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TED in the classroom
The Technology Entertainment Design (TED) conference has been taking place annually since the mid-1980s as a boutique conference for a chosen few. Chris Anderson '74 began attending the conference in the late 1990s and quickly saw the tremendous resource that TED talks represented. In 2001, he became curator of TED and immediately began to work on sharing TED with the world. When TED talks came online in 2007 educators around the world immediately took note.
Even though the TED conference's target audience is highly educated adults, many of the talks are appropriate and inspirational for use in the classroom. Jennifer Lin, a 14-year-old pianist, improvises a beautiful composition based on a random sequence of notes. Emmanuel Jal, a former Sudanese child soldier, shares his experience using rap music. Arthur Benjamin's mental math elicits gasps in the math classroom. Michael Moschen explains intricate juggling routines. Currently over 500 talks representing all kinds of subject area are available online and easily searchable. I have personally used about a dozen talks in my math classroom, sometimes because of the content, but more often simply as an inspirational interlude in the midst of a difficult topic.
But probably the most important contribution TED talks have made in my classroom is the way it has changed me. Listening to cutting edge thinkers from many disciplines talking about their passions helps me maintain my passion for teaching. Listening to Ken Robinson talk about the need for creativity in the classroom makes me aware of opportunities for creativity in my classroom. Watching Gustavo Dudamel lead a Venezuelan youth orchestra reminds me of the potential of each student in my classroom. Watching David Merrill demonstrate Siftables, a computerized building block, opens my mind to radically different uses of technology in the classroom.
Links:
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jennifer_lin_improvs_piano_magic.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/emmanuel_jal_the_music_of_a_war_child.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/arthur_benjamin_does_mathemagic.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/michael_moschen_juggles_rhythm_and_motion.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/astonishing_performance_by_a_venezuelan_youth_orchestra_1.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/david_merrill_demos_siftables_the_smart_blocks.html