Friday, February 11, 2011

What are some of your favorite TED Talks?

I've asked my older two daughters to watch a TED talk every week or two and then write up a short summary.  Here are some of the talks I've put on the list for them to choose from:

Sugata Mitra's new experiments in self-teaching


Daniel Pink on the surprising science of motivation

Steven Johnson: Where good ideas come from

Catherine Mohr: Surgery's past, present and robotic future

Hans Rosling: No more boring data: TEDTalks

Christopher McDougall: Are we born to run?

Nigel Marsh: How to make work-life balance work
 
I'd like to put some more on the list.  What are some of your favorite talks?  Thanks!

6 comments:

jmelfi said...

Henry, what a wonderful idea to give your children an assignment to watch specific TED Talks and then to write about them. What's great is that your children will grow up appreciating the wonderful knowledge that comes from video talks and lectures! You are certainly doing them a great service. I read many talks blogs and yours is the first to mention talks as a homeschooling tool Good for you! Jim Melfi, founder, Videotalks.org.

Kakie said...

My favorite is from Brene Brown: the Power of Vulnerability. http://kakiewrites.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/ted-brene-brown-the-power-of-vulnerability/
She speaks with such eloquence and the part about all of us having the need to feel connected is powerful.

Henry Cate said...

Katie, thank you for sharing. I've watched the first few minutes. It does look interesting and so I've added it to my list of talks to check out.

Anonymous said...

HI!
I hope you don't mind, but I'm planning to encourage my eighth grade students to watch TEDTalks tomorrow and do a similar assignment as a result of reading your great idea. My mom does always say, "Imitation is a form of flattery."

I added your blog to my Google reader and hope to leave something of value to you and your endeavors in the near future.

Sincerely,
Sarah
Middle School English teacher in Nebraska
:)

Henry Cate said...

Sarah - of course I don't mind.

If you find any TED talks you especially enjoy, please tell me.

Dan Meyer said...

TED Talks are great inspirations, not only for children, but for adults as well!

Here's my favorite TED Talk, the one that got a standing ovation at TEDx Maastricht 2013 that deals with overcoming childhood fears and following your dreams to do the impossible:

Doing the Impossible, Swallowing the Sword, Cutting through Fear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve4rtLZPZ90