the number of people involved and the dollars available to help tutor/mentor programs be available to youth in more places.

When I was working in corporate advertising for a major retailer in the 1980s we spent $250 million a year to attract customers to over 400 stores in 40 states. None of us in the non profit sector have that type of advertising so we need to innovate other ways to get our story in front of a growing number of people every day. Young people can be part of this solutions, and in the process they can learn to be leaders and problem solvers. At the June 14, 2012 Tutor/Mentor Conference we are organizing a panel where programs can show how young people are raising their voices for social justice. If you have such a program and would like to share, please visit the conference web site and introduce yourself to us.

Design Innovations for Social Change

This video illustrates a design project that I would like to emulate through the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC



The video showcases work done by different groups of students and volunteers following the 2011 Tsunami and earthquake in Japan.

At this page I show projects done by interns to visualize and draw attention to ideas of the Tutor/Mentor Institute. In this group you can see how I coach interns in this process.

If I can find sponsors and partners I can create an ongoing design project intended to expand the number of people who provide time, talent and dollars to help youth in high poverty areas move through school and into careers.

If you can help post a message on Twitter or join our Facebook or Ning group to introduce yourself.