edbuzz.org

TED is a nonprofit firm designed with the purpose of sharing  “ideas worth spreading.” Each year TED hosts important conferences that include world renowned speakers from different academic areas– science, math, business, education, etc. Through their program TEDTalks, the nonprofit provides viewers with free access to hundreds of these presentations online. Most of the “talks” are informative and thought provoking, which makes them great professional development tools for K-12 educators.

I’ve compiled a short list of a few TED Talk favorites.

John Wooden on True Success: “With profound simplicity, Coach John Wooden redefines success and urges us all to pursue the best in ourselves. In this inspiring talk he shares the advice he gave his players at UCLA, quotes poetry and remembers his father’s wisdom.”

Bill Gates on Mosquitos, Malaria and Education: “Bill Gates hopes to solve some of the world’s biggest problems using a new kind of philanthropy. In a passionate and, yes, funny 18 minutes, he asks us to consider two big questions and how we might answer them.”

Ken Robinson Says Schools Kill Creativity: “Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.”

Jimmy Wales on The Birth of Wikipedia: “Jimmy Wales recalls how he assembled “a ragtag band of volunteers,” gave them tools for collaborating and created Wikipedia, the self-organizing, self-correcting, never-finished online encyclopedia.”

Clay Shirky, How Social Media Can Make History: “While news from Iran streams to the world, Clay Shirky shows how Facebook, Twitter and TXTs help citizens in repressive regimes to report on real news, bypassing censors (however briefly). The end of top-down control of news is changing the nature of politics.”

Pranav Mistry: The Thrilling Potential of Sixth Sense Technology: “At TEDIndia, Pranav Mistry demos several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data — including a deep look at his SixthSense device and a new, paradigm-shifting paper “laptop.” In an onstage Q&A, Mistry says he’ll open-source the software behind SixthSense, to open its possibilities to all.”

Danial Pink on the Surprising Science of Motivation: “Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don’t: Traditional rewards aren’t always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories — and maybe, a way forward.”

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