TED Community » Logan Smalley

About Me

Director of TED-Ed (ed.ted.com), TEDFellow (2009), documentarian (Darius Goes West), former teacher (Special Ed), aspiring musical saw player (as in a wood saw), and lifelong learner (as in I prefer to be learning every minute of every day). One of my professional and personal goals is to learn from you. I'm in constant awe of the TED Community---the caliber of ideas you offer as individuals, and the depth and diversity of your collective expertise. This community is, has been, and always will be a primary source of ideas and inspiration as our team continues to build out the TED-Ed initiative (currently in BETA). So, please don't hesitate to reach out to us using the TED-Ed section of this site.

Location:
United States, New York, NY
Current organization:
TED Conferences
Past organizations:
Darius Goes West Organization
Current role:
Director of TED-Ed
Gender:
Male
I am:
Activist, Artist, Brainstormer, Educator/Teacher, Explorer, Filmmaker, Global soul, Idea generator, Musician
Associations:
Board of Directors, CAST
My website links:
TED-Ed (BETA), Twitter Feed (@logansmalley)
Universities:
Harvard Graduate School of Education , University of Georgia
TED conferences attended:
TEDGlobal 2013, TEDActive 2013, TEDGlobal 2012, TEDActive 2012, TEDGlobal 2011, TED2011, TEDIndia 2009, TED2009
Member Picture

TEDCRED 200+ TED StaffTED FellowTED AttendeeTEDx OrganizerAssociate

More About Me

I'm passionate about

Ideas, Education, filmmaking, music & travel.

An idea worth spreading

Current obsession: Portfolio Assessment, not that it is a new idea, but how the internet might be used to make it more practical. If you're an expert on the matter, I'd like to pick your brain.

Comments

  • TEDCred score: +245.60 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

  • +2

    A comment on Conversation: A college level course using TED as the driver for discussion, research, and learning.

    Aug 18 2012: Hello Lee,

    Great strand you've started! I love that you're thinking in terms of a class and that you've elegantly tied together existing initiatives that so many people are involved in.

    Some info....
    TED-Ed, in concert with the other TED initiatives, is actively positioning itself to implement some of the ideas that you've brought up. Though TED-Ed is in BETA now, and focused on building and aggregating content, you will see quite a few features added over the coming year that will hopefully be helpful should you decide to implement your idea.

    So, keep the great ideas coming, and watch the TED-Ed space ( http://ed.ted.com/ ) for tools that might prove useful as you continue to build on this one!
  • A comment on Conversation: Why aren't all the TED Ed videos/animations captioned (or subtitled)?

    Aug 18 2012: Hello J AM,
    The TED-Ed original videos are currently closed captioned. Just click the "CC" button on the bottom right and side of the player. Once clicked, the time-coded captions should appear. Could you direct me to the particular video that didn't have the CC option? The captions activate on a video to video basis, so it is possible that we failed to turn them on for a particular video. We're also working on captioning the most recent TED-Ed original now.

    TED-Ed videos are not currently translated....but they will be...and fairly soon! The translation platform is currently shifting to a new software, and once the shift is complete, TED-Ed videos will begin being translated.

    Hope this was helpful!
  • A reply on Conversation: TED-Ed Workshop (Continued): Please share any additional comments or questions that you did not get a chance to cover during the workshop.

    Jul 3 2012: Thanks for the comments, everyone. I'm glad to see the "Do" idea gaining support from multiple people. We would all love to see TED-Ed carve a path towards Project Based Learning. Wondering if anyone has some particularly great examples of orgs, apps or other resources that are working in the Project Based Learning space?
  • +2

    A comment on Conversation: Open education revolution as we did with software

    Feb 16 2011: Great idea Javier! It's interesting because I feel like a lot of the things you mention are bubbling up across platforms, or on very small (and separate) scales.

    For example, you have lots of great lectures going online, MIT 'giving' their classes away on YouTube, various wikis that are rich in terms of content, tools & community, etc. But, to me, there is no great aggregrator of these splayed resources.

    I'd love to see a site where quality Ed. resources were aggregrated & curated by algorithm, staff & community.

    Hope I didn't stray to far from your question!
  • +1

    A comment on Conversation: Let’s show Translated TED talks at schools. Let’s engage local TED translators in retelling their favorite Ted talks for kids at schools.

    Feb 14 2011: Hello Kristine! I really appreciate this comment. I'm fairly new at TED, but I'm working on evaluating areas where TED and ED (formal & informal) overlap. I think getting the translators involved is a fantastic idea. I'm wondering what other talks you think would be appropriate for a younger audience ( age 10 and below)?
  • +1

    A comment on Conversation: What's the best hidden gem in the TED archive?

    Feb 11 2011: This conversation has elicited some fantastic suggestions! I thought I had seen most of the TEDTalks, but many listed below--be they relics or contemporary gems---had previously escaped me. I'll be steadily working through this strand, and I hope it continues to grow.

    I'd like to add a somewhat atypical Talk to the mix. TEDPrize winner, Jose Abreu's case for learning music as a form of character development---

    http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jose_abreu_on_kids_transformed_by_music.html

    As an educator, I've watched music programs deteriorate in almost every school I've visited. It's utterly tragic. Jose said what needed to be said, proved what needed to be proved & he and his Fellows continue to conduct the good fight regarding the use of music in education.

    I probably watch this Talk once a month & I think it should be viewed by every school superintendent in the country/world!

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