Cool Tool Alert -- TED Talks and More

 One of the advantages of being in so many educator groups is I get so many cool resources shared with me. If I shared them all with you, it's likely you would block me because your inbox would already be more full of messages from me than it already is! But sometimes I find tools that I think are just too good not to share, and this one falls into that category!

I don't know if you're like me, but I love TED Talks! I appreciate the pithy insights and oftentimes raw emotion from the speakers. TED Talks can be really powerful for educators to share with students as well as colleagues, and a couple of teachers have spent some time not just curating a collection of TED Talks for students and educational leaders but also activities and questions to go with those TED Talks!

Here are some of the TED Talks I personally find notable and worthy of possibly using with students:

• Aaron Stark -- "I Was Almost a School Shooter" (slide 12)
• George Takei -- "Why I Love a Country That Once Betrayed Me" (slide 15)
• Matthew Carter -- "Your Story is Your Superpower" (slide 20)
• Adora Svitak -- "What Adults Can Learn from Kids" (slide 24)
• "To Scale: The Solar System" (slide 29)
• Sam Berns -- "My Philosophy for a Happy Life" (slide 43)
• Temple Grandin -- "The World Needs Different Kinds of Minds" (slide 49)

Disclaimer: TED Talks can sometimes cover topics that are a bit on the mature side, so ALWAYS preview before showing your students a video! For instance, one of my very favorite TED Talks of all time is on slide 9. It's from Monica Lewinsky and titled, "The Price of Shame." It is truly one of the most powerful videos I've ever seen and would be so great to show kids to talk about bullying and cyberbullying, but the subject matter is likely just too mature simply due to the nature of Lewinsky's story.

Here are some TED Talks I personally think are great for educators to help them grow professionally:

• Rita Pierson -- "Every Kid Needs a Champion" (slide 56)
• Jocko Willink -- "Extreme Ownership" (slide 69)
• "Caine's Arcade" (slide 74)
• "The Tree" (slide 85)
• Kyle Schwartz -- "What Kids Wish Their Teachers Knew" (slide 87)
• "All That We Share" (slide 90)

So, find some time and go down the TED Talk rabbit hole -- which videos do you see yourself incorporating into your class? Which ones did you watch that helped you grow personally or professionally? What TED Talks do you know
of that you would add to this list? Share in the comments so we can all learn and enjoy!