Calling Teachers, Lessons, Animators! TED-Ed Wants You

The folks behind TED talks have just launched TED-Ed to serve the mission “of capturing and amplifying the voice of the world’s greatest teachers.” More

They’ve put out a call to teachers everywhere to submit lesson ideas for inclusion in the new YouTube Channel – TED-Ed: Lessons worth sharing. (Hey, it’s your chance to satisfy your inner Sir Ken Robinson!)

Suggest a lesson and and nominate a teacher (or yourself) on this form. TED will review submission to find the great lessons. They will work with the educators to refine the lessons and make sure they are under ten minutes long. Then a team of animators will work with the educator to visualize the lessons and create a new video for posting on the TED-Ed channel. In anticipation of growing the initiative, TED-Ed is also looking for talented animators.

Right now there’s a gifted educator delivered a great lesson to their class. TED-Ed is looking for your help to find that educator, team them with animators, and amplify that lesson for all to see.

Nominate an educator | Share a lesson | Nominate an animator.

Here’s a few sample lessons to get you thinking (both animated by Sunni Brown). “Symbiosis: a Surprising Tale of Species Cooperation” Lesson by David Gonzales and “The Power of Simple Words” Lesson by Terin Izil

4 Replies to “Calling Teachers, Lessons, Animators! TED-Ed Wants You”

  1. Great idea. Sharing lessons over TED would be a fantastic idea.

    However, I watched the two videos above, and I don’t see the lesson. It is just a speech. Information handed from the one who knows, the speaker, to the one who doesn’t know, the listener. Is that a lesson? Is that learning? Maybe I am missing something. Is learning a passive practice of sitting back and absorbing what others tell you?

    (Don’t ge wrong, they are very interesting videos, and very slick, and I enjoyed watching them!)

  2. Craig, You nailed it. The videos fit the model of teaching as talking .. that magic transfer of knowledge and skills from one to another. Made better by cool animations.

    I was somewhat ambivalent about the post. I’ve been to a regional TED event and was startled by the fact that people got up and talked at me all day. (Personally, I much prefer the edCamp model – a more democratic and collaborative un-conference.)

    Yet I posted because in these tough days for educators, teachers need all the recognition they can get. And TEDed videos could serve another good purpose … a growing body of online content that could support more flipping the classroom.

  3. I think it has real potential, I would like to see it a bit more interactive though, with breaks and learning engagements edited in.

    “Pause here and go find your own tree and bird. Make observations. What is the relationship? Then come back to the video”

    Or even do multi-step video, setting up the inquiry, then pushing it further, then concluding. For example.

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