Let’s Talk about TED
For those of us who have not been introduced to TED, it is time to say hello. The new year can mean new friends, and welcoming TED into our world is a great way to kick off 2023. If TED were a person, we would invite him to lunch and listen to the fascinating wealth of ideas he has to share. He can only spare 18 minutes of his time, but he is always happy to oblige. Fortunately we are off the hook for picking up the restaurant bill as TED neither eats nor drinks. But he does talk a lot.
“Ideas worth spreading”
TEDTalks may be familiar to many of us, but to others they are a new treasure to be found. For the uninitiated, you may ask, “What is a TEDTalk?” The TED tagline claims they are about “Ideas worth spreading,” and TED describes itself as, “…a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less)…and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages.”
TED’s full name is Technology Entertainment & Design, which is far better than Theodore Ebeneezer Doolittle, which is terribly difficult to remember. It’s also more relevant. This acronym reflects much, but not all, of the content of more than 4000 talks that have been produced and shared among millions of humans with curious brains.
“Encouragement … without a price tag”
Today, TED boasts a collection of … TED talk videos from politicians to scientists to comedians and actors. Additionally, they add new videos day in and day out, so there’s never a shortage of engaging content. As an additional plus, each TED talk is available on their website or their YouTube channel for free. That means more ideas shared with more people and more conversations about the world around us. After all, we can all use a little encouragement to learn and grow, and shouldn’t encouragement come without a price tag? The guys and gals at TED definitely think so.
Taylorr Payne, co-founder of Speakerflow
At the beginning, TEDTalks were a great idea but did not reach a large audience, most likely because it sprang into the minds of co-founders Richard Saul Wurman and Harry Marks in 1984, long before we all had the internet and devices in our pockets and backpacks. Before producing individual talks, TED was originally a series of tech conferences, the first of which in 1984 included a demonstration of the compact disc–cutting edge stuff in that year, a presentation on mapping coastlines with fractal geometry, and a Lucasfilm 3D graphics presentation related to Star Wars. Although audience members were amazed by the trailblazing technology in graphics, Payne relates, “Unfortunately, the event was a loss, monetarily.” Wurman and Marks did not hold another TED until 1990, in Monterey, California.
That conference “included presentations for the pillar topics–technology, entertainment, and design–interlaced with musical and comedy performances for the exclusive list of conference attendees.” The conference was an annual event from that year forward. By 2002 TED was a non-profit, and by 2006 TEDTalks were online for public viewing. These early posts included Al Gore’s “Averting the climate crisis,” not too long after he lost the 2000 presidential election and produced the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Both educational and funny, Gore’s TEDTalk is worth 18 minutes of our time. To have a look at the first of those TEDTalks, head over to TED’s page for that.
Setting up a TED-Ed Club
The application for a campus TED-Ed club must be submitted by an educator. For those Padres who are interested in bringing a TED-Ed club to the Serra campus the Zoph Library recommends finding a faculty or staff member who would like to mentor the club! Students who create their own TED-Ed presentation may have an opportunity to present to their local community in the form of TEDx. Are you a Padre who is interested in giving a TEDx talk or just want to learn a bit more? Take a peek at Linda Flanagan’s article for KQED titled What Students Can Learn from Giving TEDx Talks
As lifelong learners we can all educate ourselves by tuning in to any TEDTalk that beckons us. Some of the most popular TEDTalks to date include “How to spot a liar,” “Inside the mind of a master procrastinator,” and “How great leaders inspire action.” There is something for everyone who wants to learn stuff. For educators and students, TED offers TED-Ed: “TED’s youth and education initiative aims to spark and celebrate the ideas and knowledge-sharing of teachers and students around the world. Everything TED-Ed does supports learning — whether its producing a growing video library of original animated lessons, providing an international platform for teachers to create their own interactive lesson plans, helping curious students around the globe bring TED to their schools and gain presentation literacy skills, or celebrating innovative leadership within TED-Ed’s global network of over 250,000 teachers. TED-Ed has grown from an idea worth spreading into an award-winning education platform that serves millions of teachers and students around the world.” TED-Ed includes video based lessons that can be filtered by age, subject or even theme to be used in the classroom. It supports TED-Ed clubs that can be started at schools for students who want to learn how to research and present their own ideas using the TEDTalk format. See the sidebar for more information about starting a local TED-Ed club.
TEDx
Branching out into local communities,TEDx is an offshoot, but separate, form of the TED Conference. What’s the difference? According to the TEDxWinterpark.com, “TED and TEDx are similar in many ways, but at the end of the day, they are different entities…TED fans wanted to have their own TED conference that was customized to fit the local community. These TEDTalks would feature local leaders and community influencers who would share ideas relevant to their geographic area.” TEDx is organized by communities, not by TED itself. Though a license from TED is required, and there are a set of guidelines that must be followed, it is entirely possible for any community to bring a TED type event into their own backyard. Any community can apply for one, whether it is a local neighborhood joining together, a school like ours, or an entire town. Per the license, a TEDx event must be, “Community-Driven and Bias-Free Content – Every TEDx event is organized by volunteers from the local community. Similar to TED events, there is no commercial, religious, or political agenda behind the talks. Its goal is to spark conversation, connection, and community.”
This means no snake oil salesmen need apply. Though the license is free, the application will be vetted. One of the main things TED will be looking for in the licensing application is a broad scope of subjects. Allowing many people to come together to share diverse ideas is the goal. For more about the application process please watch this helpful video where TEDx organizers from around the world come together to share tips and information about the process. Diverse and global – always! To find local TEDx events, hop over to the TEDx event search page (see map above).
Best of TED
Wrapping up we shall leave you with a list of worthy TEDTalk links:
- For students! Recommended by University Of The People – 10 Must Watch TEDTalks for Students- Get Inspired!
- For those looking for inspiration! Recommended by Oprah Daily – 15 of the best TEDTalks to watch for a dose of inspiration
- For book lovers! Recommended by TED.com – A collection of TEDTalks (and more) on the topic of Books
- On the environment! Recommended by Earth.org – 15 TEDTalks on Climate Change to Watch in 2023
- And lastly, the Zoph Library recommends the TED Radio Hour, a co-production of NPR and TED. Because podcasts are cool too! – Life’s biggest questions, explored
For a list of people who have presented TEDTalks (so far!) head over to Wikipedia’s List of TED speakers to find out if someone you’d like to hear a TEDTalk from has already made one! Or check out TED’s TEDTalk discovery page.
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