Directions*
Step 1: Go to and explore the TED site:
Step 2: Find Talks (aka videos) that interest you.
There are over 600 TED talks on here, so you should be able to find many that meet your interests. Try searching for your hobbies, a career that you might be interested in, music, technology, whatever.
Step 3: Identify 10 - 12 Talks you’d be interested in “adopting” for this 6-week project.
Since every student must “adopt” 5 different Talks, it is critical that you have a longer list of possible Talks to pick from in case you need to go to your ‘back-up’ choices.
Note that there are a very small # of TED Talks that are not ideal/appropriate for classroom discussion. If you see “Viewer discretion advised” in the summary of the TED Talk you picked, assume it will not be available for class credit/discussion for our TEDxProject. If you select one of these Talks, Mr. Shreffler will suggest that you pick something else.
Step 4: Get to Mr. Shreffler as quickly as possible - by email or in person - to “adopt” your 5 Talks by Friday, April 24th, 4pm.
This is a first-come / first-serve situation.
There’s a very good chance that you’ll get several (if not all) of your top-choices (on your longer) list if you talk to Mr. Shreffler early. The longer you wait, the greater the chance that your top choices may already have been “adopted” by another student.
In the case of ‘tie,’ Mr. Shreffler will flip a coin (or pick names out of a hat) to ensure fairness.
Any students who have not selected Talks by the deadline will be assigned their 5 “adopted” Talks by Mr. Shreffler.
Step 5: Go to the Syllabus page once you have officially “adopted” your 5 Talks.
You’ll find the exact calendar we’ll be using for the entire 6+ week TEDxProject.
In-class TEDxProject days are Monday, Wednesday & Friday. [Note: We’ll read/analyze The Odyssey on Tuesday & Thursday] Essentially, we’ll do the following:
Step 6: Create a weebly.com blog
Go to weebly.com and create an account.
Your account name should be professional. Use your name.
Once you have created your weebly.com blog, post the URL to the class OneNote.
In addition, if you would like, you can create a professional twitter account. This account would be one that is just for items that will build your professional and academic portfolio. This account should have your actual name as the username. To read some of the benefits of such an account, visit this blog post from my blog.
When using social media to talk about this project, use the hashtag #TEDxWOHS.
Step 7: Pick the order of your “adopted” TED Talks to analyze (based on the syllabus/calendar requirements).
You will watch, analyze, write about, and evaluate (using a class created system) each of the 5 TED Talks you've “adopted.”
Next, you’ll submit a digital copy - using your weebly.com blog - by Monday each week to Mr. Shreffler.
Mr. Shreffler will review all blog posts and provide feedback, suggesting edits where necessary.
Each of your written submissions will be individually graded based on the following elements:
The rubric for grading your blog posts is attached here. NOTE: There is a typo in the attached rubric. Body paragraphs only need to be 5 sentences each.
There are over 600 TED talks on here, so you should be able to find many that meet your interests. Try searching for your hobbies, a career that you might be interested in, music, technology, whatever.
Step 3: Identify 10 - 12 Talks you’d be interested in “adopting” for this 6-week project.
Since every student must “adopt” 5 different Talks, it is critical that you have a longer list of possible Talks to pick from in case you need to go to your ‘back-up’ choices.
Note that there are a very small # of TED Talks that are not ideal/appropriate for classroom discussion. If you see “Viewer discretion advised” in the summary of the TED Talk you picked, assume it will not be available for class credit/discussion for our TEDxProject. If you select one of these Talks, Mr. Shreffler will suggest that you pick something else.
Step 4: Get to Mr. Shreffler as quickly as possible - by email or in person - to “adopt” your 5 Talks by Friday, April 24th, 4pm.
This is a first-come / first-serve situation.
There’s a very good chance that you’ll get several (if not all) of your top-choices (on your longer) list if you talk to Mr. Shreffler early. The longer you wait, the greater the chance that your top choices may already have been “adopted” by another student.
In the case of ‘tie,’ Mr. Shreffler will flip a coin (or pick names out of a hat) to ensure fairness.
Any students who have not selected Talks by the deadline will be assigned their 5 “adopted” Talks by Mr. Shreffler.
Step 5: Go to the Syllabus page once you have officially “adopted” your 5 Talks.
You’ll find the exact calendar we’ll be using for the entire 6+ week TEDxProject.
In-class TEDxProject days are Monday, Wednesday & Friday. [Note: We’ll read/analyze The Odyssey on Tuesday & Thursday] Essentially, we’ll do the following:
- Monday: All TEDxProject analytical ‘papers’ are due at beginning of class. Class discussion.
- Wednesday: In-class writing/analysis studio. A chance for individual students to write a draft of their weekly blog post, get ideas from others, get writing feedback from Mr. Shreffler, etc.
- Friday: Student presentations to the entire class about specific TED Talks.
Step 6: Create a weebly.com blog
Go to weebly.com and create an account.
Your account name should be professional. Use your name.
Once you have created your weebly.com blog, post the URL to the class OneNote.
In addition, if you would like, you can create a professional twitter account. This account would be one that is just for items that will build your professional and academic portfolio. This account should have your actual name as the username. To read some of the benefits of such an account, visit this blog post from my blog.
When using social media to talk about this project, use the hashtag #TEDxWOHS.
Step 7: Pick the order of your “adopted” TED Talks to analyze (based on the syllabus/calendar requirements).
You will watch, analyze, write about, and evaluate (using a class created system) each of the 5 TED Talks you've “adopted.”
Next, you’ll submit a digital copy - using your weebly.com blog - by Monday each week to Mr. Shreffler.
Mr. Shreffler will review all blog posts and provide feedback, suggesting edits where necessary.
Each of your written submissions will be individually graded based on the following elements:
- Clear introductory paragraph and thesis
- 2-3 body paragraphs, minimum of 5 sentences for each body paragraph
- Clear conclusion and recommendation
- Writing style/voice, sentence flow, vocabulary, evidence (from the Talk and beyond)
- Ability to help someone make a decision as to the value of the specific Talk related to their own interests
The rubric for grading your blog posts is attached here. NOTE: There is a typo in the attached rubric. Body paragraphs only need to be 5 sentences each.
Step 8: Decide which of your 5 “adopted” TED Talks you’ll give a formal presentation in the front of the room.
Each presentation is 1-2 minutes - including showing clips from the video itself.
Preparation and key ‘talking points’ are critical to your grades.
Step 9: Decide on a subject/story for your own “TEDxProject Talk.”
This is the final ‘project’ for each student in the class. Review the syllabus for due dates.
Each student must answer or respond to the “What Matters (to Me)?” question.
Each student will have 5 min and will use 20 PowerPoint slides that auto-forward every 15 seconds.
“TEDxProject Talks” will be formal presentations in front of a video camera.
There is the likelihood that several/many/nearly-all of the videos will be posted on this blog. In addition, there is the possibility of other guests attending presentation days.
Each presentation is 1-2 minutes - including showing clips from the video itself.
Preparation and key ‘talking points’ are critical to your grades.
Step 9: Decide on a subject/story for your own “TEDxProject Talk.”
This is the final ‘project’ for each student in the class. Review the syllabus for due dates.
Each student must answer or respond to the “What Matters (to Me)?” question.
Each student will have 5 min and will use 20 PowerPoint slides that auto-forward every 15 seconds.
“TEDxProject Talks” will be formal presentations in front of a video camera.
There is the likelihood that several/many/nearly-all of the videos will be posted on this blog. In addition, there is the possibility of other guests attending presentation days.
*NOTE: This project, and the majority of the requirements, are adapted from the work of Christian Long. Thank you Christian for your hard, and fascinating, work.