I came across the TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) Conference a while ago now (would be fantastic to get to one sometime) and try to catch one of their talks regularly because I find them inspiring and enlightening. The normal presentation format is to give speakers 18 minutes to get their presentation across (if there’s a performance piece it’s usually shorter). You can either listen to an audio or watch the video and there’s a huge range of topics and categories to discover.
The tag line of TED is ideas worth spreading and if you check out their mission statement you’ll find some suggestions on how you can use their talks and presentations.
“If you’re a teacher, consider incorporating TEDTalks into your classes. They are distributed under a Creative Commons license, and are freely available for such use, so long as you credit the source and do not distort the speakers’ intended meaning.”
Just to get you started I’d recommend a couple of thought provoking examples for you check out; the talk by Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?, then there’s the presentation by Hans Rosling: Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you’ve ever seen and don’t miss Evelyn Glennie: How to listen to music with your whole body.
If you like what you see, why don’t you join the TED community…
