TEDx, Ideas worth sharing – by students for students with educators Michael Boll and Brenda Petersen
Michael Boll is a technology enthusiast. And a teacher. The mix of these two passions has led him down some exciting paths in education over his career. He currently serves as a Technology Coach at Concordia International School Shanghai. Brenda Petersen is a High School Assistant principal at the same school and is a former history teacher who is excited about helping kids discover their passions and coaching them on how to accomplish them. In this podcast, the “Tech” guy and the “Coach” employ humor and practical tips to share the ins and outs of hosting your own TEDx event at your school.
This podcast is one of ten in the HowTo@ConcordiaShanghai series. For information on how to contract the Limitless platform to benefit your organization email Ally here.
It is a good thing in the world to get everyone communicating and this process is worth it for that alone–despite the craziness.
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Show Notes
Intro to TEDx
TEDx is an extension of TED. Hence the “x” in the title. TED’s mission is to spread ideas through its structure: “an idea worth sharing”. We too a TEDTALK sanctioned event and used it as a way to showcase our community while challenging our students to refine their speech crafting and delivery skills. We used this structure to help kids focus on a single idea and develop in depth using their creativity and drawing upon their experiences.
Event goals
- To help kids focus on and develop on a single idea in depth using their creativity and drawing upon their experiences
- To showcase those ideas in a respected and known format for credibility and reach
- Involve more people in our community
A measurable student impact
- Gives students a wider audience to their “ideas worth sharing”
- Builds presenting and communication skills
- Develops confidence in student speakers
- Builds an understanding of the revision process
- Critical thinking skills grow
Impact on the greater community
- Allows for collaboration among different schools and across the community
- Inspires people around the world through student talks
- Opens doors to send student speakers to other TEDx events
Event set up
- Ideal timeline is different for speakers and technical needs differ
- The larger the event, the more time you need
- Two pronged approach
- Technical: TEDx licensing
- Speaker selection and coaching
- For students by students
- Lots of teachable moments
- Growth for speakers
- Proof ofConceptcan be done in
- Grade levels
- Clubs
- End of year reflections
Must-haves to ensure success
- Understanding what resources you have and what you will need
- Marketing
- Technology
- About 40 hours of time outside of the classroom for the speaker portion
- Selecting, coaching and scheduling students
- Rehearsals and feedback
- Technical side
- Building a website for vehicle communication
- Expectation from TED you will video the talks
Personal preparation
- Clarify roles and responsibilities
- Start small to determine theme
- Expand a larger team to accomplish for planning
- Gather more volunteers for the day of event
Tips for success
- Don’t wait until the last minute to start the licensing process. It takes at least six to eight weeks to get it.
- License limits guests to 100 unless someone at your site has been to an actual TED talk
- plan for overflow if necessary
- Start small and scale as you gain experience
Resource Links
Connecting with Michael and Brenda
Email howto@concordiashanghai.org, Attention: Michael Boll (technical questions) or Brenda Petersen (content questions) and we’ll make sure Mike or Brenda receives your message.
