Ted Talk Tuesdays - revisited

A few days ago I wrote about how a gifted teacher was planning already for next year and how she was going to have Ted Talk Tuesday lunches for her gifted students, etc. I made up the Tuesday part. I have no idea if she's going to have it on Tuesdays or not. But, I've been thinking about it and about how that very good idea could be ramped up a bit.

At first I thought, "After they've watched a few videos and get the hang of it, allow THEM to choose the next one to watch. They would have to introduce it to the others and also tell about the speaker. And they'd have to tell why that video was chosen." Then I thought, "No good, because they'd have to watch so many of them ahead of time and then the event wouldn't be as interesting." Hmmm... OK. NO way around that. So, the teacher will have to choose. But, that said, I'll just BET that the kids will be watching others anyway and suggesting them. Maybe that's the better solution. Let it happen naturally.

Then I got to thinking about something that Joanne Romano, another CFF Mentor, had said. "What if they made their OWN 'Teddie' Talks?" (They'd probably have to use another name, but you get the idea.)  They would have to submit their written speech to have it checked for accuaracy, etc, and then maybe eight would be selected. Make it a challenge to get accepted. Speeches would be written and slides created (NO BULLETS!!!) Then, wouldn't it be great if they'd get to give those speeches in an assembly - or even as an evening event that parents could attend? All the speeches would be filmed and posted to, maybe, the Keystone Commons, or even to the district's own site. The bio's of the speech givers would be withheld unless the parents knew a password or something, if that was a concern. (They don't have a problem with posting images and names of kids playing sports, though.) I'm also thinking that, if these speeches were given during the school day they could be live streamed to other classes around the country. Stay with me here - maybe not the country, but the state. Several teachers doing this and then the top speeches get chosen and could be presented virtually over video conference units, or streamed over the PAIUnet. Or.. I guess that's jumping the gun, isn't it?

Max length of a speech is ten minutes. Max number of presenters in a night is 7 or 8, maybe. The details would be worked out later. I'm just thinking out loud.

Don't you love the idea? Wanna get that started? How can I help? Say the word.


Edit: 6-12-10
I didn't want this buried in the comments. MANY thanks to ATLTeacher who left the following as a comment:
Examples here: http://tedxproject.wordpress.com/
http://teachingwithted.pbworks.com/

MANY thanks to ATLTeacher, first of all. But second, I'm wondering where the heck I've been if I hadn't known about those two great sites before.  Can't wait to share them with the teachers. I'm really hoping someone around here will get this going. I'd LOVE to see it.

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Posted in: Speech,Ted,video

I LOVE this idea for using TED in school

Recently, a friend who teaches (soon to retire) in Central York school district in PA, emailed me to tell me about how her Gifted teacher is going to be using TED videos with her students next year.

The teacher will have a weekly Ted Talk Luncheon with the Gifted students. They will bring their lunches to her room and they'll watch a Ted Talk video and discuss it. Now, with so many of the talks being 20 minutes long their discussions can't be very in depth, so I'm betting that she'll set up a Discussion Forum for them to use, as well.

Isn't that a great idea? I love it! Wouldn't it be great if, say, the AP Physics teacher and the Earth Science teacher, and the Social Studies teacher would also do something like this? There are plenty of great videos for each discipline, and they could always show videos from PopTech or Fora.tv, as well.

I love it!

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Posted in: Ted,video

Beyond the mouse-driven computer interface

A comment in a recent post about a writing prompt idea expressed concern that we're inviting students to take a stand on a topic. I hadn't thought of that before. Perhaps writing prompts should be more neutral. Interesting enough to encourage discussion but not so controversial or volatile in nature as to create sides. We've certainly got enough of that in too many places in this world.

So, with that in mind I'll share this recent TED video that shows a new kind of computer interface. Certainly this will interest the techie kinds of students, but others may find this idea having applications in other areas of life, from medicine to entertainment.

Check this out. No mouse. No keyboard. Instead, a gloved hand. Beyond the immediate and perhaps obvious uses for this kind of system, what other areas can benefit from it? Does it have applications for business? What about our need to create documents. This is fine for manipulating existing files, but what about creating them? If this catches on will the mouse disappear? Lots of questions.

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Posted in: Ted,video,writing prompt

First Species whose parent is a computer!

If that's all you heard, "This is the first self-replicating species we've had on this planet whose parent is a computer.", what would you think? Would you be concerned about the end of mankind? Inevitable doom? Would you think about the potential for good? The cure for diseases, or a species that eats oil, maybe? Would you worry that it would become an invasive species that we couldn't stop, or would you be full of hope for Alzheimer patients and cancer patients and diabetics?

What would your students feel?

How advanced is science? Well, when they became concerned that they wouldn't be able to distinguish real DNA from synthetic DNA they decided to put "watermarks" in the synthetic DNA. Let that sink in a bit.

How's this for a writing prompt idea? This video is not likely to keep many high school students awake, but your favorite science teacher can easily explain it to the students well enough to have them understand what's going on. Then, let them brainstorm about possible good results of this technology and then possible bad results. Bring those lists together, then ask them to write a paragraph or two about where they stand on the idea. Provide a rubric on what you're looking for in the assignment, of course, and let them write.

Here's the video:

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Posted in: Ted,writing prompt

This guy will change EVERYTHING!

There are a few reasons why I think this is a fascinating video. First, it stpes us through his thought process. He talks about what he did and what he was thinking when he did it. Second, it is SO far ahead of its time that it's hard to get your mind around it.

This technology was introduced at TED by another person a while back, but this is from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

When you watch this, what are you thinking? Is this a good use of technology, or not? Is this a vision of a world in which you would want to live - or not. Would this make a GREAT writing prompt, or not? :-)

"We perish for want of wonder, not for want of wonders." - CK Chesterton

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Posted in: technology,Ted,video

Electric cars - a REAL option?

I think that every Economics teacher should show this to each one of their classes. Here's a young man, Shai Agassi, who says that electric cars will become a reality - and a MAJOR player - by 2015. They will cost the owner just 2 cents per mile. His company, Better Place. Check it out. Google it!

There is SO much to talk about with this video that I'm SURE that teachers will be stopping the video from time to time to ask questions and allow the students to chew on the ideas some. (Forum opportunities, perhaps?)

• Do they think it's REALLY possible to make 100 million electric cars by 2020?
• What do they think will be the ramifications of a world no longer dependent upon oil? (If you've ever read, "The Pentagon's New Map" by Thomas Barnett then you will have read one philosophy that says that we should NOT remove our dependence of oil, as that would then shut down the economies of those countries. THEN what would they do? Some interesting ideas.)
• What other side businesses would arise from all electric cars?
• Why do they think that only one automobile manufacturer met with Shai Agassi?
• Where will the electricity come from? Coal? Nuclear? We say electric cars as if electricity is free and has a zero carbon footprint.

This idea, I think, is the first ripple of a GIANT tidal wave that will change our world as we know it. By the time our students are ready to retire they will talk about gas-guzzling cars like my parents talked about the old Model T's, and their kids will laugh just like we laughed. (ANd I can't wait until there are electric motorcycles so we don't have to hear then from 3 miles away!)

WATCH THIS NOW! Send it to your favorite economics teacher. There is SO much here!

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Posted in: electric,Ted