Chaos and TEDxNYED

TEDxNYED, which was last weekend, has created a great deal of engagement.  Our Twitter hashtag is still being used, there have been a number of blog posts about what happened on Saturday and there is still a strong interest in repeating an event like TEDxNYED.

This engagement has also made me think about a few things (ok, a lot of things but i'll list three here):

1. The critiques of the format (See examples: one and two)

2.  Follow up - a want to continue the conversation

3. How this model can assist us through the chaos

The format

The TED format works on a number of levels.  It introduces ideas, inspires and drives conversation that can lead us to new understandings and directions. I am a big believer in what TED does offer: access to ideas.  For many those ideas can only be accessed online, there is access nonetheless and those ideas can start something bigger.

TEDxNYED did a number of things well as we attempted to follow the TED format.  We brought together a number of great minds and provided as much access to their ideas as possible.

That being said, we were limited to 275 seats and could have approached the attendee process differently but either way we would have disappoint many people.  Yes, interacting online is not the same but we attempted to provide forums for discussion by using our Facebook Fan page discussion boards and will work to develop the online community even more in the future.

While we were limited  by the number of physical attendees, our biggest problem was that TEDxNYED was designed for educators and focused primarily on education reform.  This is only a problem because when dealing with teachers who want reform, they NEED more of a take away than simply presenting ideas.  So, as we move forward we plan on addressing a few things.

What to fix

Conversation: Based upon arvind grover's idea, once the talks are up, we plan on hosting online discussions based upon the talks and inviting the speaker and any interested parties to come together and talk about what can be done to address the speaker's particular thesis.  That is just the start.

Action: Because ideas and brief conversations alone will not sustain teachers and administrators who are interested in educational reform, future versions of TEDxNYED and other TEDxED events will have a model that allows deep interaction and planning.  Based upon Dan Cohen's idea of using the THATCamp idea, we are envisioning a format that is potentially half a day of talks and half a day of a physical and virtual unconference.  The unconference would be the opportunity to unpack the ideas presented and envision what can be done to help implement those ideas.

Elitism: To ensure that we are not "elitist", I think creating more awareness through a number of mediums well before the event and then have a first come first serve sign up a few weeks before the event might equalize who can physically attend.  Again, the entire event would continue to be streamed live for those who can not attend.

Diversity: As for the problem of diversity, we must reach out to all communities that can improve education as well as have an open application process for speakers.  If you have other ideas, I am all ears.

Finding our way through the chaos

The goal of TEDxNYED was and will be to help educators learn about and implement ideas that will improve our schools.  Clay Shirky talks about how immediately after the introduction of the printing press there was 50 years of chaos as the masses adjusted to a new medium.  There were extremes. A number of people adopted the powerful printing press immediately and then there were the scribes who held on to their now outdated positions of power with all they could.  Stuck in the middle were the rest of the population trying to find their way.

In the world of education, we stand in a very similar situation.  TEDxNYED was started to help educators "in the middle" be introduced to ideas on how technology can improve the way we teach and learn.  While the ideas are at the core of what will help, it will be the action that will create the results and lead us out of chaos.  As we move forward we will improve this model so that we can address what needs to be fixed in order to improve teaching and learning.

If you think I am overlooking anything, like what i have to say, or think am just plain wrong please feel free to add your comments below.  I want to see TEDxNYED and the idea of TEDxED improve and hopefully meet the needs of ALL educators looking to improve their schools.

Expanding the model

As I mention in my previous post, my goal is to extend the TEDxED model to other cities.  To help shorten this period of chaos my hope is to have a number of events dedicated to using the TEDx model and incorporating a more action oriented approach.  I will be writing more about this in the coming weeks as we begin to plan the next steps for future TEDxED events.  Let me know if you are interested in contributing to the future of TEDxED.

Photo Credit: SpecialKRB