Deciding on which TED speech is my favorite and why is tough because anybody invited to speak at a TED conference is already a great speaker and authority in their specific field. The thing that separates a TED conference is to learn about something you wouldn’t otherwise be taking the time to learn about. It is this gift of human imagination that TED celebrates and why I chose the speech that I did. Sir Ken Robinson’s 2006 speech on how schools kill creativity, and the most downloaded TED video on YouTube, is at the core of everything I believe in as the son of a retired high school social studies teacher. It is subject matter that affects every single human being living on this planet today and in the very near future, yet most of us take for granted. “Everybody has an interest in education, and it goes deep with people like we do religion, and money. Creativity is important to everything we do. Education is meant to take us into this future that we can’t grasp.”
Christian Adams
Principal & Chief Creative Officer
Sigma Creative
Why do people vote against their own self-interests? Maybe we aren’t taking enough time to understand that other people’s interests are not always what WE think is best for them. Right and left have gotten farther and farther apart and dialog has gotten more and more disingenuous. Jonathan Haidt’s talk probably won’t cause any of us to change sides, but it may allow us to take a step back and begin asking better questions to engage in real debate.
Dave Ungar
OCLC
Portfolio Operations Manager
I saw this talk in person, and it was one of those situations where I thought, is this for REAL? I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears!!! My brain could barely comprehend the presentation!! It was MIRACULOUS! Check out Anthony Atala printing a human kidney!
Guest blogger: Nancy Kramer
Founder and Chief Culture Officer
Resource Interactive
A unique public art project is emerging in Columbus…
Columbus: Inside Out. Inspired by worldwide public artist and photographer JR, Columbus is adapting its own version of this provocative initiative showcasing distinctive portraits of local citizens.
If you’d like to be featured in Columbus: Inside Out, join us on for a 10 minute photo session September 17 anytime from 10am – 12pm at COSI. Seven local photographers organized by George C. Anderson will be taking portraits of up to 150 Columbus residents to be included in the project. The city-wide installation of the project is being coordinated by Wonderland and will be unveiled in early November.
For more information, email tedxcolumbus@gmail.com. No pre-registration is necessary to participate in the photo session; a release will need be signed at the time of photography. All ages are welcome.
For more information:
I use TED talks as teaching tools for my classes at Ohio State, as “intellectual background noise” when I am working in my office, and as food for my brain on a regular basis so choosing my favorite was tough.
Truth be told, the favorite I chose today would probably be different on another day, in another mood, with other things going on in my life, but that’s the beauty of TED. On this day, in this mood, and with what is going on in my life now, I chose Emily Pilloton’s talk Teaching Design for Change.
I totally love her story about how education is being used as “a vehicle for community change” in the small rural towns of Bertie County, North Carolina. I love the systems thinking throughout this whole talk and I so agree with what she calls “the power of a small story.” I love how this talk gets my students, most of whom are planning to be teachers, excited about the possibilities of that profession. But mostly I love this talk because it gives me hope for a different kind of education system in this country, one that puts learning and children at the forefront instead of teaching and testing.
Guest blogger: Kimberlee L. Kiehl, Ph.D.
COSI
Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy & Operations Officer