Should Students Learn How to Give TED Talks? Introducing...TED-Ed Clubs for Students Worldwide

School-Based Program Helps Students Learn, Share Ideas Through Their Own TED-Style Presentations

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Jan 14, 2014, 10:29 ET

NEW YORK, Jan. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- TED-Ed, the educational initiative of TED Conferences, today announced the worldwide launch of TED-Ed Clubs, a new program that aims to promote presentation literacy among students around the world. TED-Ed Clubs, piloted in over 100 schools worldwide in 2013, provides a free and flexible framework for students—in traditional and non-traditional education environments—to discuss, pursue, prepare and present their big ideas. The end goal is for members to deliver their own short, TED-style talks, while other members may record and edit the talks on video.

"In today's world, a person's ability to effectively and creatively communicate their ideas can be the difference between endless opportunities opened, and endless opportunities missed. And who has more opportunity waiting to be claimed than students?" said TED-Ed Director Logan Smalley. "Right now, there are countless young minds forming the ideas that will define our future. TED-Ed Clubs invites and celebrates that future by providing teachers a tool to nurture their student's passions, and by providing students a platform to practice presenting their ever-evolving ideas."

TED-Ed began piloting TED-Ed Clubs in July 2013. To date, more than 100 school groups in more than 20 countries have participated in the pilot program, and more than a thousand groups have registered interest in starting a club on the TED-Ed website. Throughout the pilot, TED-Ed Clubs have seen notable student engagement—particularly among students less likely to participate in the typical classroom setting— and have been able to help students develop storytelling and presentation skills.

"It's exciting to hear that students who seemed hesitant to share or present in their classrooms have been interested in joining this program," said TED-Ed Director of Programs Stephanie Lo. "It's a pleasure for us to be supporting and amplifying student voices by facilitating research and learning about topics that they are interested in, especially because many educators have told us that being able to share ideas in a public forum is becoming an important 21st-century skill."

TED-Ed Clubs are open to students ages 8 through 18 and require a minimum of one adult educator per club. The goal is for club members to present their ideas to their peers in a TED-style talk and—with the permission of students, teachers and parents—nominate exceptional presentations to be featured on the TED-Ed website. Some young speakers may also be invited to attend and present at TEDYouth conferences happening annually throughout the world.

TED-Ed is an extension of TED's mission of spreading great ideas. The growing TED-Ed video library features carefully curated educational videos, many of which represent collaborations between talented educators and animators nominated through the TED-Ed platform. The TED-Ed website allows educators to tailor any video found online—including original TED-Ed video content— to create customized lesson plans, distribute the videos publicly or privately, and monitor students' progress.

Learn more about TED-Ed Clubs at ed.ted.com/clubs or watch a short informational video about TED-Ed Clubs at http://youtu.be/Qj_OzmP8iWg.

A full Q&A on TED-Ed Clubs and stories from teachers and students involved in the TED-Ed Club pilot program can be found on the TED-Ed Blog at blog.ed.ted.com.

Additional information, about TED-Ed Clubs can be found on the TED Blog at blog.ted.com.

To learn more or become a TED-Ed Clubs facilitator visit: ed.ted.com/clubs.

About TED-Ed
TED-Ed's commitment to creating lessons worth sharing is an extension of TED's mission of spreading great ideas. Within TED-Ed's growing library of lessons, you will find carefully curated educational videos, many of which represent collaborations between talented educators and animators nominated through the TED-Ed platform. This platform also allows users to take any useful educational video, not just TED's, and easily create a customized lesson around the video. Users can then distribute TED-Ed lessons, publicly or privately, and track their impact on the world, a class, or an individual student. This platform is also the home to TED-Ed Clubs—an exciting new program that aims to stimulate and celebrate the best ideas of students around the world.

About TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference 30 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The two annual TED Conferences invite the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes on a diverse mix of topics. Many of these talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Jane Goodall, Sir Ken Robinson, Bryan Stevenson, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Isabel Allende. The TED2014 Conference will take place in Vancouver, British Columbia, along with the TEDActive simulcast in neighboring Whistler. TEDGlobal 2014 will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.