Welcome to the new normal. COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the way the world is now learning, educating, volunteering and connecting with each other.
To support the millions of students, parents and teachers affected by COVID-19, the nonprofit TED (well-known for their TED Talks, where speakers share “an idea worth spreading”) has launched TED-ED@Home. Working with expert educators throughout the world, they are providing high-quality, interactive, video-based lessons on a daily basis, for FREE.
Comprehensive in their approach, TED-ED@Home is appropriate for ages elementary to college. It covers topics from the arts, business and economics, design, engineer, health, literature and language, mathematics, philosophy and religion, psychology, science, technology, social studies and more.
Students, Parents and Teachers can find ready-made and customizable lesson plans that are searchable and sort-able by age-level and subject. They can use the TED-Ed Lesson creator to create and distribute customized lessons around any video on YouTube. Sign up here to get engaging lesson plans (for free!), delivered to your inbox every day.
Additionally, TED-Ed lessons, which are currently being viewed across the web by millions of learners for free every day, don’t require a login to view and have been subtitled and translated for accessibility by the volunteer TED Translator community.
“ TED Translators are a global community of 35,000 volunteers who translate TED Talks into more than 115 languages. At this time of COVID-19, the urgency and potential impact of their work is heightened. ”
~ Aviva Nassimi, TED Community Development Manager
TED Translators are virtual volunteers who help transcribe or translate TED Talks, TEDx talks, and animated TED-Ed lessons, sharing vital information, across languages and borders. This global community of 35,000 volunteers translate talks into more than 115 languages and at this time of COVID-19, the urgency and potential impact of their work is heightened. You can sign up to volunteer virtually to make a global impact from the safety and comfort of your couch.
Social distancing doesn’t have to mean social disconnecting. TED Circles is an open platform of small groups that meet for conversations about ideas. Hosted by volunteers, these weekly or monthly gatherings empower participants to spark conversations and share ideas. Each TED Circle is unique, and all are virtually connected making it possible for local conversations to reach a global scale. The good news? Anyone can host a TED Circle. Once registered, hosts receive resources, gain the ability to list the date of their Circles, and create both global and local connections without leaving their home.
TED Connects: Community and Hope is a free, live, daily conversation series hosted by head of TED Chris Anderson and current affairs curator Whitney Pennington Rodgers, featuring experts whose ideas can help us reflect and work through this uncertain time with a sense of responsibility, compassion and wisdom. Si