After months of planning, TEDxNYED finally happened on Saturday, March 6th. We were filled to capacity with teachers, administrators and those passionate about the future of education.Not only did we have a packed house but through a partnership with Livestream, we were able to stream the entire event and had over 20,000 views. Our hashtag had 2,871 tweets from over 1,100 tweeters and we were trending on Twitter for most of the day. We accomplished our goal of reaching as many people as possible as we attempted to promote "Ideas (about education) Worth Spreading". There seemed to be many people energized by TEDxNYED. While there was a lot of energy about yesterday, I want to discuss and clarify a few things.
What TEDxNYED was
TEDxNYED was a conversation starter. The talks were meant to be an opportunity for people to come together, listen to leaders in the worlds of media, technology and education and create a call to action. They were meant to be the start of a process that will help move our schools forward. It was the ideas presented by the likes of Lawrence Lessig, whose talk on openness is here and Chris Lehmann, who spoke about inquiry and community, that were meant to generate discussions that will help change our schools.
What TEDxNYED Was Not
TEDxNYED was not silver bullet for the future of education. Rather, it was intended to be a starting point. The talks were a means to spread ideas that can start conversations where there may not have been one. From its inception, we wanted TEDxNYED to be about introducing ideas to educators and letting them determine how those ideas would best fit best their schools and communities. TEDxNYED was not a final answer.
It was an opportunity for people from around the globe to come together to think, connect, discuss and plan. A great example of this was a YouTube video created yesterday that explained how to use a Etherpad that was created by viewers to document the ideas at TEDxNYED. Dan Meyer mentioned that textbooks are right in the wrong way, they provide the answers. We at TEDxNYED did not want to provide the answers, we wanted to provide you with the platform to find your OWN answers.
Talks at TEDxNYED were not lectures. They were not meant to teach. Rather, they were meant to be an introduction or affirmation that could lead to further investigation.
TEDxNYED was not perfect. I started this whole roller coaster and I'll be the first to admit it. A number of people have mentioned the lack of diversity among our speakers. While we had an amazing group of speakers and I am truly grateful to all of them, there was a gender and racial imbalance. This discussion about the lack of diversity is a very valid one and as I move forward with the TEDx program it will be something I will take VERY seriously.
The Next Step
This is just the beginning. No doubt, there is room for improvement but TEDxNYED has started something. TEDxNYED was an introduction to what is possible with the TEDx platform. I envisioned this as a first step in using the TED brand as a way to spread ideas on improving education. The platform may not have been perfect but as I said earlier, it was a starting point. My dream is to improve the model and have events like TEDxNYED (TEDx events focusing on teaching and learning) in cities around the world.
The talks were meant to introduce ideas that can change education while providing a platform for attendees and viewers to connect and dream about how those ideas can be spread. We, the organizers, offered you the opportunity and the ideas. Now it's your turn. What are you going to do with it? What would you do with a TEDx program to help improve education? The potential is there. Let's do something with it.
Thank You
This has been a life changing process for me. I am forever indebted to SO many people but I want to thank those who helped make TEDxNYED actually happen and made this such an amazing experience. Without them, it would still just be an idea.
It was Lara Stein, the organizer of the TEDx program, who put me in touch with Chel O'Reilly, who was instrumental in helping get this ball rolling. Once the ball was rolling, it has been the hard work and dedication of Alex Ragone, arvind grover, Karen Blumberg, Erin Mumford (I didn't forget this time), Basil Kolani, Eric Sanders, Adam Kenner, Jeff Wetiz and Lisa Chun of Elizabeth Events that not only made this experience possible but one I will never forget. For that, I am eternally grateful.
A special thanks to Brady from the Collegiate School. Brady was our the master of light and sound at TEDxNYED and he made everything run smoothly and run on time. Finally, I'd like to thank all the students and teachers from Rough Cut Productions who did a phenomenal job of recording all the talks.
Finally
If you are interested in the TEDx program and want to start your own, contact tedx [at] ted [dot] com or visit their website to learn more about how to start your own "independently organized TEDx event". If you have any questions about how this was organized or how can get involved, feel free to email me at david [at] tedxnyed [dot] com and I will be happy to get back to you.
Photo Credit: arvindgrover
Thank YOU for spearheading such an awesome, illuminating, exhilarating day. It was a pleasure and a great source of pride to be a part of the planning team.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this nice summary. I am very interested in trying to set up TEDx focussed on education, we have one such event planned in Beijing and one in Paris, I would love to have your thoughts and to have access to the talks.
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François
Dave, I think that "roller coaster" was a great choice of words. It sure has been. It's wonderful to be done, but you're right in that we've really just started. TEDxNYED started many conversations, relationships, thoughts, rants, blog posts, photos, YouTube videos, Slideshares, and more. If our goal was to get things started, well, congrats.
ReplyDeleteMuch more to come...
Dave -- Thanks for the kudos and your leadership here. I remember your first email to the listserv and our first meeting like it was yesterday. Hard to believe that Saturday, 3/6 has come and gone. Looking forward to seeing where this conversation goes. - Alex
ReplyDeleteDave, thanks to you and your team for a day that, well, did just what I expected it to do--inspire me, teach me, and force me out of my comfort zone. Thanks, too, for your list of what it was NOT supposed to do. Sometimes people come away from these events wanting the event to be everything to everyone. What it did to was start and continue conversations around the world--and give great ideas an audience. Your hard work was appreciated by many. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteDave - TEDxNYED was all of what you described and was a tremendous event. I truly appreciate your Next Step. This was a starting point, but perhaps you sell yourself short. If I were to use a track analogy, the gun has been fired, and we are in the acceleration phase (out of the blocks, but not yet full speed). Granted, I know it is a long race and not a sprint, but we are beyond a starting point because of this event.
ReplyDeleteI want to be a part of your goal to expand this to cities around the world. I am near Atlanta, GA and will work with you to achieve this vision.
[...] you should first read the wrap-up from Dave Bill, the TEDxNYED “curator,” who gets it exactly right. I’m enormously appreciative of Dave’s hard work and the hard work of his TEDxNYED [...]
ReplyDelete@Ric. Thank you. As a cross-country coach I love your analogy. As I listen to the variety of voices, including yours, the next step is clear. We have folks like @jcallina who are calling out to other developers to create a simple platform for people to connect and help take the next step. This is definitely just the acceleration phase and with some focus and a willingness, we can begin to see where this can go.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that you are on board. I need to flesh this out a little more but you will definitely be hearing more from me about accomplishing the vision.
Thanks for a thoughtful Saturday and some great connections! All involved made the event happen in a really productive way. Great experience!
ReplyDelete@Jill @Susan @arvind @Alex @Karen Thank you for your kind words. It has been an amazing ride and it is JUST getting started. Hold on to your hats b/c I think this type of event has some legs and will be around for a while.
ReplyDeleteDave: thanks for organizing this event. I watched a few segments via livestream, and believe you were successful in catalyzing conversations. I hope you will be posting videos of the presentations, as I believe they would be an excellent way to to keep the conversations flowing ... and promote the further spread of the ideas expressed at the event. I would also like to encourage the presenters - and encourage you to encourage the presenters - to share their slides on http://www.SlideShare.net using the "tedxnyed" tag.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy this got launched, and I would like to help along the way if you need any help.
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