Ed Tech Newsletter - July #2

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Hi, Wow! The winter holidays have finally arrived with the promise to recharge our batteries for the second semester. I hope they deliver. I sure need them. I'm writing this today to keep last newsletter's promise of telling you more about TED talks. With their slogan in mind, "Ideas worth spreading", let's jump right into it.  Site of the week This week's site is (no spoiler alert) TED.com. Now, some of you have probably heard of TED talks, seen some, or are big fans of them. Who has not heard of Sir Ken Robinson's famous TED talk"Do schools kill creativity?" (if you haven't, then I strongly - strongly - advise you to spare 20 minutes of your time and check it out. It is to date the most popular TED talk, with over 10 million views) TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, originated as a one-time conference 30 years ago, but went viral in the last 10. The popularity of the talks grew exponentially and there are now thousands of them, amassing billions of views. There are three "official" annual events and countless independent conferences around the world (easily identified by their 'x' in TEDx (there's even a TEDxRiodelaPlata, aTEDxBuenosAires, and a TEDxCordoba) TED talks cover a plethora of topics, some of which you will find interesting as an educator, as a mom/dad, a life-long learner, you name it. Video of the week It's incredibly challenging to choose just one TED talk to share with you. In fact, I have a Youtube playlist of TED talks that keeps on growing and growing. No end in sight. That being said, there's one talk that comes to mind for this newsletter and it is Rita Pierson's 2013 TED talk "Every kid needs a champion". Why? Aside from her vast experience as an educator and her fantastically timed humor, Rita has a compelling message to share: the value of human connection in teaching. A powerful reminder as we round off this first half of the year and embark on our second one. I couldn't have said it better myself: "every child deserves a champion, an adult who would never give up on them".

Rita Pierson: Every kid needs a champion

App of the week Remember Pocket? That very useful bookmark that lets you save websites for later? Boy, do I have something for you! I like Pocket. It's been life-saving on numerous occasions, but I definitely have a soft spot for Pinterest. Ask anyone who has used it in the past and they'll probably go "Aww, Pinterest...". Why, you may ask? Simply because it allows you to bookmark pages with an add-on just like Pocket, but you get to organize them in different boards. And since it is a social bookmark you can follow other pinners (for example, me!) and get inspired by what they find (which also saves tons of time). Curious? You'll find out more about it here. A word of advice, though. Once you go Pinterest, you never go back. I kid you not. There's such a thing as a "pinterestoholic" and a "pintervention". You have been warned.  Happy holidays! See you in 2 weeks!

“Students who are loved at home, come to school to learn, and students who aren't, come to school to be loved” Nicholas A. Ferroni