TED, TEDx and TEDxUnisinos

I have been a fan of TED talks since I watched the very first one. I like them so much that a became an official volunteer for the TED Translation Project, a volunteer for TEDxLaçador in Porto Alegre, and the final paper for my MBA in translation was about the TED Translation Project. First of all, let me give a brief explanation about what TED and TEDx mean:

TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. 

TEDx was created in the spirit of TED's mission, "ideas worth spreading." The program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level.

Many TED talks can be powerful and valuable to use as a tool to enhance learning. Therefore, TED launched TED-ED, Lessonl that are worth spreading, as a tool to support teachers and learners, to use the videos to enrich the teachinng and learning. Using the videos from TED and TEDx talks in the classroom or  flipping a lesson can be very meaningful to take a lesson beyond the limits of a school. My son's Science teacher has already made  use of this engaging tool. To get to know more, check TED-Ed webiste.

On November 31st, I had the opportunity to watch for the second time a TEDxevent here in Porto Alegre called TEDxUnisinos. The theme was Education( same as last year since Unisinos is a large private university in rio Grande do Sul). It was nice seeing different speakers with different backgrounds, nationalities, experiences talking about one theme: Education. The event was held on a Thursday different from last year that was on Saturday. Luckily, I was able to get a leave from my school to watch it. The event was bigger than last year's. This year was a large event for 1,000 participants. However, it was very well-organized.

The event started with Rafael Parente who holds an important positition at the Secretary of Education of Rio de Janeiro and talked about Educopedia, an oline collaborative platform, used at city hall schools in the city of Rio de Janeiro. After Rafael Parente, other speakers/teachers came to talk about their experiences as teachers who try to enrich their classroom through fieldtrips, songs, videos and project-based experiences. A director from a large private school talked about a guide her school created to help teachers, students, parents and community when using the social networks. Gustavo Reis,a math teacher, talked with a lot passion about being a teacher. Iberê Thenório talked about how we can raise students' curiosity through videos about science. His Manual do Mundo is fun and educational for kids and adults.  There were some international speakers as well. Sara Elisabeth Ippel talked about a charter  school in Chicago called Academy for Global Citizenship and her project that teaching kids is much more than preparing them for exams and geeting high grades. It is worth visiting the school's website. The school's mission "is to develop mindful leaders who take action both now and in the future to positively impact their communities and the world beyond". Justin Reeves ,who is the the director of the NGO 10x10 Rising Girls , talked about the project 10x10 Educate Girls. Educating girls is extremely powerful and it can really change the world. Last but not the least, I was really impressed and touched about a project called I.D.E.A em movimento developed by a group of 13-year-old girls  attending grade 7 at a private school in Porto Alegre. The project wants to help change the reality in the classrooms.  I like every and each one of the talks, they were all very inspiring. The videos of some of the talks are already available at the TEDxUnisinos webiste.The subtitles in English are not available yet but it is worth watching them.

I think this is my last post from 2012. Merry Christmas and Happy NewYear!!!!