Resource Name: TED Ed

URL: http://ed.ted.com/videos

Uses: Construct Meaning, Read and Respond, Watch and React

Teacher Time Investment: IIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

   Student Learning Curve: IIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII   

Description: TED Ed allows teachers to make videos an instructional tool by embedding a context statement, questions, discussion options, and a closing statement. Teachers can choose from over 100,000 video lessons already created, or they can "flip" or customize any video on YouTube to create their own lesson. TED Ed has also created a number of "originals" which contain phenomenal graphics, music, and sound effects. As an ELA teacher, I especially loved the lesson called Beware of Nominalizations, which personifies these noun-forms as zombies (if you're logged into TED Ed, check out the whole lesson).

The biggest difference between TED Ed and other video quiz sites is that TED Ed does not allow questions to be embedded mid-video; all questions are instead placed at video's end, and students can review germane points in the video by referring to time stamps attached to each quiz question.

Once you've registered as a teacher, the site walks you through your first video project, or you can choose an existing project and edit the content to make it your own. The video below provides basic information about the site.

The steps are fairly simple to create your own flipped lesson:

• Title: Create a title for your lesson; adding a key word or phrase assists in searching if you want others to find your work.
• Let’s Begin: Provide students with a learning objective or intended outcomes, and enough context that a student tackling the lesson alone would understand what is expected.
• Watch: Plan on students watching the video from beginning to end (again, the questions are not embedded).
• Think: For this section, include up to 15 different multiple choice or open answer questions about the content. If desired, you can provide video time stamps for students to review specific parts of the video. Stamps are not mandatory.
• Dig Deeper: This section allows you to provide additional online content if desired (another video, a site, a poll). 
• Discuss: This interactive discussion tool permits on line discussion via threaded comments.

Any of the last four elements above can be removed from the lesson. I'd prefer, for example, to hold a live discussion whenever possible. Once you've completed the lesson construction, you’ll receive a unique URL to your lesson. 

Sample Applications for the Classroom:

• Provide students with necessary context before discussing important events in history, science, math, health, or literature. 
• Give students practice with textbook concepts by viewing those same concepts via videos.
• Start a classroom discussion by assigning students to argue a point of view after viewing a video on current events.
• For other great video sources and ideas, see the bottom of the EdPuzzle page. 

Notes and Caveats:

• Just remember that you cannot embed questions midway through. For that, try EdPuzzle or EduCanon.

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