This post is written by Trinidad Algorta. Trini is an EFL teacher, mentor, and teacher educator at the Alianza Cultural Uruguay-Estados Unidos with experience in F2F, online, and remote teaching. She has taught in programs like Ceibal en Inglés and Sembrando, as well as the Access Microscholarship Program. Passionate about broadening students' horizons and strengthening their abilities, she has implemented the TED-Ed Student Talks Program for teens and presented at various teacher training events.
Have you ever dreamed of giving a TED Talk?
Everyone has something to say, and so do our students.
Why not help them share their thoughts via a TED-style talk?
You can become a TED-Ed Student Talks facilitator to your students -- just like I did. I want to tell you how the program worked for me, under the TED-Ed team's guidance and support and the amazing experience of holding a TED-Ed Student Talks local event. Applications are open!
My students' TED Ed presentations
“Living to Tell the Tale”, (“Vivir para contarla”). That's what Gabriel García Márquez called his biography. And he says that we all remember our lives the way we want to tell them. This concept of the subjectivity of memories has always sounded interesting to me. Everyone has something interesting to tell, something lived, learned, suffered, or enjoyed. What is important is the way we tell the tale.
Want to see how my students told their stories in their TED Talks? Take a look at some student video clips in this video.
This is the product of the hard work one of my groups did a couple of years ago. It was group work, but at the same time very personal and introspective. Needless to say, they did it in English, even though they are EFL learners! They began by identifying their passions, where they found an idea worth telling. Then, they discovered their origin, (what happened at that moment that changed their lives, and now they want to share?). Because if it was significant to them, it could be useful to all of us. And they, like anyone else, have something interesting to tell. This is TED: “Ideas change everything”.
TED-Ed Student Talks: How it works
When I applied to the program with my specific group of students and was accepted as a leader, they added me to a platform where I met a worldwide community of leaders helping each other. On any given day, 100,000+ students are led through the process of identifying, developing, and sharing their ideas.
Guidelines and materials
There are lots of materials that can be downloaded, like the Student Talks Facilitator Guidebook. This is the Bible! Here I found all the steps to follow with my students, including Lesson Plans, templates, and everything that you may need. In 2024, the TED-Ed team released a big update to these materials with even more helpful resources for facilitation and student idea development.
Steps and Explorations
There are 13 “Explorations” or “modules” gathered in 3 groups: Discover, Develop and Share. In the first stage, students explore and find their big Idea (in my case, this was the hardest part), then, they research and design their talks and finally, they have the time to rehearse and deliver their talks both in an event (this is the big day for your group!) and by recording a video that can be shared on your online platforms (i.e organization’s website, YouTube channel).
Look at them in action! I’ll keep that day in my heart forever!
Benefits of student TED-Ed Talks
What do students gain from the program?
The ability to develop an idea and articulate it effectively
The ability to decode and think critically about other people’s ideas
The ability to have global awareness
And of course, all these 21st-century skills: Confidence, Idea Development, Writing and Presentation Skills, the ability to speak and listen, Cultural and Global Awareness, and Empathy.
Why Cultural exchanges matter
Something that is not mandatory, but TED-Ed facilitators always encourage us to do, is to connect with other leaders and make a call to get our students together. My Uruguayan students connected with a group in Morocco and it was incredible! They talked about their countries and habits. In our group, there were students from Cuba, Venezuela, and Uruguay. TED-Ed Team also hosts these global exchange calls through the annual TED-Ed Connect Week initiative, where students from any TED-Ed Student Talks group may join a Zoom call with each other, learn and discuss a topic facilitated by the TED-Ed Team. Look at this video as an example.
Apply to host a student TED Ed event
So if you’d like to be part of this program, you won’t regret it! Your students will benefit from this wonderful experience, as well as you will! Watch this summary in a promotional video.
Get more information and apply to host an event here.
Think about when you would like to start the program. When you apply, you can select April 1, August 1, or December 1 as your start date to access the resources, which will be available during the whole year.
Apply! It takes 5-10 minutes to elaborate on your organization’s details, your role as an educator, your students, and your plans to utilize the curriculum at your organization.
During their application review, they may send you follow-up questions from the tededstudents@ted.com email address. They’ll send an email with the status of your application on either April 1, August 1, or December 1.
Finally, enjoy the process and the product!!!
Here they are at the end of the event showing their certificates!
