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
