In the brave new world of distance learning, many of us are searching for digital lessons to use with students. A good source is Ed.Ted.Com: Lessons Worth Sharing.
You have probably heard of Ted Talks, the series that delves into the latest discoveries and thinking in all kinds of hot topics—how the economy works, what consciousness is, and so much more. You may not know about the Ted Ed video series, designed to teach key academic concepts in short (usually five minutes or so) animated videos that are both highly engaging and informative. The videos run the gamut.
For literacy, you can choose from “How to use a Semi-Colon,” a rap about the Importance of Setting, or three videos about different kinds of irony (always tricky to teach).
For social studies, there are videos on world history, for example:
- Urbanization and the Evolution of Cities across 10,000 years
- Who Built the Pyramids?
US history:
- Andrew Jackson vs. History
- How the Progressive Movement Happened
- Black Friday: An Accident of History
Civics:
- How a Case Gets to Supreme Court
- How to Understand Power
- Are you a Romantic or Classical Voter
- Gerrymandering
- Does Racism Affect Your Vote?
and Economics
- What Causes Economic Bubbles
- How does the Stock Market Work?
- What Causes a Recession
- What does Income Inequality mean to Americans?
The selection for science is the most impressive of all.
Lessons on chemistry include, among others:
- Atoms from A to Easy!
- How Heavy is Air
- The Chemistry of Skunk Spray
- Why Doesn’t Anything Stick to Teflon?
- How Atoms bond
And many more.
For physics try:
- Misconceptions about flying objects
For space science, your students might like:
- Surviving in Space without a Space Suit (Neil de Grasse Tyson)
- Sunlight is way older than you think
- The Search for other Earth-like planets
- What is Earth stopped spinning
- What Light can teach us about the Universe
Earth Science videos include:
- How North America got its shape
- Why is Everest so tall
- What happens when Continents Collide
- The history of the barometer and how it works
- A Guide to the Energy of the Earth
For Life Science, try:
- Cells vs. Virus: A Battle for Health
- The Microbial Jungles All over the Place
- Meet the Microscopic Life on Your Face
- How Bees Help Plants have Sex
- DNA: the Book of You
- How Mendel’s Pea Plants Help us Understand Genetics
- Why do dogs have floppy ears
- The Evolution of the Human Eye
- Proof of evolution that you can find in your body
- The Antibiotic Resistance Crisis
A full list of HSE-relevant Ted Ed videos can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13GdoSl6ziDwuw2XyMA-JhojhYWZl2eE85E4-VmaR8lo/edit
Why are these called “Digital Lessons?” Accompanying each video are banners that read: Think/Dig Deeper/Discuss. Click on “Think” and you will get a set of multiple-choice questions that students can use to assess what they understood (if they register, for free, they can save their work). Click on “Dig Deeper,” and there will be a list of additional resources. And the “Discuss” banner will provide open-ended discussion questions.
Now that we are struggling through distance learning (at least some of us are), tools like the Ted Ed videos are bound to make a lot of teachers’ lives easier.
