TED Talks App for iPad

Looking for thought-provoking discussion starters for your students? Wanting to foster deeper thinking on world issues? Give TED a try!

Compelling speeches given by interesting people from all walks of life are the focus of the TED conferences each year. Most talks are less than 20 minutes and really are quite fascinating.

I've been waiting for awhile, but finally TED has released their app for the iPad. It seems it was worth the wait, as this really is a great piece of software. And it's free!

Each video plays full screen and includes information about the talk and the speaker. Suggestions on related videos to watch next are given. Talks can also be saved for offline viewing, which is a great feature.

Videos are arranged around overarching themes (e.g., inventions, our minds, new tech, creativity, etc.) or by specific tags (such as biology, China, food, etc.). 

I've been blown away by the quality of talks put out by the annual TED conferences. This app certainly helps me to watch more of them!

For more information, visit the TED site here, and check out the app at the iTunes App store.

Education apps...really?

It's really surprising how few iPod/iPad apps that call themselves "Educational" are really that.

Sure, flashcards and spelling quizzes have their place in some areas (I honestly believe they can be great for practicing and memorizing basic facts), but really... is that it? Dozens of different math facts apps? And how many ABC apps for preschoolers do we need? All of them teach the same ABC's and in the same way... and often with poor pictures and sounds!

Where are the "Education" apps that lead students into deeper investigations - critical thinking, inferencing, metacognition? Where are the apps that promote deep questioning?

Is such a thing actually possible in a discrete app?

Don't get me wrong, there are great apps out there that can be used in fantastic new ways for education purposes. For example, Twitter allows students to talk to each other, and also connect instantly to any expert on any topic. Skype allows students to communicate with other classes around the world for free. Unlimited amounts of media data can be accessed through the built in Safari browser, leading to rich discussions in the classroom.

So why is it that these apps are never the ones labelled as "Education"?

Maybe these app creators need to go back to school to get a sense of what education today is really all about...