All of us in higher education, I hope, have availed ourselves of TED talks. They are incisive, informative, creative, contagious and extremely interesting.
So why not make a series of these talks the basis and primary resources for a course?
Certainly such topics as technology, education, the arts, energy, and the environment, are perfect for course creation. Imagine, for instance, a course built around the TED talks and books by Ken Robinson. A course like this would be popular, I’m certain, with any education major.
My suggestion would be to show a couple of talks (they’re each no more than 18 or 20 minutes) during one class and then discuss those talks during the following class. Students obviously would have access to these and other related talks at any time to watch or review.
To me there is absolutely no downside to this idea. The talks are interesting. The discussion and related materials can be educational. Learning can occur. Creativity is abundant.
But can you do this? What about the actual rules about using these talks? The policy at TED says: “You are encouraged to view as many TED Talks as you wish for free, and to share what you learn with others both online and offline.” You also must read and abide by the usage policy and the TED Creative Commons license, allowing you to use TED talks “to stimulate discussions with students or to complement course materials.” You might also explore making a class or two an actual TEDx event.
Try it out. Could be great for a short-term course, a summer course, even an online course.
The incredible resource is there. Why not take advantage of its value.
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