TED Launches TED-Ed To Help Spread Lessons Beyond the Classroom

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 03/21/12

TED, the non-profit organization known for its captivating conferences and thought-provoking sub-20-minute videos on a tapestry of ideas, has launched a new education initiative for K-12, college, and lifelong learning. TED-Ed will bring teachers and professors with excellent classroom lessons together with animators to create versions of those lessons for online sharing on a new education channel on YouTube. Organizers said they hope the videos will provide instructors with new, free material to supplement their curriculum.

To kick off the new channel, the initiative released a dozen videos, all under 10 minutes long. The count has since risen to 15 lessons (many culled from TED's archives), and new ones are expected to be added every week. Current topics include:

  • "How Pandemics Spread" by author and journalist Mark Honigsbaum and animator Patrick Blower;
  • "Deep Ocean Mysteries and Wonders" by oceanographer and scientist David Gallo and a team of TED-Ed "visualizers"; and
  • "Evolution in a Big City" by Baruch College Professor Jason Munshi-South and the TED-Ed visualization team.

The organization has an open submission process to invite educators and animators worldwide to contribute lesson plans and video reels on any topic. TED-Ed's team will select the best submissions from teachers and others and provide them with the means to work with animators to create video lessons.

"TED's core mission is to spread ideas," said TED Curator Chris Anderson. "By turning great lessons into vivid scholastic tools, these TED-Ed videos are designed to catalyze curiosity. We want to show that learning can be thrilling. Because they are only a few minutes long, they can readily be used by teachers during class time. But we also envisage them being viewed by learners of all ages."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • The AI Show

    Register for Free to Attend the World's Greatest Show for All Things AI in EDU

    The AI Show @ ASU+GSV, held April 5–7, 2025, at the San Diego Convention Center, is a free event designed to help educators, students, and parents navigate AI's role in education. Featuring hands-on workshops, AI-powered networking, live demos from 125+ EdTech exhibitors, and keynote speakers like Colin Kaepernick and Stevie Van Zandt, the event offers practical insights into AI-driven teaching, learning, and career opportunities. Attendees will gain actionable strategies to integrate AI into classrooms while exploring innovations that promote equity, accessibility, and student success.

  • laptop displaying a red padlock icon sits on a wooden desk with a digital network interface background

    Reports Point to Domain Controllers as Prime Ransomware Targets

    A recent report from Microsoft reinforces warns of the critical role Active Directory (AD) domain controllers play in large-scale ransomware attacks, aligning with U.S. government advisories on the persistent threat of AD compromise.

  • laptop displaying a glowing digital brain and data charts sits on a metal shelf in a well-lit server room with organized network cables and active servers

    Cisco Unveils AI-First Approach to IT Operations

    At its recent Cisco Live 2025 event, Cisco introduced AgenticOps, a transformative approach to IT operations that integrates advanced AI capabilities to enhance efficiency and collaboration across network, security, and application domains.

  • educators seated at a table with a laptop and tablet, against a backdrop of muted geometric shapes

    HMH Forms Educator Council to Inform AI Tool Development

    Adaptive learning company HMH has established an AI Educator Council that brings together teachers, instructional coaches and leaders from school district across the country to help shape its AI solutions.