Category: Learning

20 Most Popular TED Talks

Dwayne Harapnuik Leave a comment

When I first saw this list I was surprised that I had only missed a couple of the top 20. There is no denying that TED, Youtube, and video, in general, are changing the way that we think and learn.

#1 – Sir Ken Robinson says that schools are educating us out of our creativity
#2 – Jill Bolte Taylor demonstrates what a stroke does to the brain
#3 – Pranav Mistry uses the SixthSense to reveal a paper laptop
#4 – David Gallo reveals the mystery behind the sea creatures of the deep
#5 – Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry show how the real world and infinite world of data interact
#6 – Tony Robbins says that an ‘invisible force’ is what motivates us
#7 – Simon Sinek discusses how and why great leaders inspire action
#8 – Steve Jobs told Stanford grads how to live life before you die
#9 – Hans Rosling argues why the U.S. is not the most powerful nation in the world
#10 – Brené Brown discusses the power of vulnerability, courage, authenticity and shame
#11 – Dan Pink delves into the science behind motivation
#12 – Arthur Benjamin shares the power of understanding mathematics
#13 – Elizabeth Gilbert says everyone is a genius
#14 – Dan Gilbert reveals the science behind happiness
#15 – Stephen Hawking ponders the deepest questions about the universe
#16 – Jeff Han shows why computer mouses will soon become obsolete
#17 – Johnny Lee transforms the Wii remote into fascinating objects
#18 – Keith Barry hacks the most complex thing in nature, the human brain
#19 – Mary Roach reveals the most surprising facts about orgasm
#20 – Vijay Kumar demos robots that fly like birds

Please note the links to the above TED talks to go Youtube. If you wish to view the talk on the TED site and have access to the transcript then refer to the original Business Insider post.

How many of the top 20 TED talks have you watched?

Smart failure for a fast-changing world

Dwayne Harapnuik Leave a comment

The key concept in this talk needs repeating:

And this is what I’m trying to explain has happened to us in the 21st century. Somebody or something has changed the rules about how our world works. When I’m joking, I try and explain it happened at midnight, you see, while we were asleep, but it was midnight 15 years ago. Okay? You didn’t notice it? But basically, what they do is, they switched all the rules round, so that the way to successfully run a business, an organization, or even a country, has been deleted, flipped, and it’s a completely new — you think I’m joking, don’t you — there’s a completely new set of rules in operation. Did you notice that? I mean, you missed this one. You probably — No, you didn’t. Okay.

My simple idea is that what’s happened is, the real 21st century around us isn’t so obvious to us, so instead we spend our time responding rationally to a world which we understand and recognize, but which no longer exists.

The following video provides another perspective on the World After Midnight:

The world has radically changed and most people are still trying to make sense of it in from a perspective that no longer exists. Where you up at midnight 15 years ago? Did you notice the change? Some of us were…so why won’t you listen to us?

Arts Integration for Deeper Learning: Its the Context and Environment that Matter

Dwayne Harapnuik 2 Comments

When I reviewed this video my former colleague Tyler Wall, the Lead Media Specialist at Lethbridge College, sent my way I immediately thought: this is great–but it isn’t the Arts program that is the key to this success. The Arts integration is simply the mechanism or catalyst that provides the context for learning. Students are not asked to just regurgitate information, they are required to apply what they are learning to some context that is Arts related. Or an Arts context is the starting point for teasing out principle that the students need to discover, understand and then apply.

It is the context and the environment that really matters and Arts integration programs are wonderful ways to move the learning environment beyond recipe and regurgitation and onto deeper learning. But Arts integration is not the only way to create a significant learning environment and the context for learning. STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) schools or programs are becoming popular in the US because they provide a project based focus for students to use the STEM disciplines to create solutions to real problems. Another unique school that provides a positive context and signficant learning environment is the Oasis Alternative Secondary School which is behind the Oasis Skateboard Factory. Students are involved in the planning, design, production and distribution of skateboards. This program has not only helped many kids to appreciate learning it has also saved many kids from dropping out of school.

My wife and I have been using significant learning environments with our own two boys. My youngest son Caleb recently built up a Specialized Demo 7 downhill mountain bike. The following video highlights the bare frame build up but it doesn’t show the over 100 hours of work that went into planning the project, finding and aquiring the right frame, parts and components and finally the building and testing.

The right context and learning environment empower students to learn while they create something meaningful. Whether it is creating art, performing dance or theatre, building skateboards or bikes or working on a “real world” STEM related project it is very clear that our students benefit greatly by being creative. These types of programs or personal initiatives help to provide the context and the learning environment that motivate learners to create and learn. Unfortunately, these are the exception and not the norm.

Why are we so quick to highlight these exceptions and laud their effectiveness but fail to move beyond these special programs? Don’t we owe it to our children and society’s future to provide significant learning environments for all our students?