tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post2683788425064206076..comments2023-10-26T04:38:06.297-04:00Comments on TeachPaperless: The Problem with TED EdAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14091328599818819777noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-90517652817513321972012-05-28T14:45:18.421-04:002012-05-28T14:45:18.421-04:00While I don't necessarily disagree, I have to ...While I don't necessarily disagree, I have to wonder why this argument is only applied to online learning. <br /><br />Why are the expectations there higher than with the current system?JeffShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02222081901980914330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-29303213705877939112012-05-28T14:37:59.974-04:002012-05-28T14:37:59.974-04:00I'm not sure your Ad Hominem attack was necess...I'm not sure your Ad Hominem attack was necessary. Shelly is critiquing an educational technique, and you've chosen to critique Shelly because you feel some sort of offence?<br /><br />Surely you are able to more mature than that. Shelly puts his ideas out there, and whether we agree with him or not (I happen to agree with him, you do not), you should treat him with respect.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08098221991466148258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-23565317057404425622012-05-20T10:10:46.181-04:002012-05-20T10:10:46.181-04:00Jad Abulmrad of Radiolab fame recently made an apt...Jad Abulmrad of Radiolab fame recently made an apt comment that fits this comment thread: Change cannot be planned, it can only be recognized. It is clear that we all have recognized that Ted Ed is not really reform. <br /><br />Perhaps we need to acknowledge what Roger Schank has recently acknowledged: "High school is a bad thing. We should stop having them. High school teaches many bad lessons." http://educationoutrage.blogspot.ca/2012/05/high-schools-should-not-exist-50th.htmltelliohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08205908556621412864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-87419495123879227682012-05-08T18:30:50.110-04:002012-05-08T18:30:50.110-04:00Bravo for a solid analysis, @Shelly. I think you ...Bravo for a solid analysis, @Shelly. I think you hit it spot on: if the site wasn't branded with TED, it would be easy to dismiss as an outmoded educational resource -- 20th century TV with the quiz built in.<br /><br />Lest anyone think I'm against spreading inspiration and ideas, I regularly put on presentation events (my platform is Ignite), and I've sponsored TEDx with money and elbow-grease. I like them.<br /><br />But as a teacher, I know it's about getting kids to DO instead of receive and regurgitate. And not just "do what I told you." TED is call to mobilize: always has been. Someone else has already done all the heavy lifting, thinking, and synthesizing. Climb all the way up Bloom's Taxonomy and look back down at it: TEDed is basically a fancy presentation of curated, 1st-level knowledge. It misses a LOT of levels that lead to true mastery.<br /><br />If we truly want our kids to become innovative problem solvers, we need THEM to flex those Bloomy muscles up the way to the top. Watching someone else do it for them is a cheat, however cool the swag is when you buy your ticket.<br /><br />If they want to be TED-inspire or TED-fancy-new-thing or TED-here's-a-good-idea, awesome. It's where I aim my Ignite events to be. <br /><br />Let's just not mistake them for TED-education.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14843595356303515404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-47082870792752007872012-05-02T14:59:30.614-04:002012-05-02T14:59:30.614-04:00You make a really good point about how teachers ar...You make a really good point about how teachers are educated. We are told that we need to diversify our lessons and provide for active not passive learning, yet every conference that I have ever been to is the exact opposite of what we are expected to do in our classrooms. Presenters need to learn to practice what they preach. The next time I plan a presentation to my colleagues, I expect to do just that. Model a diversified active lesson.Melanie Nufferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09760511864028171349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-18858445991868390792012-05-01T18:55:14.531-04:002012-05-01T18:55:14.531-04:00Andrew, great comment. However, I'm interested...Andrew, great comment. However, I'm interested in your response to this article in Wired UK about students creating their own lessons using TED-Ed. http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-04/27/ted-ed-turns-ideas-into-lessons<br />Obviously they could run much further with the functionality, but I'm not sure students can't do some of the things you are mentioning.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-23188690964567664472012-05-01T09:52:44.793-04:002012-05-01T09:52:44.793-04:00Ask your school's Occupational Therapist about...Ask your school's Occupational Therapist about research that supports movement as a lost key in helping our kids learn. Get your students up and moving ... improves alertness, focus, learning, behavior, social skills, and participation.Sharon Gregoirenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-88670112110376319892012-04-30T12:57:45.650-04:002012-04-30T12:57:45.650-04:00Adding a multiple choice test at the end of a vide...Adding a multiple choice test at the end of a video is akin to giving somebody a box of envelopes when they open an email account. I believe that these videos can be really great teaching tools, but tacking on a multiple choice quiz only reaffirms the paradigm that that TedEd seems designed to break. We'll never move away from the broken assessments of the past if we continue to use them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-83373339119597723112012-04-30T05:20:16.824-04:002012-04-30T05:20:16.824-04:00From the perspective that teaching is both an art ...From the perspective that teaching is both an art and a science, no one instructional approach will reach all students. <br /><br />TED-Ed has overstated what it can do. But in the hands of good teachers, TED-Ed can be one tool that, combined with other tools, enhances learning.<br /><br />Janet | expateducator.comJanet Abercrombiehttp://expateducator.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-39641030363912608542012-04-30T01:44:36.253-04:002012-04-30T01:44:36.253-04:00The biggest TED learning tool, as far as I am conc...The biggest TED learning tool, as far as I am concerned, and one that I have not seen referenced in any of the material put out by TED Ed or by anyone commenting on this post, are all of the TEDxYouth Day events that happen each fall in hundreds of locations around the world. During these small TEDx events, students are the ones on stage sharing their ideas, passions, experiences, and visions with the rest of us.<br /><br />At the heart of what I think Shelly is getting at is the notion that students should be content creators, not just content consumers. Taking a multiple choice quiz after watching a video is the equivalent of being given a fish instead of learning how to fish (to borrow a popular analogy).<br /><br />What TED Ed has yet to fully realize is it's potential to inspire more than just responses to multiple choice questions from students (and, to be honest, there is not much real difference between free response and multiple choice in my view as it related to this post). What if TED Ed became a platform for students to inspire change in the world around them? What if students saw what other students were doing, connected with those who shared their same passions, engaged in real-world problem solving, and then told others how they could change the world too? What if TED Ed inspired action instead of just passive consumerism? What if TED Ed was student-centric instead of teacher-centric?<br /><br />We need doers of the word, not hearers only -- and unless we create and promote ways to amplify student voices we are simply (as Ira Socol pointed out) perpetuating the status quo. TED was revolutionary because it helped lead the way in opening up discussions from a lecture hall onto a worldwide stage -- but these discussions have really only ever been one-way. The world has changed since TED began and unless they change and lead the way forward they will be left behind in the past. When it comes down to it, TED Ed in this respect is facing more back in time than forward. It doesn't have to though. Indeed, it shouldn't.andrewcoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14211251976471781739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-38939349228278106122012-04-29T11:51:52.840-04:002012-04-29T11:51:52.840-04:00Chris,
As far as flipped classrooms go, I see man...Chris,<br /><br />As far as flipped classrooms go, I see many a positive, many a negative. The positive is generally along the lines of what you describe; whereas the negative lies in three aspects 1) access 2) reliance on what I often think of as "branded curation" -- Khan is the best example 3) the schoolification of interest and discovery. It's this latter point that frustrates me in terms of TED Ed.<br /><br />I've got no beef with video. I've used TED Talks videos as discussion starters in class for years. I'm very fond of the TED project in so many ways. I think some of the anti-video sentiment perceived here is an extrapolation of something not actually criticized in the original post. My concern has to do with the schoolification of the TED videos into what every school kid would recognize as a "typical" school homework assignment.<br /><br />I think we can go farther than that -- and in fact must -- quickly.<br /><br />What would I like to see? 1) a move towards using the TED Ed platform as a place for project collaboration to arise between big thinkers and Learners 2) a place to challenge the design of learning itself 3) a place to make learning itself as important as the teaching and storytelling TED is so good at.<br /><br />ShellyAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14091328599818819777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-63842671334398256262012-04-29T10:15:47.349-04:002012-04-29T10:15:47.349-04:00Shelley, thanks for your post... and what an inte...Shelley, thanks for your post... and what an interesting discussion around it. The one consideration I'd urge you to think about is TIME. One way of viewing TED-Ed, and flipped teaching generally, is that it opens up more classroom time. If you think of it as a platform, not as a content library, it allows any teacher to assign basic learning on video at home, and thereby spend more time in class learning-by-doing. One of the most important parts of the site may turn out to be the "Dig Deeper" section in which we're encouraging teachers to suggest follow-up activities relevant to what was just learned. (And yes, we will be making the best of these visible on the site with teachers' permission.)<br /><br />At the same time, I wouldn't be too dismissive of what video can do. We know from our TED Talks experience that it can do at least three things (if done right): explain, spark curiosity, and inspire. We see our job as being to spark a little excitement over learning in kids' minds. If that's successful, it opens up huge possibilities for every other form of learning you correctly believe in.Chris Anderson (TED Curator)http://ed.ted.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-52101037338725913302012-04-29T09:32:05.848-04:002012-04-29T09:32:05.848-04:00You raise some great points Shelley. Thanks for yo...You raise some great points Shelley. Thanks for your article.<br />However, I'm not as 'depressed' about the direction as you. Everyone is innovating in different ways, and TED Ed have taken a very impressive crack at it.<br /><br />For me, I still imagine education as something greater than a knowledge-imparting exercise. Something greater than a lesson with a summary.Richard Leighhttp://www.campfire.org.aunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-32048796025978408122012-04-29T00:40:31.449-04:002012-04-29T00:40:31.449-04:00@Shelly Blake-Plock - thanks for a thought-provoki...@Shelly Blake-Plock - thanks for a thought-provoking article. My main issue with it though is that, whilst you are at pains to stress the shortcomings of TED ED and other platforms that help us 'flip our classrooms', you stop short of explaining how you think it could be improved. <br /><br />You say, "We desperately need a platform that exists to help us learn lessons by doing" but at no point do you suggest what that platform might look like.<br /><br />You say, "TED Ed should link teachers, students, and technologists to work on new open source edtech that comes directly out of the experience of the classroom and thrives on collaboration and openness?" but it all sounds rather nebulous to me. Perhaps you'd like to explain what you mean so we can start a dialogue that lead actionable changes rather than pure discourse?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-32679287173616656152012-04-28T17:09:05.243-04:002012-04-28T17:09:05.243-04:00You bring up some fine points about schoolificatio...You bring up some fine points about schoolification, that i generally agree with, but I think you're off point about the platform. The website, from what I've seen and used it for so far, is not in fact purely content-defined. You--meaning anyone--- can customize a lesson [starter] using any video on Youtube. So, it's leveraging the openness of that platform, but saving us teachers (and students) the trouble of wading through the kitten videos. You're right, that could be a bad thing or a good thing, but it's hardly a thing either way because I can still use it for my network. I personally think they have a cool opportunity to show user made lessons, but I'm not sure exactly where they would put them. Maybe a feed of sorts? Like twitter or FB? Could be cool. Anyways, you can choose not to include the multiple choice questions when you're building the lesson. You can also title it "lesson starter." It's all optional--presented in the raw. Some may want what's there. Some may not. Glad the platform didn't decide for me!All I'm saying is that considering the site allows me to edit the parts you logged as troubling, I would rather read a post on and be discussing how it could be made better than one on how semantics make it fundamentally flawed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-50842787847459072262012-04-28T11:07:43.475-04:002012-04-28T11:07:43.475-04:00@Shelly Blake-Plock, so you are saying that TED Ed...@Shelly Blake-Plock, so you are saying that TED Ed should link teachers, students, and technologists to work on new open source edtech that comes directly out of the experience of the classroom and thrives on collaboration and openness? Or, who are "we" that needs to be doing this? Are you arguing against TED ED or arguing how others might use TED ED - two distinct arguments. Your post seems to be related to the former argument while your comments (reply posts) seem to relate to the latter argument. If you are arguing against TED Ed, offer TED Ed solutions; if you are arguing against how others might use TED Ed, discuss solutions with regard to curriculum, assessment, and instruction in using TED Ed.Benjaminhttp://bnleez.wikispaces.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-72140889252019383682012-04-27T11:07:35.738-04:002012-04-27T11:07:35.738-04:00Thanks for the thought-provoking debate.
OK, so w...Thanks for the thought-provoking debate.<br /><br />OK, so we learn through experience. But as others here have said, we also learn through many other means. A video is just a form of media, a neutral container for content - instruction, stories, barrage of facts, cats, whatever. Last week I learned how to attach a ceiling rose by watching a Youtube video, and I did it...maybe not as well as a pro (that's what experience is for) but I did learn enough to get a basic clue in ceiling rose installation. Tonight I looked up a recipe online and I made the dish. We apply theory to life all the time, without having experienced it first hand.<br /><br />I've just tried out, at random, the franchising lesson on TED-Ed and it's good (http://education.ted.com/lessons/the-real-origin-of-the-franchise). A fast-paced five-minute illustrated story, followed by a quick quiz, more for retention than anything else, then onto some open-ended questions. I learned something I didn't know, and I didn't have to open a franchise. But had I gone ahead with the last couple of questions, I would have looked up and interviewed a local franchisee - probably the closest thing to starting one, unless they invited me to work for them. Or maybe I could have found a 'day in the life of a franchisee' video.<br /><br />My point is that here the medium is not necessarily the message. The good teachers use the tools at their disposal well. Good storytellers tell engaging stories, and vice versa.Stefannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-21268277745780693252012-04-27T02:02:19.996-04:002012-04-27T02:02:19.996-04:00I strongly agree with you on this point. A very go...I strongly agree with you on this point. A very good book that investigates this idea is "What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning and Literacy" by Paul McGee. Well worth the read even if only to improve more traditional lessons by considering the motivations that video games tap into.<br /><br />There is a lot said about introduction of games into education but many of these games just follow a traditional method of quiz, etc. Rarely do they require the player to think about the background to that point, their actions and the consequences. And to me this is the essence of learning whether it be philosophy, history, mathematics or science. True learning occurs not when you can just replicate somebody else but when you understand the reasons/motivations behind that principle or concept and then you can take that further or consider it in a different light. Then, and only then, does advancement of knowledge occur.Richardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-91120470130699719892012-04-26T17:44:37.885-04:002012-04-26T17:44:37.885-04:00Well, if "link baiting" is writing about...Well, if "link baiting" is writing about current events in education, then I guess I'm guilty. <br /><br />But beyond that, two things are immediately interesting to me in what you are saying: first is the idea that TEDEd is a platform akin to Twitter or Facebook or YouTube. It's not. They are content agnostic platforms (at least in terms that the majority of what goes on content-wise is user-driven); TEDEd is by definition content defined. It's an important point, I think; because much if not most of what will wind up on TEDEd is curated by TED in one way or another. That could be good, it could be bad. I prefer a more open platform where collaboration is messy and beautiful -- even if that occasionally means wading through kitten videos and twittercasts of Mets games.<br /><br />Second is the idea that TED doesn't care what you call what they've put together. I think they know exactly what they are doing. They are giving language and credence to a way of thinking about systems of teaching and learning. And that language they are suggesting is one that's been around in education for a long time.<br /><br />See, my problem with putting multiple choice questions after a video is that it schoolifies (to borrow a term from Clay Burrell) the video. In suggesting that the primary thing is to "remember correctly" is to -- as Ira Socol says above -- "preserve power structure". I've used TED Talks in classrooms both at the 9-12 and grad level; they're great discussion starters and many are inspiring. But once you create a platform and demonstrably call it an "ed" platform and then the first thing you do is present it akin to the comprehension section of a language arts test, you've demonstrated that you are making vast assumptions as to the audience or the purposes.<br /><br />Teachers have been using TED both via TED Talks and YouTube for years. One would think for making such a big splash with this debut, TED would be doing something a little more to push the envelope of teaching, collaboration, and meaningful "doing" in education -- otherwise don't gussy it up as an "ed" thing; we already know where to get the content.<br /><br />As a sidenote, we generally like smart people like yourself -- and I mean that in terms of people who challenge me or any of our other writers to think more -- to post un-anonymously. That of course is up to you, but I'm just saying that we appreciate the debate and it's hard to debate "anonymous".<br /><br />ShellyAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14091328599818819777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-58618013430750771012012-04-26T16:52:53.222-04:002012-04-26T16:52:53.222-04:00Aren't you just blaming a platform for not usi...Aren't you just blaming a platform for not using it in a way that you could in fact use it? <br /><br />What I'm saying is that this post feels a little half-baked and the more I read the title, your comments and see it in my twitter feed, the more it feels a little like link-bating. Big apologies if that isn't the case, but I don't really see you being constructive, and this post was far more "depressing" than the groundwork laid what I found to be a pretty dern impressive BETA site.<br /><br />You can't make a single sweeping generalization about Education. It's too complex a system. Just as "lessons" (taglines be damned) are more than videos and questions, so is learning more than "doing." It's all one big process, full of "red herrings" and this line of debate leads nowhere positive. Call them lesson starters if you want. I seriously doubt TED would care. Use the tool to customize the lesson around an antarctic video so that it links to something who is interested in it can "do." And if you can't find a video that is a good lesson starter, then make one yourself, upload it and customize it.<br /><br />In other words, you don't blame twitter or facebook for what's in our feed, or youtube for the videos we don't see, or the internet for not providing physical experiences don't blame a platform for not using it a way that you could use it.<br /><br />But that's just my two cents.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-19876771990362521642012-04-26T16:41:39.151-04:002012-04-26T16:41:39.151-04:00The power of TED Ed will be realized when students...The power of TED Ed will be realized when students start using it. They construct the lessons, and drive the learning around their interests... A lot of potential here!David Trusshttp://pairadimes.davidtruss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-22433217105968751742012-04-26T16:33:58.921-04:002012-04-26T16:33:58.921-04:00Do I really want to learn by doing that spitting o...Do I really want to learn by doing that spitting on the sidewalk is a punisable offense in Singapore? <br /><br />TED-Ed is an improvement over completely passive video. If authors pose the right questions, they might inspire viewers to move from learning to doing (well maybe not the spitting).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-17792990696687293082012-04-26T14:29:45.618-04:002012-04-26T14:29:45.618-04:00This conversation is just what I needed now. In wr...This conversation is just what I needed now. In writing about personalizing learning (http://barbarabray.net) along with Kathleen McClaskey, we have been interviewing thought leaders around the world. The perception of what personalization means is just as confusing as the idea of what learning and the learner means. Is learning just doing something?<br /><br />The 2010 US EdTech plan describes personalization as instruction not learning (http://www.ed.gov/technology/draft-netp-2010/individualized-personalized-differentiated-instruction) . We created a chart to explain that personalizing learning starts with the learner (http://barbarabray.net/2012/01/22/personalization-vs-differentiation-vs-individualization-chart/) - it is about learning not teaching. We then realized that moving to an environment that really starts with the learner is unique. <br /><br />Teachers are still creating lessons -- still following pacing guides -- still teaching to the test, that is, at least mostly in the US. Maybe teachers use videos like Khan or TedEd to flip the classroom. It is usually teacher-centric. Project-based learning (PBL), in most cases, is teacher-centric with some learner voice and choice. PBL has learners doing. Are learners co-designers of their learning? Did the teacher design the project? Are learners driving and owning how they learn? Do learners understand how they learn best? <br /><br />Kathleen and I believe that everyone is a learner. A student is being taught. A learner is anyone, anywhere, any age. In a real personalized learning environment, everyone is a learner learning from each other and from experiences. Maybe a video sparks a conversation, to write in a journal, to do an experiment, to investigate further.<br /><br />It is all of the above and more...not just doing -- IMHO.<br />- Barbara BrayBarbara Brayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17348515432930791265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-78223610318879160562012-04-26T14:20:51.760-04:002012-04-26T14:20:51.760-04:00Yes, all learning needs to be 100% authentic. That...Yes, all learning needs to be 100% authentic. That has nothing to do with a red herring like going to the Arctic; it has to do with looking with open eyes at the structure of pedagogy and the systems we have in place to limit student access and discourage inquiry and creativity.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14091328599818819777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7029419017923677229.post-10503519855969150072012-04-26T14:18:28.007-04:002012-04-26T14:18:28.007-04:00I'm not anti-TED or anti-MOOC. As I said in th...I'm not anti-TED or anti-MOOC. As I said in the post, I've been inspired by lectures on TED and elsewhere.<br /><br />My point is that they had the opportunity to do something groundbreaking and instead, what they gave us on their end is really more of the same. Some good, some meh, but nothing really all that earth-shattering... and considering the capacity of TED, that's disheartening.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14091328599818819777noreply@blogger.com