TED talks: A Good source of learning
http://www.ted.com/talks
Source: The Huffington Post
http://embed.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education.html
Growing up, my mother always told me: “You’ll learn more from a journey of 10,000 miles than from reading 10,000 books.” For years I thought it was a saying she had invented, a justification for taking me out of school for weeks at a time to satisfy her love of travel. I later realized she was quoting an old Chinese proverb that summed up the importance of gaining firsthand experience when learning about new ideas, new people and new cultures.
Of course, when it comes to learning in a classroom, firsthand experience isn’t always a possibility. That’s where video comes into play, giving teachers a way to transport students to an ancient land or recreate an otherwise dangerous science experiment. Videos can help break down difficult concepts while still capturing the imagination. Take Sal Khan, a gifted teacher and storyteller, and one of this year’s most inspiring TED speakers. Sal has digested dense textbook material into deceptively simple (and dare I say it, funny) educational videos whose popularity has earned them nearly a hundred million views from students, young and old, around the world.
As well as bringing lessons to life, video has its own unique educational properties. It lends itself to self-paced, customized learning. There’s no need to feel embarrassed if you don’t understand a concept — just rewind and replay until you do. It’s not for nothing that Sal jokes that his first-ever students (his cousins) preferred him in video to real life.
Categories: Education, Educational Resources, TED