Ring in the New School Year with These Must-See Videos

Most have been around for a while. You probably have seen most of them before. Perhaps there are some that you haven't yet seen. Whatever the case, each of the following videos is worth watching again. It is important from time to time to refocus, and what better time than now - at the start of a new school year.

Keep in mind, this is just a small sampling of the many excellent videos that are out there on 21st Century education, motivation, etc. So here goes.

This first video is a reminder that we may need to rethink how we do things.



A look at the future - with a British accent.



I know that this is not the most recent version of Did You Know?, but it's still my favorite.



If you haven't heard Taylor Mali, then this is a good time to start. What do you make?



A classic from TED. Sir Ken Robinson on schools and creativity.



Just a bit of motivation from a young Dallas student.



And a little bit more Taylor Mali.



Enjoy and pass them on!

Sir Ken Robinson on "The Element"

Back in November, I posted Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk entitled "Do Schools Kill Creativity?"

Here's his talk at RSA this month discussing his new book "The Element."



Enjoy!!

Are we killing creativity?

When I first saw Sir Ken Robinson's talk at TED, I seriously considered blogging about it. Unfortunately, I never quite got around to it. I really need to be a better blogger!!

Now is a great time to resurrect that idea. Jennifer Dorman did just that today on her Cliotech blog - by the way, one that I follow and recommend. In addition to posting and sharing the TED talk - which I'll also embed here - she tipped us off to a more recent Ken Robinson talk delivered this past April at the Apple Education Leadership Summit. Here are the links to the 2-part Apple talk, posted on Edutopia:

Part I

Part II


Here is the TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson:




I echo Dorman's dual-emotional reaction to these presentations - inspired and frustrated. Robinson should be speaking at every school district in America, because as he points out, this is not the problem of an individual teacher or school but a systemic problem that will only be solved through serious education reform. In fact, Robinson calls for a "transformation" rather then "reformation." Obviously, that will not happen - the nationwide speaking tour that is, but probably ed reform as well. I urge all readers to share this post with every educator (or person) that you know.