Next week is an internet anniversary: it marks 10 years since the first six TED talks were posted online, on 27 June 2006.
In the decade since, more than 2,200 presentations have been made freely available on ted.com, offering accessible lectures of less than 20 minutes from many of the world’s leading academics, scientists, explorers and artists. There are also around 180,000 TED-Ed lessons: bite-size teacher-led videos tackling many subject areas.
In this week’s TES, we look back at the five TED lectures that have had the greatest influence on teaching. Three of those top five speakers have been interviewed by, or written for TES in the past. Here’s what they had to say.
Starting off from the premise that creativity is as important as literacy, Robinson’s disarmingly humorous presentation proposes a radical reimagining of Western education. The schools system, he says, has its roots in 19th-century industrialism and therefore privileges academic ability and subjects that would traditionally have made students employable over more diverse talents. He argues that teachers should focus on nurturing children’s readiness to try things out and make mistakes, attributes likely to stand them in much better stead in the far less predictable 21st century.
Views: 39 million
In TES: ‘I’m not pushing a theory’
Sir Ken Robinson commands five-figure fees for appearances and inspires teachers around the world with his crusade to bring creativity into schools - but does he really have anything practical to offer them? TES asks the outspoken education reformer to address his critics.
You would find it difficult to find a teacher who doesn’t know what Dweck’s growth mindset theory is all about. Her talk, though, gives an insight into how the theory was developed and offers a chance to hear from her about how teachers can implement it.
Views: 4.2 million
In TES: ‘Teachers have been held back by testing’
Educational guru Carol Dweck talks to TES about the impact of her growth-mindset theory and the years of research that went into its “overnight” success.
Mitra describes his 12 years of research that began with his “Hole in the Wall” study in a Delhi slum, where he embedded a computer with high-speed internet into a wall and filmed as children, who did not speak English and had never seen a computer before, quickly and ably taught themselves and their peers to use it. This led on to a series of tests around the globe to try to demonstrate that children have the capacity to teach themselves what they want to learn, even across language barriers.
Views: 2.3 million
In TES: Knowing stuff? No, thanks. That’s so last century…
In the age of the internet - where we find things out when we need them, not if we need them - traditional processes of education are outdated and must change, writes Sugata Mitra, a professor of educational technology.
You can read the full article in the 24 June edition of TES. This week’s TES magazine is available in all good newsagents. To download the digital edition, Android users can click here and iOS users can click here
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