TED: Technology, Entertainment, Design

TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, is a global set

of conferences formed to propagate “ideas worth spreading.”

Fortunately for us, these ideas are available to us free on the web through

the website www.ted.org. As of July 2010, there were over 700 talks

available online, and the number continues to grow each week.

At this time, over 290 million people have visited this site and the number continues

to grow.

TED was founded in 1984, with an early emphasis on technology and design. The

talks have spread to a global audience, and TED conferences have taken place

everywhere from California to India. The topics have been expanded to include

the arts, but still are usually science-centered. The speakers are given a maximum

of 18 minutes to present their ideas in the most innovative and engaging ways they can.

Presenters have included Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, Gordon Brown, Bill Gates, Al Gore, and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey

Brin.

From 2005 to 2009, three $100,000 TED Prizes were awarded annually to help their winners realize a chosen wish to change

the world. From 2010, in a changed selection process, a single winner is

chosen to ensure that TED can maximize its efforts in achieving the winner's wish.

Each winner unveils their wish at the main annual conference.

TED was founded by Richard Wurman and Harry Marks in 1984, and has

been held annually since 1990. Wurman left the organization after the 2002 conference; the event is now hosted by Chris Anderson and

owned by his non-profit organization, The Sapling Foundation, which is

devoted to "leveraging the power of ideas to change the world."

TED Talks are transcribed and translated into a number of

languages as part of the TED Open-Translation Project, which aims to

"[reach] out to the 4.5 billion people on the planet who don't speak

English," according to TED Curator Chris Anderson. At the time of the launch, over 300 translations were done by volunteer transcribers in

over 40 languages.

Top 10 TED Talks:

1. Jill Bolte Taylor’s Stroke of Insight2. Jeff Han’s Touchscreen Foreshadows the

iPhone and More3. David Gallo Shows Underwater

Astonishment4. Blaise Aguera y Arcas Demos Photosynth5. Arthur Benjamin does “Mathemagic”6. Sir Ken Robinson says Schools Kill

Creativity7. Hans Rosling Shows the Best Stats

You’ve Ever Seen8. Tony Robbins Asks Why We Do What We

Do9. Al Gore on Averting a Climate Crisis10.Johnny Lee Demos Wii Remote Hacks

TED Education: Lessons Worth Sharing

• http://education.ted.com/• Educators sharing lessons• Launching April 2012• Currently: YouTube Channel: “TEDEducation