As of July 1, 2019, TED is owned by a not for profit corporation called TED Foundation. All TED talks and speaker lists are curated and carefully selected so that only talks based on real peer reviewed research are presented. They also seek out ideas from all over the world in order to promote a balanced, multicultural, worldwide discussion. Their talks are available for free and they work to bring the talks to placed where internet isn't widely available.
My history with TED talks prior to trying out the app is brief; I have viewed a few talks, some as part of school assignments and some shown to me by other people, but have never used it as part of a lesson and have never really sought them out on my own. I specifically wanted to try out the TED mobile app as it was featured on the Digital Trend's Best Apps for Teachers list (Dove 2019). Also, many schools provide access for students to some sort of tablet and many older students have their own cell phones, so I thought the mobile app would be something good to feature in the classroom that might transition into time outside the classroom.
I downloaded the app to my iPhone and my iPad to give it a try, and was pleased with the initial use of the app. There's 4 main sections that you access at the bottom of your screen: Talks, Discover, MyTED, and Search. On the Talks screen you had two options; to view the newest talks or to view the most popular talks. On the Discover screen you can browse by topic, playlists (which are groups of TED talks on a similar subject) and language. My TED is a page where you can view your list, likes, downloads, and history. Lastly, if you are searching for a specific TED talk you can do that on the Search tab.
I found the app easy to use. To test how I would use it in the classroom, I thought of two different age groups I could use this technology with, middle school students and high school students.
I browsed a few TED talks looking for something appropriate for and relevant to middle schoolers. I started by browsing the education topic under the Discover tab, and found a few videos that looked promising. However most of them seemed to be geared toward teachers and others who work in education, and not necessarily toward students. Then I started browsing the playlists hoping to find something for young teens or students, but the quantity seemed overwhelming to look through. I finally went to the search tab, and when I typed in "kids" an option came up that showed me playlists that had to do with kids. I found one called "Smart kids' life advice" and watched a few of the videos. I could definitely see using these in the classroom.
I then thought about high school students and went back to the playlists. The first one that grabbed my attention was the "Talks to help you fin the right job" list, which I thought would be great for juniors and seniors. I also saw "The Most Transformative TED Talks" which had 25 videos, many of which seemed like a good fit for high schoolers.
As far as how to use these in the classroom, I think it could be paired with lessons on a multitude of topics. I focused mainly on ones I felt could be used in a library setting, but I also think they would make a great start for a collaboration with another subject. These could be assigned as work outside the classroom, or as an option for when students complete work in class. In searching about TED talks I also found that they have an edTED program where students can connect with other students around the world and use the TED platform to discuss and share ideas in the form of the traditional TED talks. I think this would be a great extra curricular club to be available after school.
As far as the app itself, I think it has a lot of great features like the playlists and ability to see the videos you've watched and add them to a list, however I would like an option to search based on a target audience. I feel that this would make it easier to find age appropriate talks for younger students. In summary, I feel that the TED app could be a meaningful tool in the hands of educators and the things taken away from using it could transcend the walls of schools and touch students' lives.
References
Dove, Jackie. (2019) The Best apps for Teachers and Educators. Retrieved from https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-apps-for-teachers-education/
Our Organization (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization
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